Laxmii is an Indian Hindi comedy horror film written and directed by Raghava Lawrence. It is a remake of the 2011 Tamil film Kanchana and stars Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani, Ayesha Raza, Rajesh Sharma, Manu Rishi Chadha, Ashwini Kalsekar, Sharad Kelkar, and Mir Sarwar in the main roles. This film was released on 9th November 2020 on Disney+Hotstar.
Asif (Akshay Kumar) & Rashmi (Kiara Advani) are a happily married couple, and it's been three years since Rashmi last spoke to her parents, as her father doesn't accept Asif as his son in law, as he's Muslim. But somehow Rashmi's mother, Ratna (Ayesha Raza) manages to convince her husband Sachin (Rajesh Sharma) and invites Asif and Rashmi to their house to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Asif doesn't believe in ghosts and frequently says "Agar mere saamne Bhoot aa gaya na toh Maa Kasam chudiyaan pehen loonga". But he gets possessed by the spirit of a transgender woman, Laxmii (Sharad Kelkar), and see the film, to know why Laxmii has come from the dead? And how this all affects Rashmi and his family.
The original story and screenplay are by Raghava Lawrence, for this film, the screenplay is by Farhad Samji, which is a total mess. The treatment of the story is just like Kanchana from 2011, no change at all, which is disappointing as it's been 9 years and the screenplay feels outdated. The comedy scenes are very loud and so are the characters, who just shouts and screams. It works in some places like when a pandit tells Ayesha Raza and Ashwini Kalsekar to take three tests to know that the house is haunted, is hilarious, and very funny. Just like that, some gags work but many fall flat and are simply annoying. The camera moves forward and backward covering the lavish house's long halls will remind you of Kanchana.
The script is very stale, the same baba fakir totkas, even the scary scenes fail to evoke any scare, nor the comedy gets better. The film is high on energy, and looks very bright, like shot on a mobile phone, doesn't give you the vibe of any movie, unless Akshay Kumar is on the screen. The film impressed showing the Laxmii's backstory, which was heartwarming, and hard-hitting, with the winning performance of Sharad Kelkar as Laxmii, is the most effective and meaningful character in the film, apart from that, take any character, all are unconvincing and unnecessarily loud. The energy of the film is only a treat to see in the Bumbholle song, which is beautifully shot and is strictly best for the theater experience.
Akshay Kumar is just as normal as Asif, his intro scene reminded me of Jolly LLB 2, where he helped students to passed the English exam, and here he helps a woman from Dhongi baba, who accused her of being a witch. But he truly transforms, as Laxmii, and is terrific, be it expressions or his body language, he nails every nuance. Another best performance was of Sharad Kelkar as Laxmii, he's earnest and has given a touching performance, he's the only one making the film neutral against the redundant loud vibes. Ayesha Raza and Ashwini Kalsekar just lifts the craziness to other levels, and successfully delivers many laughs, whereas great talents, Rajesh Sharma and Manu Rishi Chadha struggle from being half baked. Kiara Advani as Priya has nothing solid to do, she's just there waiting for the film to be a hit, to get the limelight and the attention. The cinematography by Kush Chhabria and Vetri Palanisamy is strangely good, the amazing house and its interiors are well captured. The songs are forgettable, BurjKhalifa was forced into the drama, with creating a situation, where Asif says to Priya, " Jo Tum sapno me bhi nahi soch sakti woh khareed sakta hoon". Easily the best is the BomBhole, the beat, and its picturization is solely made to experience it in theatres.
Laxmii by Raghava Lawrence, is an outdated movie, with good actors. Only the backstory of Laxmii is worth watching, helmed by amazing Sharad Kelkar. The unnecessary loud characters, just like Kanchana, doesn't work all the time. After watching the film you will think, it's good that it was directly released on OTT, as it nothing new to offer, and hence it's an unwanted remake. But what Raghava Lawrence tried to deliver and convey through this film is crystal clear and at least that should be praised, the intention behind the film, instead of this stale film, which will "Bomb" at the box office.
Rating:- 2/5
Now Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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