Shailaja (Taapsee Pannu) is an investigative journalist who is no more satisfied with her pen’s might. She teams up with Vikram (Ravindra Vijay) – a father whose daughter has been abducted and brutally traumatised, who wants to stop that from happening to other kids – and another guy to bring down the man behind a child trafficking syndicate. At one point, when Vikram airs doubt over their mission, Shailaja asks rhetorically, ‘Okadni patukodaniki mugguru saripora?’ (Aren’t three people enough to catch a single man?) As it turns out, three are enough, but it’s not these three.
In a village near Tirupathi live three sprightly kids — Raghupati, Raghava, and Rajaram. Raghupati wants to be a filmmaker like RGV. Raghava wants to be the answer to Nagarjuna’s question, ‘Evaru Meelo Koteeswaralu?’ Rajaram aspires to be the next Malinga, even if his skills suggest otherwise. The story takes a new turn when Raghupati decides that the best way to make money is to go to Bombay to find Dawood Ibrahim. Raghava and Rajaram agree immediately, in a way only kids with high imagination and ample time on their hands would. The rest of the story follows their journey in fulfilling this impossible mission, or Mishan Impossible, if you will.
Swaroop RSJ’s Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya was a one-of-its-kind crime comedy. It would be greedy to expect the same film again, but Mishan Impossible leaves much to be desired even with concessions. Establishing Shailaja as this cold journalist who is very comfortable using kids to do her bidding, without giving more exposure to who she is, except that she owns a copy of The God of Small Things, is vague and emotionally fruitless. Added to that is her half-baked plan. We know what she wants to do, but she doesn’t seem to have a strategy beyond looking pensive and asking random questions like ‘All set?’
In contrast, the kids with their insane ideas plan more thoroughly than the group of adults. Swaroop, too, wins here with his writing of these three distinctive characters. Their characteristics and passions find an organic place in the proceedings and move the story forward. If Raghupathi’s impulsiveness gets them out of the village, Raghava’s emptyheaded confidence brings them to their destiny, even if out of sheer luck. Meanwhile, Rajaram continues to be the glue that holds the group together. Even if the film directors’ gag is a bit been-there-done-that, the way the film threads Raghupathi’s interest with light and shadow into the narrative lands marvellously.
That’s another thing. The silliness of the plot feels natural and engaging when the kids are in charge, but when the narrative shifts to the adults, the weak writing becomes rather apparent. Harsh Roshan, Bhanu Prakash, and Jayatheerta Molugu try to win over the audience and succeed, but their spell doesn’t last as long as the film does. While Taapsee’s decision to do a movie like this is admirable, her performance isn’t anything to write home about. She struggles rather visibly with the uneven script, as does Ravindra Vijay.
Even if I appreciate Ravi Teja Girijala’s editing elsewhere, the excessive use of flashbacks lays bare the screenplay’s problems. Mark K Robin’s music is fun, but the filmmaker uses it as a crutch, slowly diminishing its charm. Deepak’s cinematography captures a world that is colourful and perfectly saturated. Cameos from Rishab Shetty, Suhas, and Sandeep land at the moment — the RRR, KGF bit is amusing — but ultimately add nothing. Naveen Polishetty lends his voice for an explanatory voiceover, which has more spark than most of the film.
Recommended
With a film like Mishan Impossible, one shouldn’t look for plausibility. You don’t question the premise of a kid who can spell the word ‘impossible’ correctly, but not ‘mission.’ You don’t ask the filmmaker questions like ‘Why now?’, ‘What made the kids decide suddenly to skip town?’ You are there to have a good time; the more outlandish the fun, the better. But Mishan Impossible never earns our time or trust. Unlike Doctor, which commits to its callousness despite the subject matter, this film switches back and forth. The filmmaker seems unsure whether to take the subject lightly or not, which results in a viewing experience just as confusing.
*****
This Mishan Impossible review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.