Director: Raghava Lawrence
OTT launch: Disney + Hotstar
Stars: 2.5 / 5
For director Raghava Lawrence, ‘Laxmii’ might have been his pricey entry into the dazzling world of Hindi movies, but he misses the chance and how! The movie is a remake of their 2011 Tamil adventure ‘Kanchana’ and when you have Akshay Kumar anchoring the ship, the expectations are soaring!
Laxmii, which was previously titled ‘Laxmmi Bomb’ is essentially a story of a transgender character, brilliantly played by Sharad Kelkar. The way he is mistreated and killed makes for a good thrilling narrative towards the climax of an otherwise absurdly written script.
Let’s start from the beginning!
Akshay Kumar (Asif) and Kiara Advani (Rashmi) have been married for three years and their nephew, whose parents died in an accident, is staying with them. The exaggerated lines from the beginning annoy you, especially when a small child is made to say: ‘ye abhi bi Hindu-Muslim mein atke hue hai’, you know how superficially a heavy message has slipped into your memory.
Well, because the daughter ran away and her family is upset with her, she takes the first opportunity to meet them when she calls her mom (Ayesha Raza Mishra). And from then on, all hell breaks loose (literally).
The pair land on Daman, Asif is possessed, and the real horror begins.
Akshay Kumar as Asif is impressive and has also gotten over the Laxmii act, but Sharad Kelkar is the surprise package. She plays the transgender character of Laxmii, highlighting the plight of the community.
Top marks for intact concept and creative thinking, but direction fails when it comes to execution. Comedy is a no-push antics on comic punches.
As a viewer, when you watch ‘Laxmii,’ you know it has a southern-style cinematic influence. But, unfortunately, this time, it doesn’t tickle you.
Songs like Burj Khalifa and Bam Bholle are the only takeaways. A rock solid cast with actors like Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajesh Sharma, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Manu Rishi Chadha and Anshuman from Jab We Met aka Tarun Arora on board, the audience expected a better viewing.
When you have a powerful concept in hand, a superstar like Akshay Kumar, director Raghava Lawrence could have created an artist bomb.
Kiara has done what she was asked to do: look pretty and act exactly like actresses do in dubbed versions of Southern movies. She could do better.
Watch ‘Laxmii’ just for the concept – there is no comedy and horror is the script!
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