The premise of this film, Meerabai Not Out, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni is extremely interesting. Afterall, it combines the two driving passions of Indians, cricket and Bollywood. Cricketer Anil Kumble too makes an appearance in the movie. But what could have been a very innovative movie, has been marred by some very sloppy writing. The film has its moments, sure, but they are far too few to matter. Though the movie's leading protagonists, Mandira Bedi and Ejaz Khan essay their roles well; they are well supported by Anupam Kher and Mahesh Manjrekar as well; the film fails to sizzle.
The film's story centres around the life of a mathematic teacher Meera (Mandira), who is love with cricket and Anil Kumble. She belongs to middle class Maharashtrian family and her single status is a cause of concern for her family, which consists of a brother (Mahesh Manjrekar), an embittered former cricketer, who has been forced to give up his passion for the more practical pursuit of money and economic stability. Into Meera's life enters Dr Arjun, who is willing to accept Meera with all her eccentricities. He is even willing to play second fiddle to her first love, cricket. In fact, her passion about the game makes her actually turn up late for her own engagement, as she arrives after watching a cricket match.
Despite interweaving cricket into the main fabric of the film, it does nothing to lift the tedium of the film. The fanaticism of Meera is a little too far fetched to be believable. Also there are just too many loopholes in the script and one fails to emotionally connect with it. Meera and her passion for cricket and Kumble is amusing, but only upto a point. It's important to not only have a novel idea but to also be able to weave an interesting story around it. However, the director and the writers of the film are unable to do that. Also, despite the presence of Kumble and a cricket mad Meera, the film is not really about cricket. The interesting portions of the film are mostly in the second half, specially the sequences between Manjrekar and Ejaz. The dialogues are not at all bad. In fact, there is a certain kind of tongue in cheek humor there as well, which peps up the proceedings. The film's music is mediocre, except for the first track, which is the promotional song of the film.
Of the cast, Mandira Bedi is definitely the life of the movie. She acts her part with full zest and enthusiasm. She is ably supported by Ejaz Khan, who is impressive and definitely warrants many more chances. Anupam Kher is great as always. No matter what the length of his role, he always delivers a flawless performance. Mahesh Manjrekar, however has hardly anything to do in the scheme of things, except towards the end. The presence of Anil Kumble does not add any value to the film. The cricketer is definitely not very comfortable in the medium manages to play it with a straight bat.
One just wishes that Kulkarni had invested a little more creativity in this film. The novel idea could have been mapped out better and provided for many more laughs. The way it comes across, Meerabai Not Out seems to be a wasted effort. Also, what is a cause for concern, is the subversive manner in which the message is delivered about the impossibility of a woman being cricket crazy. That acts as a further dampener to the movie.
