Fruit and Nut - Movie Review

Cast: Cyrus Broacha, Boman Irani, Dia Mirza, Mahesh Manjrekar

Director: Kunal Vijaykar

Rating: *
 
Mahesh Manjrekar has had quite a run this year. ‘Me Shivaji Rao Bhosle Boltoy’ (Marathi) and ‘99’ are two films which not only showcased his comic timing but were great entertainers by themselves. But he is without a doubt the man I pity most for getting caught in the web of ‘Fruit & Nut’, apart from, of course, us – the audience.

A film which was supposed to be a zany comedy, ‘Fruit & Nut’ turns out to be a crazy attempt at filmmaking. A script that makes no head or tail, some desperate to be funny characters and forcefully hilarious dialogues – this is what ‘Fruit & Nut’ is. And where there were supposed to be laughs, I was just yawning! Add to it some boring songs.

Great comic actors like Cyrus Broacha and Boman Irani too are reduced to caricatures. Dia Mirza is probably the only one who benefits as she gets some dialogues at least, unlike most of her movies where she is just a decorative piece.  
 
Kunal Vijaykar’s direction is probably inspired by the TV show ‘Flop Show’ we all loved once. But he takes the ‘misdirection’ too seriously here. In an attempt to make memorable characters he just messed up on the story. Maybe he could keep such efforts to make short skits on TV. At least that does not cost the audience much as we can switch channels and don’t have to pay extra. There is a dialogue midway through the movie where Mahesh Manjrekar says, ‘Hit giving you or release giving you. Maar diya jai ya chod diya jai’. I just could not stop myself from saying aloud – Release me please. Still want to watch it?