Pandu review: This brainless film is trying to sell mediocrity as a tribute

Just two weeks ago we saw Sonalee Kulkarni in Jhimma (2021), an entertaining, feel-good film about a group of women who embark on a tour of the United Kingdom with a travel company. In spite of there being seven main characters in the film, the actress made her mark with an understated performance.

Now, Kulkarni is back to playing the quintessential one-dimensional heroine in Viju Mane's brainless comedy Pandu (2021). The actress plays a 'kelewali' (banana vendor), a role that is a complete antithesis to her character in Jhimma.

Of course, in an ideal scenario, one should appreciate it when artistes take up roles that are a complete contrast to what they have done before because it showcases their versatility, but this is hardly that ideal scenario. For the most part, Kulkarni is used only as eye candy. Mind you, she does look gorgeous in the film, but one expected to see an actress of her calibre in a much better role.

Pandu (Bhau Kadam) and Mhadu (Kushal Badrike) are best buddies who join the police force as hawaldars (sergeants) on the recommendation of Maharashtra's most influential politician Babasaheb (Pravin Tarde). The buffoons, with no talent whatsoever, somehow get through their training successfully. Immediately on joining duty, Pandu meets the 'kelewali' Usha (Kulkarni) and they get married. Meanwhile, someone close to Babasaheb is planning to bump him off, and it's up to Pandu and his group to save his life.

From the first frame, it becomes painfully obvious that Pandu is a film made only to try and make some money using the name of the late actor-filmmaker Dada Kondke. Clearly, the makers thought they could piggyback on his enduring popularity and sell mediocrity as 'tribute'.

Bhau Kadam is basically Bhau Kadam, an innocent-looking buffoon who somehow always ends up catching criminals, even when he is not after them. He and Badrike constantly crack lame double-meaning jokes that only they find funny. I have heard schoolchildren crack better jokes.

Both act as if they are performing a skit on the television show Chala Hava Yeu Dya. In fact, some of their old skits on CHYD are way funnier than what we get to see here. And frankly, it's not entirely their fault. The script, if we can even call it that, is just a collection of lame, unfunny scenes one after the other. When you have a terrible script, just call it an homage to Dada Kondke and then anything goes.

Another big problem with the film is how it tries to normalize the trend of right-wing extremism. Babasaheb is an elected politician, but he behaves like a dictator who openly threatens people on media and the film celebrates him. Pandu and Mhadu consider him their god. It wouldn't have been a big deal if this were a film like Sarkar (2005), but here it comes across as a deliberate attempt to normalize and promote this kind of politics.

The film is a lazy attempt in every department of filmmaking, be it direction, editing or cinematography. Some scenes are shot in such a terrible manner, I have seen many funny skits on YouTube which are shot and look much better than this.

After travelling in a Mumbai local train at peak hour to catch an early morning show, if what you get is two middle-aged men cutting unfunny jokes and behaving like complete idiots for two hours, you will be forgiven for looking for anything to take your mind off this crassness. For me, that distraction was Kulkarni.

As I have mentioned, she doesn't have much to do until the last act, but whenever she appeared on screen was the only time I felt like looking at it. It is what it is. You have to perform hacks like this to force yourself to sit through such torture for two hours.

Pandu was released in theatres on 3 December 2021.