Simran (2017)

High spirited independent smiling throughout yet messed up in life, an unabashed unapologetic divorcee, it is the story of Praful Patel (Kangana Ranaut) who had been working in a hotel since past 7 years and had savings for a life she wished to live in a home away from her parents, where she was no more a burden on their shoulders and the fact that she was a divorcee isn’t hammered onto her time and again by them.

While she looks for a house and is all set for getting the required loans, her cousin calls her up for a bachelorette, convincing her enough to have a blast in the sinful city Las Vegas. Little did she know that amidst the most popular gambling ritual in Vegas would she lose all her savings since the past 7 years and would end up losing her chance at the house too!

Borrowing money from a money lender to gamble, she owes $50,000 for which she circumstantially has no option, but to resort to illegal false means. Coming to be known as Simran, the bandit she potrays, she showcases how destructive, unique and imaginative she is, which she shows at the end of the film while throwing a bouncer at her parents with a new scheme (one of the only funny scenes).

Hers is a different character, who doesn’t go by the norms and cares the least about the society. It is a uniquely different film which has no message, makes one ponder what actually the morale of the story was and lacks the humor as perceived from trailers.  It wears you out despite a short duration of 2 hours 4 min while it would anyday seem to be a longer one.

It seems stretched with redundant scenes. There are times when you feel that Kangana’s acting is pretty typical and nothing out of the box that is usually expected out of her. With films such as Queen, Tanu weds Manu and Tanu weds Manu returns, she has managed to emerge out of nowhere as a star, but with Simran, I honestly didn’t feel she was as great or stupendous as she has been.

It seemed as if I’d seen her giving the same kind of expressions, similar gestures and similar twitches of the eyes as in this which made it just as regular.

As far as direction is what is to be discussed, I would say, it was nice, but when the story is as inconsequent and non-impactful, it’s just as okay as it could be. The film lacks continuity, with scenes that are missing at a few places and are rather called for. The editing is quite plausible though.

At the end of the film, we are told that it is a real life story when the real life Praful gave $50,000 to sell the rights for her story.

I would give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.