MERE DAD KI MARUTI MOVIE REVIEW

Maruti couldn’t have asked for a better in-film brand integration campaign as Mere Dad Ki Maruti has more than a fair mention of one of Maruti’s cars, Ertiga, in almost the entire duration of the movie. Other than being just a vehicle for promoting Ertiga, the film offers plenty of wacky fun, thanks to the situations which keep cropping up.

The plot is about Sameer (an irritating, irresponsible and good-for nothing college kid in his own words) who sets his eyes on the new Maruti Ertiga that his dad has purchased, on the eve of his daughter’s marriage, as a sign of goodwill to his son-in-law. Sameer uses the car to impress the hottest girl in his college, Jazzleen, on their first date. After having his share of fun with her, Sameer goofs up and loses the car due to his typically reckless attitude. All hell breaks loose and how he manages to restore parity is the crux of the movie.  

The movie works due to the performance of all the actors, be it Ram Kapoor as the loud Punjabi dad who can’t tolerate his son’s hasty ways, Saqib Saleem as the boyish Sameer who has the IQ levels of a kindergarten kid, Rhea Chakraborty as the ultra-hot, girly but dumb Jazzleen and Prabal Panjabi, Sameer’s partner-in-crime and another typically immature college kid.

The lingo spoken by this college trio is typically Gen Y and their easygoing irresponsible attitude and way of life is sometimes baffling, though it is passed off as comedy. If this is how majority of the Indian youngsters really are but you deem it odd, then obviously there is a generation gap between yourself and the characters on screen. Nevertheless, the movie does have many appealing moments on a mainstream level as well, like the climax which is the real icing on an even otherwise enjoyable youthful comedy.    

With a running time of just 101 minutes, the movie doesn’t drag one bit and the screenplay is coherent as it’s mostly about Sameer’s efforts to get an Ertiga in time for his sister’s marriage which is fast approaching. The Punjabi flavor in the movie is overwhelming and this is actually a Punjabi movie masquerading as a Bollywood movie. The dialect spoken is pretty hard to follow at times for the uninitiated.

The movie’s soundtrack is again soaked in Punjabi pep and rhythm and Sachin Gupta’s score for the title song and the end credits track is foot-tapping to say the least. Other elements of the movie are functional and in line with the movie’s flow.

If you are looking for a quick de-stressing outing, try Mere Dad Ki Maruti. It doesn’t have any serious intentions and its only motto, entertainment, is delivered uninterrupted and in good spirit.