Monita Sharma
Punjabi cinema fans had been counting days for Gippy Grewal and Tania’s new Punjabi film – Mitran Da Naa Chalda – to release in theatres. Directed by Pankaj Batra and written by Rakesh Dhawan, this Zee Studios’ latest offering in Punjabi cinema is packed with every ingredient to make it a strong hit of 2023. The movie has been released worldwide today, and here’s Iampunjaabi’s review!!
The goose-bumps-inducing trailer of Mitran Da Naa Chalda had already raised fans’ hopes when it was released in early February. And, after watching the movie today, we can confirm that the movie is surely worth a watch!
A women-centric film, aptly released on International Women’s Day, Mitran Da Naa Chalda is perhaps the first of its kind film in Punjabi cinema. Even though we’ve seen any such films in Bollywood already, the intelligent script of Mitran Da Naa Chalda is written in such a way that one doesn’t get a déjà vu of any.
Mitran Da Naa Chalda begins on an intriguing note. It’s based on the lives of four women who are yearning to live an independent life but the male-dominated society obstructs them in miserable ways. unfortunately, they fall prey to sexual harassment, which affects their lives adversely. In one such incident, when one of the girls accidentally ends up killing a man, a strong case is filed against her. Sadly, when no lawyer comes to take her case due to the obvious charge of murder, Laddi (Gippy Grewal), an innocent self-taught law enthusiast, who is bullied all his life due to his stammering issue, steps up to help the girls. Will Laddi be able to get justice to the girls? Watch Mitran Da Naa Chalda to know.
As far as the script is concerned, Rakesh Dhawan has sprinkled the narrative with some powerful nail-biting moments. The screenplay is highly engaging and packed with loads of thrill, action, emotions and even humour. The dialogues are witty and impactful, and a few of them stand out as they are applause-worthy.
Pankaj Batra’s direction is praiseworthy, as he keeps the viewers captivated and, in some scenes, he raises the tension levels very well. He also does justice to the various twists and turns in the tale, and very well handles emotional sequences in the second half.
On the flipside, logic takes a backseat in a few places – perhaps the cinematic liberties taken by the makers in presenting the courtroom drama could be handled more deftly.
As for the performances, Mitran Da Naa Chalda features amazing actors like Gippy Grewal, Tania, Shweta Tiwari, Anita Devgan, and more. Gippy Grewal, as expected, delivers a stupendous performance. He nicely gets back into the skin of the character of Laddi and gives no reason to complain. Tania is a sweetheart, once again. She steals the show in many sequences, while Shweta Tiwari is damn good and impressive.
While the individual songs of the movie are a treat to listen to, considering the theme of Mitran Da Naa Chalda, the OST could’ve been better.
On the whole, Mitran Da Naa Chalda is a gripping saga that works due to the tight script, intelligent screenplay and dialogues, taut execution, and memorable performances by Gippy Grewal and Tania. Recommended!