Taking its clues from "Dude, Where's My Car?" (2000), MERE DAD KI MARUTI manages to convince you mainly due to its interesting theme which actually doesn't revolve around a loving couple but a Maruti Car which gets lost incidentally by the young boy on his date. Now how he deals with the problem & his angry father, along with his childhood buddy and girlfriend becomes the basic premise of this light comedy which keeps your interest alive right till the end. Here I would like to mention that its not a perfect film at all with many illogical instances in its script, like replacing a brand new car with the other ones without any doubts being raised on its looks, an abandoned vehicle hitting a road side tree not being reported or found by police for a whole day and many other major events shown in its one day storyline which are actually not possible within that time frame.
But luckily all these questionable logical deductions just take the back seat once its likable key characters make an impression and you start enjoying their journey ahead in an exciting mode. Putting it differently the film starts in the usual manner where in the boy & girl are introduced with a song and some comical moments. In the first few scenes, you just feel that the boys are actually doing it over the top with the efforts showing on the screen very clearly. Even Ram Kapoor seems to be having trouble with the mixed Hindi-Punjabi dialogues in his opening scene and the actor even tends to go the hamming way too, playing the angry father. However as the film progresses it makes you forget all these initial hiccups and the first half majorly works due to its light comic feel, fresh new lingo, the gorgeous girl, many well written funny dialogues and Ram Kapoor indeed.
Post interval, it drops a little with Ram going off the screen for a while and new entrants coming into the scene ranging from Haryanvi Car rental owners, a don like dealer of stolen cars and the Cops on their usual patrolling. Yet both the director & the writer, thankfully never lose their track and keep the narration tight with the witty one liners coming one after another to give you a good time. But unfortunately within this fabulous flow they also throw a sequence which could have been avoided as it does take the Punjabi Community for granted and crosses the limit of decency with a sick attitude.
The sequence is of an extremely suggestive dance performance, wherein the bride herself is dancing in front of her groom and all the invited guests in the party, with the moves which can put even the Bar dancers to shame. Now if this is how the makers were willing to portray the North Indian people and their wedding ceremonies, then Sorry their research was quite silly and incomplete. In reality the shameful dance number has just been added into the film to bring some more giggles in the theater and nothing else, which in turn displays the lack of taste and vision in its executors.
Moving ahead, another major reason why MERE DAD KI MARUTI successfully wins your heart in the end lies in its completely unpredictable climax wherein each member of the cast contributes his or her bit very beautifully. And when a film has a great entertaining conclusion then the viewers are bound to praise it unanimously with smiles on their faces, while coming out of the theaters. So from that angle, director Ashima Chibber has surely delivered a decent winner here, particularly for the north belt of the country undoubtedly. The songs have been used very intelligently in smaller versions or in the background without hurting the pace of the film. And the compositions by Sachin Gupta have also got the much needed energy in them like in songs like "Punjabiyan Di Battery" and more played in the backdrop. The film has been shot well, benefitting the young girl Rhea in particular but the continuity in some scenes was not taken care of (like the beard of the groom in his scenes).
In the performance department, MDKM makes you remember two faces the most and they are of Ram Kapoor, playing the father and the charming Rhea Chakraborty, playing the leading lady of the film very confidently. Ram Kapoor successfully manages to impress the viewers largely despite of being loud and visibly uncomfortable in his few scenes (due to the language) and Rhea looks smoking hot as they call her in the film itself. Both Saqib Saleem and Prabal Punjabi as the two friends, find their perfect timing on screen with Prabal scoring a little more because of his hilarious one liners. Ravi Kissen truly excels as the Bhai whereas Karan Mehra (groom) and Benazir Shaikh (bride) play it fine.
In all, MERE DAD KI MARUTI is no doubt a hugely likable film for some selected regions of the country and abroad. It has its own minus points which also includes the 'At Your Face' publicity campaign of the brand MARUTI and its various makes, continuing throughout the film without any hesitation as if they have secretly produced the film as sleeping partners.
Anyway, ignoring this direct BRAND Promotion, even though the film does revolve around the same old Punjabi wedding theme seen several times before, do watch MERE DAD KI MARUTI as it still has got the content to give you a good time in the theater along with your whole family.
