Hisaab Barabar

Madhavan's Railway to Redemption Has Delays, But Reaches Its Destination!

Ashwni Dhir's Hisaab Barabar starts brilliantly, with Madhavan delivering a cracking performance as a ticket collector who accidentally becomes a corporate whistleblower. The chap's got that everyman charm down pat... think his 3 Idiots days but with more righteous indignation and fewer engineering jokes.

The film's opening act is genuinely engaging, setting up a David-versus-Goliath tale that promises proper thrills. Madhavan anchors proceedings with his trademark blend of bumbling determination and moral clarity, making even the dodgiest dialogue sound almost profound.

Sadly, director Dhir can't quite maintain the momentum. What begins as focused storytelling gradually descends into tonal confusion-part social commentary, part melodrama, with comic relief that lands about as gracefully as a derailed train. Neil Nitin Mukesh hams it up deliciously as the corporate villain, whilst Preity Kulhari remains criminally underused.

The technical elements are workmanlike rather than inspired, but Madhavan's committed performance elevates material that could have been thoroughly mediocre. It's formulaic filmmaking with genuine heart, rather like a delayed train that eventually gets you where you need to go.

Rating: 7/10 (including 1 extra point purely for Madhavan making earnestness look effortless)

Hisaab Barabar movie has a simple story and has all the abilities to become an eye opener of the common man.

The movie script becomes loosened in following cases: 1. The hero character (Radhe) picks the oranges for Rs.100 from old lady and distributes them to train passengers and says 'Hisaab Barabar' (Account is settled). In this case, the account is settled between Radhe and old lady, but the account is not settled between Radhe and the passengers who took the oranges from him. Each orange may cost around Rs.10, but Radhe did not take that money from passengers.

2. In one scene, Radhe bathes his son. But the specs was still on his son's face during bathing. Nobody wears the specs while taking bath.

3. The character called Kuku Kejriwal openly holds a credit card to sell it to customers coming to the bank. None of the banks open any credit/debit cards before customers fills the application form for the card. Also, showing the credit/debit card in front of everybody is a security breach. This is not mentioned in the movie.

Other than these 3 points, the movie is great and the script is tight in every minute.

The performance of R. Madhavan is really great that too immediately after the character made in 'Shaitaan'. Coming out of that character and making a role of simple common man is impossible to any other actor.

Overall the movie is very close to real life and every citizen can get to know how his/her small amount and fraction amounts are stolen by banks.

Some movies have a novel concept but suffer from poor execution and this is one such example. Director Ashwani Dhir has written and directed good comedies like " Son of sardar" and " Atithi tum kab jaoge" and so this movie is truly disappointing. Since the movie is poorly structured and has a weak narrative even Madhavan has not been able to make it absorbing enough. The plot is about an ordinary railway ticket collector who is good in accounting and who discovers an error in his bank account showing that a small amount has been siphoned off. He takes up with the bank, relentlessly pursues this and finds that this irregularity is only a tip of the iceberg. His personal safety is in jeopardy as he takes on the establishment exposing a scam of huge proportions. ( After seeing this movie it is possible that some account holders may have examined their bank transactions in detail.) One only wishes that the screenplay was more coherent and had more focus. Presently it is lackluster, not at all convincing and hence the movie is not able to connect with the audience. Madhavan does try to make things work but doesn't succeed. Priti Kulhari doesn't impress in an indifferently presented character. Neil Nitin Mukesh as a quirky boss of the bank has overdone it and hammed his way through. He is reduced to a caricature.

R. Madhavan's Hisaab Barabar falls short of expectations, delivering a story that feels overly simplistic despite an interesting premise. While the topic had potential, the execution lacked depth, with no intense drama or gripping moments to keep viewers hooked. The film suffers from a flat narrative and minimal emotional impact, making it feel more like a casual watch than a memorable experience. R. Madhavan sir, known for his exceptional performances in films like 3 Idiots, Rocketry, Saala Khadoos, and the web series like Breathe, couldn't elevate the lackluster storytelling in Hisaab Barabar. It's a one-time watch at best, deserving a 4/10 for effort but leaving much to be desired in terms of engagement and impact.

A very beautiful and amazing concept lost in poor screenplay and story telling.

Execution, music, direction, editing and almost everything in the movie was supremely low standard. I watched it only because of R. Madhvan sir, he was terrific as always. But there was little to no requirement of a female lead, and their love angle was also unnecessary. The kid was also a miscasting, he did not act well nor he fitted in the screenplay well.

Negative roles: Manu rishi was amazing as always, but Neil was simply over acting, owner/chairman of a huge bank dancing on road, arguing with a comman man on the streets was just over the board.

All in all, a very satirical concept lost due to bad story writing, screenplay and bad direction.

Watch it once for the concept and acting of Madhvan Sir.