Mili

Another survival thriller, and not a very good one at that. First, the movie drags on for far too long, and it takes a lot of time until the film's main plot element comes to the fore. The big problem, however, is that much of what happens once the girl is stuck in the freezer lacks credibility and is amazingly cliché and predictable. There's no logic in freezers having no safety devices or inside door handles, especially inside malls. Even what happens out of it is poorly handled. How come no one thought to check the control room which would immediately whether she's left the restaurant. Everything Mili does in terms of decision making feels slow and not suitable for such a high-strung situation. That she doesn't keep herself in constant movement (for most of it she just sits rested) nor try to check the walls in due time and find an existing tunnel does not make any sense either. Above all, that she spends so much time inside it and is still in her senses, and she is, doesn't ring true for a minute. One can think of so many things she could have done to break the fans other than try to strike it with a stick or throw packages of frozen meat at them (like the ladder, for one).

Mili is watchable nonetheless, but another fault is the editing - the movement back and forth between the freezer and the girl's family looking for her is most exhausting. The film could have been shortened in a way that would have made the entire project much more effective and worth a watch. I think the sub-genre of survival films has become (like any other successful sub-genre) repetitive and this film just follows the same tropes without offering anything original. More than anything, Jahnvi Kapoor, who is pretty, is quite okay but honestly just isn't good enough this time. Not going to do what everyone else already does and compare her to her mother (and I've done this before so why do it again), and not going to say she isn't a good actress because she did well in other films, but here the lack of experience shows and she struggles a lot with the proceedings. Since in many ways this is a one-woman show, it required an actress so charismatic and expressive that many of its flaws would have been forgiven. Overall, Mili is, again, a watchable film which is overlong, predictable and not good enough. Many things could have been done to improve it.

Survival Instinct is the theme of the movie! Story of a girl who gets accidentally locked in a freezer for 5 hours. Unique storyline with good execution. Ignore the initial 45 mins though!

My ratings 6.5/10!

Survival Instinct is the theme of the movie! Story of a girl who gets accidentally locked in a freezer for 5 hours. Unique storyline with good execution. Ignore the initial 45 mins though! My ratings 6.5/10!

Survival Instinct is the theme of the movie! Story of a girl who gets accidentally locked in a freezer for 5 hours. Unique storyline with good execution. Ignore the initial 45 mins though! My ratings 6.5/10!

Janhvi did what she could (and what was in her abilities) to save the slow and uninteresting plot of the movie. At no point were any of the other cast memorable and did not prove useful in any way until the very end. The movie is watchable, but that's due to Janhvi.

Although there were some sweet moments of Janhvi's character, particularly in the latter half of the movie. Those were touching but I wish the other characters were developed more.

The sound track sounded good (AR Rehman ofc) but the lyrics were written by a 9 year old. It seemed like mostly everything in the movie was carelessly chosen.

Survival thrillers are a rarity in any film industry, let alone Bollywood, but there have been quite a few initiatives in the past few years, and I must say, regardless of their successes or failures, I'm glad that they at least attempted to venture into this relatively uncharted territory.

Coming back to 'Mili,' it's an official remake of 2019's Malayalam film 'Helen', which starred Anna Ben (which I haven't seen yet, so I have no way of comparing the two). This appears to be a reasonably competent thriller if I evaluate it strictly on its own merits.

In addition to delivering the expected ingredients of suspense and despair, it also captured the essence of a father-daughter relationship that blossomed into something wholehearted. In addition, everyone's performances were also very commendable. Particularly Janhvi Kapoor.

She may need a dozen opportunities for improvisation, but one cannot deny her willingness to take on unconventional roles that will force her to grow as an actress. She still has a long way to go, but one thing is for certain, she is indeed on the right course.

The negatives out of the way first: there is much that is predictable and stereotypical in certain characters' behavior and plot outcomes. And the opening sequence begins with an ant, when there is a far more impressive creature in the story we are invited to care about.

All that said, even though we know this is a remake and the star is the producer's granddaughter; even though we know it would take far more time and healing for her recovery, that all slips over to the side in light of Kapoor's superb performance. Because that is this film's success: a smart woman, also a nurse, who keeps thinking of viable ways to survive in an increasingly impossible situation. And even tries to save her little patient trapped with her as well. She has both Courage and Compassion that make us want her to survive. I enjoyed this movie. 7.5 Recommended.