Mirzya
wogma rating: Switch channels if it's on cable (?)
Pretends to be intense. Pretends to be romantic. Pretends to be enigmatic. Pretends to be Shakespearean – how can it be without the complexity or the tragedy.
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Mirzya - Preview
I can safely say that Mirzya's music reviews have caught my attention more than the trailer. From its trailer, Mirzya looks like a regular love triangle, even if it is much more intense.
You can see Harshvardhan Kapoor's character's pain in that one scene where he sits overlooking a city. Even so, the story holds no particular hook. The shift between period setting and current days, between bikes, bicycles, and horses isn't too intriguing either.
However, the music reviews have built up hope. Which is a good thing because, with 15 tracks, Mirzya might as well be a musical. Hope it is what bring novely to this otherwise, seemingly ordinary love triangle.
Music Reviews:
Bollyspice - "4/5"
Bollywood Hungama – "3.5/5"
Bollywood Life – "4.5/5"
dna - "This is brilliant stuff from SEL. Just close your eyes and let the sounds wash over you and you’ll know what I mean"
Firstpost - "it takes serious talent and vision to have this kind of music in a commercial Hindi film, at a time when old indipop songs are given a Badshaah rap and re-released"
india today - "a rich, innovative, complex album"
indian express – "3.5/5"
Milliblog - "From Katyar Kaljat Ghusli, the trio take another giant leap ahead in Mirzya!" in a 300 worder!
Music Aloud - "rich, remarkably diverse set of songs from Shankar Ehsaan Loy”
- meeta, a part of the audience
Mirzya is quite meta in its story. It goes the extra mile to prove that a love story stays pretty much the same, through the ages. So, before you as an audience can say, “it's the same old story”, they say it. Only they say it with a lot more jazz. Still means the same to you, you are quite thoroughly bored.
Visual finesse can enamour you for a bit. Quirky song picturization can wake you up for those few minutes. Beyond that, Mirzya holds no hook. The tone of the movie is such that you can pretty much guess how it's going to end.
The characters have nothing to hold your interest except that the actors playing them look gorgeous. Except Zeenat (played by yet another gorgeous Anjali Patil) who creates intrigue enough to want to see more of it. Her relationship with Monish (Harshvardan Kapoor) seems much deeper than that of his with Suchitra (Saiyami Kher). Why are they in love again? The entire story is a broad stroke. The details are only in the visuals. They grant the film a mysterious feel. But, it is more theatrical than what belongs to a movie. With these, Mirzya reminded me vaguely of Kites, Love Story 2050 and even Drona. And anyone who has seen these films will know it's not a compliment.
It is commendable then that the lead actors Harshvardhan Kapoor, Saiyami Kher and Anjali Patil stay restrained. With all the slo-mo in the folklore part of the film, it would have been very easy to go overboard. But those bits are surprisingly only as dramatic or not as a nicely shot, video of a slow-soothing song. I would love to see more of these two. They don't have that woodenness that most beginners have in their first few films. They don't carry airs about how pretty they are.
The visualization takes care of calling undue attention to itself. And the music. Sure, the movie would have been an absolute dud if it were not for the music. And even so, the songs felt out of place every single time, including the title song. However, I can listen to the songs on loop all day, for a few days.
But, what good is a service to the eyes and ears without any attempt to engage the mind or the heart? This story-telling needed a better story.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Subhash K Jha, Bollywood Hungama : ...But, Mirzya makes us feel with time-stopping stillness when the only sound we hear is that of two hearts beating, that, this is only was to feel love, with a ferociousness that precludes options. No wonder, we ‘fall’ in love. How else would a moviemaker like Mehra be able to catch the journey down during the fall? ... full review
Thumbs up, by Ananya Bhattacharyal, india today : ...Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Mirzya attempts to answer that oft-asked question: Why did Sahiban break the arrows? Sahiban is not a betrayer here. Sahiban is just torn between what to choose: blood or love.... full review
Thumbs up, by Raghav Jaitly, Zee News : ...At the end, we would just like to say that 'Mirzya' is a must watch for those who are well aware of the history of Mirza-Sahiban. For others, it can appear out to tad bit slow drama. ... full review
So-So, by Rima Bhatia, Bolly Spice : ...Essentially Mirzya is a film about love, in all its various forms, Your first love that you never forget, a love between friends, a love between child and parent, unrequited love. With a tag line like “Dare to love” , you expect romance, love, high voltage chemistry which is all delivered. What you don’t expect is the constant jumping between the two stories and this takes some getting used to. A valiant effort- 3 out of 5 purely for the appreciation of this vision. ... full review
So-So, by Tushar P. Joshi, Bollywood Life : ...Mirzya is a visual masterpiece, but one only hoped that it had a narrative that promised an equally brilliant premise. Watch it to usher in two newcomers Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher who fortunately have follow up films that hopefully do more justice to their skills. ... full review
So-So, by Maulin Parmar, Desi Martini : ...Dare to love. Dare to be desirable. Dare to be like Rakesh. Dare to think and develop. Dare to do for self. Dare to be unusual. ... full review
So-So, by Sarita A Tanwar, DNA : ...Mirzya is random, abstract and niche – not particularly everyone’s cup of tea. Watch it for Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher – the most unassuming debutants of 2016. ... full review
So-So, by Rachit Gupta, Filmfare : ...Mirzya is not your traditional young romance where college kids will enjoy the frivolity of young love. It is an artistic take on the passion and zeal of love as an overwhelming experience. You need to deal with its overtly artistic nature with a pinch of salt. But if you have the appetite for a tragic and epic love saga, the luscious visual imagery of Mirzya will give you plenty of food for thought. ... full review
So-So, by Jaiwantika Dutta Dhupkar, fullhyd.com : ...The movie makes do without the traditional songs and dances, but there are several folk songs choreographed in street style and they're peppered all through the narrative. The dancers take the place of the traditional narrator in a play, and offer their own perspective, even though you wonder at the necessity of it all. ... full review
So-So, by Vishal Verma, Glamsham.com : ...Ironically, in MIRZYA Rakesh Mehra loses conviction after a couple of reels right from the beginning itself and all the razzmatazz that follows turns out to be all sound no fury. ... full review
So-So, by Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Gulf News : ...Watch Mirzya if you have a penchant for folk tales, poetry and mysticism. This grand love tragedy requires you to show a willingness to be transported to a land where lovers are skittish and crazy. ... full review
So-So, by Rohit Vats, Hindustan Times : ...This 135-minute Shakespearean drama is visually impressive, but lacks the essence of a heart wrenching love-story. It’s a period drama trying hard to be a musical. And music? Probably the best in last couple of years. ... full review
So-So, Indicine : ...Conclusion: Mirzya is a movie which works so much better as a music video. It looks stunning but you don’t feel anything. It sounds stunning but you don’t feel anything. A movie doesn’t work if the audience don’t get a feel of the characters. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s movies have worked so well in the past because he made the audiences a part of the story. In Mirzya, he completely falters in that aspect. Having said that, if you enjoy your slow romantic ballads and beautiful cinematography then Mirzya is the best film for you to enjoy and ponder over. ... full review
So-So, by Surabhi Redkar, koimoi : ...Mirzya is a dramatic, poetic and visually aesthetic yet fails to blow you away. A 2.5/5 for this! ... full review
So-So, by Kunal Guha, Mumbai Mirror : ...Just like the father-daughter duo in this film who often quote Shakespeare, we’d say, if ‘to be or not to be’ is the question, this one is surely far from becoming. ... full review
So-So, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...That is true of the film as a whole. Mirzya is a colourful but tepid tableau populated by pretty but comatose marionettes that even Gulzar's poetry cannot stir to life. ... full review
So-So, by Meena Iyer, Times of India : ...If you are drawn to stories that are high on aesthetics with lyrical narratives, Mirzya is a portrait that deserves a long look. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Anna MM Vetticad, annavetticadgoes2themovies : ...So the Critic embraced that thought and slept peacefully that night, remembering that in the Village and in the Forest in every tale, they always all lived happily ever after. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Rohit Bhatnagar, Deccan Chronicle : ...I wouldn’t recommend it even to art film lovers, rather catch a nice play over the weekend.... full review
Thumbs down, by Smita Vyas Kumar , Desi Martini : ...When you start fiddling with your phone at crucial points in the movie and when two hours seem to stretch across the ages then you know a movie is in trouble. Grand passion stories need to make you ache inside. What you get here is just a headache. Watch Game of Thrones instead. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Ameet Bhuvan, Desi Martini : ...this could have been a Ramleela. or even a baji Rao. it needed a Ranveer. it needed at least a Deepika. right now it is just a tad less blue than Saawariya. watch it if you have to. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Zinia Bandyopadhyay , Desi Martini : ...For a film that has been directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and whose script has been penned by Gulzar himself, this film is a huge disappointment. All the while you can’t help but wonder, what made Mr. Mehra so half-hearted, be it the trailers or the pace of the movie or the over obsession with the detailing instead of the film in its entirety! ... full review
Thumbs down, by Johnson Thomas, Free Press Journal : ...The background score, songs, lyrics are all totally off-putting. This film plays out like an incoherent weed induced hallucination rather than a dreamy, enchanting tragic-romance. Beats me what the makers of this film were thinking of when they created this one! ... full review
Thumbs down, by Mayank Shekhar, MiD DAY : ...A key glitch with the story, gyanis opine, is that even as Mirza Sahiban is a tragic-romance about undying love, the climax concerns betrayal, wherein the heroine breaks her hero’s arrow — leaving him completely exposed and helpless before her father’s armed men, who come to finally get him in the end.... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, News18.com : ...In the end Mirzya is a misfire, despite its staggering ambition and its remarkable technical achievements. I’m going with two out of five. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Kriti Tulsiani, News18.com : ...Go for Mirzya if you’ve some admiration for poetic sensibilities and possess a certain love for couplets or just want a visual delight this weekend, else there’s nothing more to it. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Manisha Lakhe, Now Running.com : ...There are fifteen songs in the least, and stanzas broken up to make the 129 minute film feel 'timeless'. But when you do get out of the warp, you paraphrase Shakespeare's Scottish King who realises that the film is 'but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the screen/And then is heard no more: it is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing.' ... full review
Thumbs down, by Sukanya Verma, Rediff : ...Opulent Leh battles, seductive Rajasthan ballet, picture perfect frames of postured passion peppered in flared lens to the tune of a soundtrack that’s miles ahead of its scenery involving people we never care about in life or after -- Mehra’s Mirzya sacrifices sense for style and that is its real tragedy. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Raja Sen, Rediff : ...The film spends much longer on a scene where Malik, as the girl's father, glugs too much whiskey, goes into high melodrama, and then, comically, falls to the floor in a peculiar swoon. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Namrata Joshi, The Hindu : ...It remains the mainstay and takeaway from the film. It’s a pity then that despite so much happening, so much aspired for in the film, in the end you don’t feel as though you have come back with something substantial. As in each of his films Mehra is not content with the usual, is highly ambitious with his craft but doesn’t quite hit the target here.... full review
TheFoodieDieter: #Mirzya is a cinematic delight, lovely direction. Leads could have had a stronger character, esp Siyami. Seems pretty lost at times.
Shivanip_: Gulzar Sahab has written #Mirzya so beautifully.
radhikasarda_: #Mirzya was stunning, both the actors are so talented
palakhdvn: #Mirzya is just beautiful, probably the best debut acting I have seen in a long time. Harshvardhan kapoor is so handsome
olivia_lang: Had the pleasure of producing interview with @HarshKapoor_ yesterday. Absolutely loved #Mirzya -such a beautiful fi… https://t.co/TZjVWWWcTk
Mkharbanda15: To me, #Mirzya was a visual treat. I liked !
kunalsurajit: Watched #Mirzya outstanding #rakeshomprakashmehra
kanutsharma: #Mirzya nice one
Farikina: Don't get the reviews cause I toh seriously loved the movie!!! Can't stop thinking about it #Mirzya
balduinjauise: Dear team @mirzya I'm still reeling from the emotional spectacle that was this visual masterpiece. @sonamakapoor… https://t.co/MdwWy1Ek9B
amitabh_aks: Lyrical, visual, aesthetic, cultural and creative treat to the soul. Watch #Mirzya if u believe in @RakeyshOmMehra You won't regret at all.
kobo_bang: #Mirzya It was good love story but its typical, Sory mehra sir bt it loses its mark (ful review on sunday) #Mirzya_bangs
apurvnagpal: #Mirzya Treat it more as a ballad than #film weak story, awesome #music, stunning #visuals #MovieReview @SaiyamiKher https://t.co/fZi7eZTO95
ZakerAlii: Just watched Mirzya.. It started of good then got really boring. The Visuals were incredible but story let it down. I give the movie 4/10
wittyghost_: Don't watch #Mirzya Mundane, unrealistic and a plain bore #MirzyaReview https://t.co/2TeNVILWnQ
tiwarirajesh: #Mirzya – An unimpressive tragic love story. My take on this debut of #HarvardhanKappor and $SiyamiKher https://t.co/B9QIt5B7sr
TheAsifAli: Review: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya fails to highlight real conflicts https://t.co/hTF3gQ5jW0 https://t.co/ed5VqECelZ
SincityMadhu: #Mirzya A half baked senseless movie lacking a coherent narrative.
Sam_Nitin1: RT nawabjha: Good music isn't enough. A film stuck in the past. My review of #Mirzya: https://t.co/0gXRVVtV5c
RajaZain_: 1star * for #Mirzya starring @HarshKapoor_ and 1star * for #TutakTutakTutiya starring @PDdancing @SonuSood @tamannaahspeaks Tie!
Narnia121: #Mirzya I actually like the mirza sahiba parts more than the adil suchi part, the direction and story is sure a major let down,
Nadu_unchained: #Mirzya #mirzyareview my review on this disaster of epic proportions https://t.co/LhJRkh9wzA
haarisbashir: Nothing helped the film to reach the hype, it was meant to, poor script and screenplay made the film even hard to understand #Mirzya
gradwolf: Honestly thought Mirzya is more disappointing than bad. I think that's a pretty significant distinction. But I see there is a lynch mob+
an_mol: Mirzya is similar to Baar Baar Dekho in terms of story treatment. Watch it at your own risk!
AmitGuptaWrites: While @HarshKapoor_ and @SaiyamiKher shines, the films disappoints. #Mirzya My Review: https://t.co/oV9NIja4qQ
ajayroytweets: #Mirzya is lifeless and soulless.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: A few gunshots. A blacksmith using a hot rod to get rid of a tattoo.
- Language: Clean
- Nudity & Sexual content: A few lip-to-lips. One making out scene.
- Concept: A boy and a girl fall in love. The parents don't approve.
- General Look and Feel: It carries a mystical air about it.
![[Facebook page of Mirzya]](/static/images/icons/facebook_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Twitter account of Mirzya]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
![[YouTube channel of Mirzya]](/static/images/icons/youtube_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Wikipedia page of Mirzya]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Mirzya]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (23)
An art film with commercial potential gets rejected by critics. This film was billed as a potential 100cr netter. Its target is now 20cr.
2016 has witness the downfall of 2 major film makers in Ashutosh Gowarikar and Rakeysh Mehra. I hope they find their footing soon enough for Hindi cinema's sake. There is a serious dearth of good writers, screenplay writers directors and editors in Hindi cinemas today.
Anuj - talking about writers add GULZAR to that list..Reviews clearly disclose that its the most boring (and may be the only boring) screenplay written by him ..
Did someone just shield HR from Mohenjodaro's dismal box office run? Directors except Raj Hirani do not guarantee success with their films. See Ali Abbas Zafar of Gunday fame in Sultan.
Did anyone even talk about Hrithik Roshan or his stardom, you [comment partially deleted because it's a personal attack] ? I have made plenty of statements questioning his disinterest in signing more number of films and questioning his script sense. Even today, despite the fact that his popularity is nowhere near what it was a decade ago, he is still capable of delivering a 150 cr+ grosser provided the movie is at least carrying a reasonable amount of anticipation and buzz (case in point, Krrish 3 and Bang Bang). Mohenjo Daro was a dud right from its uninspiring trailer to its boring music and over the top costumes and substandard vfx. The blame for which squarely lies with the script writer, screenplay writer, costume designer and most importantly, the captain of the ship-the director. Blaming Hrithik Roshan for substandard vfx and poor writing/screenplay is indicative of your [comment partially deleted because it's a personal attack] . With regards to Abbas Ali Zafar, Sultan was a well written and well directed movie with catchy music and of course, Salman Khan going through the best purple patch of his career. The same Salman 300 cr Khan's substandard and bogus movie like Jai Ho was barely able to cross a 100 cr despite Salman's popularity hitting astronomical heights over the last 6 years. My comment was indicative of the dropping standards of the film makers concerned, something that your [comment partially deleted because it's a personal attack] fails to fathom. Had MJD been starring Salman Khan, it would still have just been a 100-120 cr grosser at best! With HR in the lead its a 60 cr grosser and had a new comer been in the lead, it would hardly have crossed 20. That's simply because it was a substandard movie, the blame for which lies with the makers. Same goes for Mirzya.
I do not believe that Mohenjo Daro failed commercially due to Hrithik. And anyone saying that is simply exposing his lack of understanding of film business.
As regards
"Directors except Raj Hirani do not guarantee success with their films." let us wait for Sanjubaba's biography with no less than Ranbir before counting one's eggs. Every top director meets super failure in their career at least once, whether it is a Raj Kapoor, or a Manmohan Desai or a Prakash Mehra (not to be confused with Rakesh Om) or a Ashutosh Gowariker.
Fan - seems like you are curiously waiting (and wanting) for Raju Hirani to fail..
As for commercial success of film-makers, technically even Shoojit Sircar and Neeraj Pandey are yet to fail as none of their directorial ventures have flopped as yet.
A WEDNESDAY - SUPER HIT
SPECIAL 26 - ABOVE AVERAGE
BABY - AVERAGE (despite its shockingly low promotional campaign and almost zero pre release buzz)
RUSTOM - HIT (although I'm sure the movie would have been a lot more crisp and edge of the seat tensed courtroom drama had Neeraj Pandey been in the director's chair).
VICKY DONOR - SUPER HIT
MADRAS CAFE - AVERAGE (despite its dark and broody undertone and a cast more known for their looks than their expressions)
PIKU - HIT (despite the relative high cost as compared to the size of its target audience)
PINK - SUPER HIT (as a co writer and producer).
YAHAAN could not find enough buyers and hence was bound to doom at the box office even before release, something akin to another solid thriller like D DAY
Add to the above, MSD-The untold story - SEMI HIT despite its monumental relative cost (100 cr+ for a movie with no face value).
@Anup: one can't ignore history. Every successful director (India or elsewhere), eventually delivers at least one mega flop in his/her career. They eventually lose contact with the (changing) audience tastes, and keep on delivering in their past (comfort and) success zones.
It is bound to happen, with every successful director. It is incorrect to expect a hit every time.
Fan - that may be the case , but as a audience , we definitely don't want the movies of the directors we like to be flop..
And when it comes to Hollywood i can name three directors who have in a long run , havnt given a single flop..and m not seeing any flops fron all three of them in near future.
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (9 movies in 16 years)
DAVID FINCHER (10 movies in 12 years)
James Cameron (7 movies in 25 years)..
Buzz off you [comment partially deleted because it's a personal attack] Salman in Mohenjodaro will do 250cr with clash. Rustom was also a bad film. See its overseas performance where it was a no show. You do not have trademarks to insults [comment partially deleted because it's a personal attack]. Be deluding yourself as a HR, you dont like HR more than me. So are Bodyguard and Ready better films than Mohenjo Daro?
Hrithik Roshan"s top grossing movies
Kaho Na Pyar Hai (Rakesh Roshan factor)
Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham (Multi starrer and Karan Johar factor)
Koil Mil Gaya (Rakesh Roshan factor)
Krrish (Rakesh Roshan factor)
Dhoom 2 (Urban franchise)
Krrish 3 (Rakesh Roshan factor)
Agneepath (Remake of Amitabh starrer with cult following)
HR without papa and father figures is equal to ZNMD, Bang Bang, Kites, and sometimes Guzaarish (dogs refused to watch the film).
If a director has 6 hits and dies today, one of his films would get converted to a flop to obey the law of inevitable directorial flop. What a superb logic.
Rustom was nowhere near being a "bad" film. In fact it was a decent entertainer (though full of loopholes) from the audiences' perspective. Add to that extensive and smart marketing and an edgy trailer that aroused interest, it was always gonna be a winner. [comment deleted partially] Ready and Bodyguard were indeed better mass commercial entertainers than Mohenjo Daro and that's precisely why they did not become a Jai Ho. Your spams are as funny and pointless[comment deleted partially]. The same papa boy HR gave the most successful historical of the last decade in Jodhaa Akbar and delivered a blockbuster Dhoom movie despite its plot being [comment deleted partially]. He's got 2 150 cr+ domestic grossers which no actors barring the Khans' (thanks to their [comment deleted partially]) have achieved.
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@Anuj and @Ehinome Kindly have a constructive discussion. I might have to soon make a decision to block comments from you two.
(comment deleted)
The chemistry between both is good , very nice movie everyone should need to watch this historical or romantic movie .
I give 8/10 nice movie.good theme.
It was a good film but unfortunately most of the people don't like these type of movie.
very nice i like movie
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