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Bollywood News - Serious Men movie review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui fools the world but wins our hearts in this caste-based, smoke-and-mirrors game

Serious Men movie review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui fools the world but wins our hearts in this caste-based, smoke-and-mirrors game

Ayyan Mani (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) a Dalit man, has always had to punch much above his weight due to his caste, so much so that despite overreaching at his workplace, his Brahmin scientist boss (Nassar) won't even talk politely to him. All this takes a 360 degree turn after his son (Aakshath Das) is both, who turns out to he a genius albeit with a huge secret that Ayyan is hellbent on concealing from the world.

By Russel D'Silva
Published: September 29, 2020 3:05 PM IST

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is now to Netflix what Shah Rukh Khan is to romance in Indian cinema. And while he doesn't have the same effect or dish out the same results as SRK used to for almost two decades by spreading his arms, his last two efforts on the OTT platform, including his recent release, Serious Men (the previous one being Raat Akeli Hai), are not only among his better Netflix movies, but also among his better ventures overall. It pays through when you have an experienced director like Sudhir Mishra in a good mood, who's adept at handling idiosyncratic subjects. Also Read - Big screens to OTT: Can you guess who are the highest-paid Indian celebs on digital?

What's it about

Ayyan Mani (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) a Dalit man, has always had to punch much above his weight due to his caste, so much so that despite overreaching at his workplace, his Brahmin scientist boss (Nassar) won't even talk politely to him. All this takes a 360 degree turn after his son (Aakshath Das) is both, who turns out to he a genius albeit with a huge secret that Ayyan is hellbent on concealing from the world. Also Read - BL Awards 2024 winners in OTT category: Sushmita Sen, Vijay Varma, The Railway Men and more win big

What's hot

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is, as always, on fire, breathing oxygen even into some of Serious Men's more vapid scenes. He's excellently supported by Indira Tiwari and Nassar while it's heartening to see Sanjay Narvekar and Shweta Basu Prasad be given rare meaty roles in a Hindi film. The surprise package though is Aakshath Das, delivering arguably the best act by a juvenile since Zaira Wasim in Secret Superstar (she was 17 then). Sudhir Mishra brings in all his expertise to juxtapose casteism against a charade, performing a commendable tightrope act with Bhavesh Mandalia's sometimes-tight-sometimes-messy screenplay while Alexander Surkala does a good job at capturing Mumbai's contrasting socioeconomic canvas. Karel Antonin's background score, though nothing fancy, is serviceable. The best aspect of the film through is how it depicts the still-relevant plight of the lower castes in India and makes us ponder whether its wrong of they resort to desperate measures to seek a better future for their progeny. Also Read - Nawazuddin Siddiqui and wife Aaliya Siddiqui have officially reconciled; latter reveals how they have 'surrendered' for the sake of daughter Shora

What's not

The climax of Serious Men is too tepid and convenient to do justice to all the good work that preceded it. Also, its final moments delve into that pseudo-intellectual, abstract zone, with very little relevance to the actual plot, of which Sudhir Mishra has been guilty of in the past. Additionally, editor Atanu Mukherjee could have easily trimmed the film by 15-20 minutes. Also, I'm far from a pride, but two sex scenes in what is essentially a family film were completely unnecessary and thrust in just for the heck of it.

BL Verdict

Serious Men is a not-so-serious take on a serious issue, presented in a seriously good manner with some minor hiccups along the way. Give it a shot. I'm going with 3.5/5 stars.

Rating : 3.5 out of 5

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ByRussel D'Silva
Published: September 29, 2020 3:05 PM IST