Khel Khel Mein Movie Review — Sucharita Tyagi
Haanji yeh film adaptation hai, original hone ka credit diya nahi jaa sakta poori tarah se.
But the fact remains ki it’s been a while I had this much fun watching a hindi film. Bataati hoon, aao suno.
Akshay Kumar is Rishab, a plastic surgeon married to Vaani Kapoor’s Vartika, an author. At Vartika’s sister’s wedding, Rishabh friends arrived with their wives. Bollywood coded sangeet function ke baad sab ek saath ikhaate hokar play a game jismein ek doosre ke phone ke messages and calls are all read out loud to prove none of them have secrets. Foolhardy? Yes. Mad fun to be the voyeur watching? Also, yes. Most of the proceedings play out in the one night right before the wedding.
Mudassar Aziz nikle hain old school Bollywood slapstick comedy banaane jismein thankfully, the butt of the joke isn’t women and how stupid they are, and how men have had to struggle since the beginning of time to make our lives better. There are hints of traditional and antiquated gender power dynamics yes, how easy it is for Rishabh to flirt with another woman with the film nudging the audience to approve of it, but for the most part, this remake of the Italian film ‘Perfect Strangers’ manages to deal with the sermonizing and silly ness with a surprisingly light touch. It’s almost as if each scene is teasingly inviting you to question its logic, and just as you BEGIN to roll your eyes, a perfectly timed hilarious one-liner disarms you.
And to be honest, Khel Khel Mein is consistently funny, thanks to Mudassar Azis’s dialogue. Tapsee Pannu and her husband Ammy Virk are both named Harpreet, saved as Harpreet Male and Female in each other’s phone. It's instantly a joke and a sad commentary on the boundaries within their relationship. It's both funny and oddly touching. An overplayed out gag about a woman making TikTok videos is followed by her mother-in-law cursing under her breath, calling her female Gurdas Man. Rishabh jumps the queue and enters and airport by simply waving his British passport around as Indians immediately make way for him, is a genius little throwaway joke, but also paints the picture of a man who has no compunctions putting his morals aside and exploits gullible people to get his way in the world. Its also a symbol of this man’s duality — he is two things at once, both legit in their own ways.
It’s a wild day when one finds clever subtext and subversive humor in an Akshay Kumar starrer, but Khel Khel Mein is that film. Quick gags with layers and depth aren’t just for show; they’re woven into the fabric of the film.
Tapsee Pannu’s bouncy Punjabi, Fardeen’s stunning leather jacket, Vaani Kapoor’s bodycon dresses, and Pragya Jaiswal OH SO OBVIOUS AND DRAMATIC anti-depressant pills are par for the course for an ensemble cast where everyone must be a “type”. To counter the expected though, Aziz’s rapidly and steadily moving screenplay is a reminder of how Bollywood can sometimes tackle heavy topics with a light touch, a tightrope walk not all filmmakers manage successfully. There’s a self-aware streak running through the film, most evident in how it handles its leading ladies, and how rich people can be blissfully out of touch with reality.
If you’ve been yearning for the slapstick comedy of old Bollywood, “Khel Khel Mein” delivers in spades. Like Aditya Seal’s mullet, it’s a glorious throwback to an era that most of us would rather forget, yet here it is, front and center, and surprisingly fitting. The sound effects are heavy, bgm loud, but the one-liners are just as sharp.
The movie isn’t without its flaws. There are moments where it teeters on the edge of becoming preachy, and visibly stugles to step away from tired gender stereotypes for its humor. Despite its occasional missteps, Mudassar Aziz brings it back home. Satisfying, if a bit predictable.
