Mrs Undercover REVIEW: Radhika Apte delivers a banging performance but the climax fails to impress

Film: Mrs Undercover

Director: Anushree Mehta

Star cast: Radhika Apte, Sumeet Vyas, Rajesh Sharma, Shaheb Chattopadhyay

Platform: Zee 5

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 3/5 stars

Mrs Undercover Movie review:

Radhika Apte, Sumeet Vyas, and Rajesh Sharma starring Mrs Undercover talks about an undercover agent Durga who has been living in disguise as a middle-class housewife. She’s then called back to a mission. But things go a little haywire when she lost the touch to being an agent while fulfilling her duties as a housewife, daughter-in-law and mother. After dedicating a decade to her ‘cover’ family, the special task force wants her back in the team for a mission. They think she is the James Bond of the team.

After a lot of convincing and motivational speeches, Durga agrees to come on board for the mission but her journey is simply hysterical. Mrs Undercover is all about feminism and women’s empowerment with a dash of humour. It seems like the movie is a parody of all spies and agent movies which makes it hilarious to watch. If you’re looking for a serious and intense thriller drama, Mrs Undercover is quite unexpected. With a few misses here and there, Mrs Undercover is a delightful watch that you would enjoy.

Radhika Apte starrer shows ‘naari shakti’ in full glory. From stating the importance of a housemaker to showcasing a woman in deadly action, Mrs Undercover is high on feminism.

Story:

A simple Indian housewife who is in fact a special undercover agent is called back on the job. After 10 years of being undercover, they want her to take down a psycho killer while maintaining her parallel life as a housewife.

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Highlights of Mrs Undercover:

First and foremost, it is Radhika Apte and Rajesh Sharma’s banter that is one of the highlights. Their crackling chemistry as mentor and protege is just too good. On the other hand, Radhika seems to have carried the movie singlehandedly without any hassle.

The unexpected story plot. I liked how director Anushree Mehta chose a hilarious way instead of being all serious and intense to showcase the problem of misogyny. Yes, unfortunately, this thing still exists in our society where you can several common men who are chauvinists. Mrs Undercover is quite interested to address such an issue in a hysterical way.

The little doses of laughter were grabbing your attention and of course, the power-packed performances. Radhika Apte, Sumeet Vyas and Rajesh Sharma demanded undivided attention.

Scenes like a housewife imagining herself as James Bond or bringing her agent tactics back into life are just beautifully shown and executed. Anushree Mehta kept Bengali aesthetics raw and real, be it Durga wearing cotton sarees or wearing ‘shakha pola’ (traditional red and white bangles)

Drawbacks of Mrs Undercover:

One of the letdowns of Mrs Undercover is the sleazy writing in some parts which can be a little off-putting. For instance, there’s a scene where the chief is in disguise and explains the importance of a housewife. Well, a man who is so self-centred and egoistic gets all touchy with the speech in one instance. That seems a little unbelievable.

The second drawback is the writing of the antagonist’s character which seems like it was written hurriedly. Yes, there might be people like that but seems a tad bit unreal to me.

The major letdown was the climax scene. I like how Anushree was trying to build up the climax with an intense Navdurga dance and Radhika in a dire situation. And then comes the stupidest part that will just make you say ‘WTF’. After building all the tension, Mehta seems to have decided to stop writing with sense or probably fell asleep while penning down.

After seeing all the evil things from an antagonist, you know that good will win against the bad and you’re just waiting for the moment. However, the moment is a dud to me and I really can’t say more without giving you any spoilers. I would let you watch the film.

Star performances:

Radhika Apte is the heart of the film. Radhika brilliantly shifts her emotions from one frame to another, no wonder she is a versatile heroine. It is amazing to see her expression shifting from being an innocent housewife to a timid agent to a fierce fighter. She gives a perfect combination of a homemaker and a bone breaker; it’s just fun to watch her.

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Sumeet Vyas plays the antagonist of the film who is strongly prejudiced against women. His trigger point is when he gets to meet a woman with high ambition. Sumeet has often been seen oozing the boy-next-door or lover-boy image. It was interesting to watch Sumeet as a dark character.

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Rajesh Sharma, as usual, excels in his own department. One thing that makes Rajesh stand out from the crowd is his comic timing. Rajesh plays his part so well that it doesn’t seem like he’s just playing a character onscreen.

Laboni Sarkar, Biawajeet Chatterjee, Shaheb Chattopadhyay are in their own world. Laboni and Biswajeet are shown as the husband and wide. Though they have not been offered meaty roles, they shone and how.

Conclusion:

Enough has already been said but to sum it up my Mrs Undercover review, Radhika Apte, Sumeet Vyas and Rajesh Sharma starrer is an interesting and must-watch film. Though certain things seem to have gone a little tangled, Mrs Undercover is a tad bit preachy but it’s hilarious. Radhika once again amazes us with her stellar performance whereas Rajesh Sharma’s comic timing is something worth watching. On the other hand, watch Sumeet Vyas in this never-seen-before avatar.

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Watch the Mrs Undercover trailer after the review:

Also read: Gumraah REVIEW: Aditya Roy Kapur and Mrunal Thakur narrate an unusual and intriguing story with a dull execution