Medium Spicy (2022) :
Movie Review -
Sai Tamhankar and Lalit Prabhakar are having a grand time in the Marathi cinema industry. Two of the busiest actors currently, these two are paired together for the first time (except for Pet Puraan, which was filmed later) along with young talent Parna Pethe. Medium Spicy is a promising film but loses grip in the latter half of the narrative as director Mohit Takalkar fails to make a valid point out of a messy script. When it comes to the foundation, it is a very intellectual product, but the writer and director have built a petty tower on it. A potentially intelligent film suffers from confined vision, despite the actors' best efforts to elevate it.
The film is about Nissim (Lalit Prabhakar), a chef who works at a hotel and has a crush on Prajakta (Parna Pethe). Prajakta is also interested in him, but he hasn't got enough guts to propose to her, while his friendship with his senior chef, Gowri (Sai Tamhankar), keeps growing. Confused about the idea of love, Nissim and Gowri both try to find out the true meaning behind it and learn a new recipe for relationships during the course of the time.
Iravati Karnik's script starts off with high potential but doesn't reach the aimed heights at the end. The biggest problem here is the second half, when things turn out to be predictable and cliched, while the earlier part promises something new. Those subtle dialogues, scenes, maverick ideas, unique conceptualisation, everything just vanishes as the film travels ahead. But why? Why couldn't it be clever throughout, as it was in the first hour? Iravati must be feeling very annoyed about this fact.
Sai Tamhankar has got a makeover she shouldn't ever change. I still remember hooting on her entry scene almost a decade back in films like "Balak Palak" and "Duniyadari" (2013), and I had that image of her in my mind of being a glamorous star and all. Now, she has broken it. Dhurala, Pondicherry, Pet Puraan, and now Medium Spicy. It's so delightful to see Sai emerging as a fine performer in consecutive films like no other contemporary. Her accent, expression, looks, everything is simply awesome. On the other hand, Lalit Prabhakar also continues his great form. These two are not only two of the busiest actors in the Marathi industry, but also two of the finest actors in the Marathi industry currently. Perna Pethe is fantastic in her role, and Sagar Deshmukh will have you hanging with him like a long-time friend.
Medium Spicy has a good start, far better than what you'd expect, but then it fails to continue the flow. The music is situational but doesn't sound too great as audio. However, the visuals make it watchable. The cinematography is beautiful and the editing is below par. One of the biggest problems with Mohit Takalkar's Medium Spicy is its pace and miscalculated use of conflicts. You don't even realise that it is going to end up as a romantic drama because throughout the film you feel like watching a life-lesson journey which never ends up like the one you have imagined. Mohit makes a big mistake of not understanding the real motive, or maybe he didn't know how to present it. It all looks like a big set-up that roams round and round only to grab the first aimed centre point.
Had the same script been modified as a slice of life drama by sidelining the typical Romeo-Juliet romance, believe me, it would have made a solid film afterall. Anyway, the sand has been dropped from the fist now, so let's just look for what's left. Overall, Medium Spicy is an ambitious film which doesn't score anything more than passing marks. A wannabe delicious dish is spoiled by the overuse of unnecessary ingredients, but Sai Tanhankar and Lalit Prabhakar's spicy tadka still makes it digestible.
RATING - 5/10*
