Mishan impossible (2022) arrives as the much-needed feel-good movie for us pandemic survivors. It’s a movie that demands that you switch off the cynical (and logical) part of your brain and just enjoy the thrill of vicarious heroism. With a bowl of hot butter popcorn, of course. The main characters are child actors Harsh Roshan, Bhanuprakash, and Jayateertha who are quirkily enough named Raghupati, Raghava, and Rajaram respectively. Although Tapsee Pannu’s star value does attract attention to the movie, her role is relatively secondary.
It’s a story that runs on two basic elements: childlike courage and also childlike ridiculousness. The boy trio Raghupati Raghava and Rajaram, who cheekily call themselves RRR for obvious reasons, get the crazy idea that they could nab the famous gangster Dawood Ibrahim and win the bounty money (50lcs) offered by the government. The more they think about it the more the idea takes hold of them. Just as it happens in reality, each of the three boys is different in his own way: one is the monkey-minded one who comes up with all the crazy ideas, one is the parent’s pet child and one is the happy-go-lucky follower. What is common to all three, however, is their goofy innocence. As they say, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, the plot thickens when the trio actually embarks on their foolhardy mission, more accurately spelled “mishan”, because that is what it really is: a mistake.
Related to Mishan Impossible (2022): Thappad (2019): Champions An Inclusive Screenplay
There’s a scene in the middle where the boys are comfortably sitting on the side of railway tracks while a train runs by at full speed just inches away from their perch. They seem oblivious to the striking danger that would surely make any viewer cringe. It kind of symbolizes the movie, as a whole. The children treat reality much like a game to the extent that caution goes for a toss as they take off, all by themselves, from the small town of Vadamalapeta, intending to reach Bombay. Their hapless parents are clueless about this crazy adventure they set out on and are left running around town searching for their missing sons, in sheer panic.
The background music is evocative and the sons-missing-their-mother song entha tittina (no matter how much she scolds) is touching and well-timed. In fact, I found the on-screen chemistry between Raghupati and his mother especially natural and endearing. Many of the scenes are stylized for comic effect, which did actually work quite well. After all, when you are used to seeing stylized fight scenes where one hero takes on two dozen baddies like he’s swatting human mosquitoes, stylized humor should have earned its place by now. This is director Swaroop Rsj’s second movie. And by the looks of it, he seems to hold good potential for comedy cinema.
As the runaway kids bumble through their journey, losing money to petty thieves and traveling with the efficiency of a blind puppy that’s high on pot (they reach Bengaluru instead of Bombay but believe that the two names are of the same place), they begin losing hope. Morally shaken at a scene of violence that they unwittingly witness, they’re on the verge of making a U-turn when Rajaram gets kidnapped.
Also Read: 20 Best Indian Films of 2021
Enter Tapsee Pannu, who plays the role of a zealous investigative journalist, Shailaja, on a “mishan” of her own. She immediately connects with the boys who call her akka (meaning sister in Telugu). Shailaja’s mission is to red-handedly expose the sordid deeds of Ram Shetty, a politically well-connected “businessman”, who makes his big bucks out of child trafficking. As luck would have it, Rajaram is now in the clutches of the same man Shailaja is hounding after. And so begins the transformation of the guileless trio into smartass undercover agents working for Shailaja. Together with the journalist, they make a plan wherein the remaining two heroes join the kidnapped hero at the bad guy’s lair and thus begin working their way out.
Again, as they say, if wishes had wings, pigs would fly. And boy do they fly! The rest is one such get-together of flying pigs, where we see these sassy little heroes smoothly outwit their kidnappers by planting secret cameras and audio recording devices, as guided by Shailaja. It all ends in the gallant success of our heroes’ efforts and the crushing defeat of the bad guy. I can’t help smiling as I recall the ending scene even as I’m typing this now!
★★★
Mishan Impossible (2022) Links: IMDb