Sab Kushal Mangal Movie Review: Akshaye Khanna Tries Too Hard To Make You Laugh In This Terribly Unfunny Comedy

Sab Kushal Mangal Movie Review: I hate it when movies have names that are completely in contrast with the experience we have while watching it. Like, see the case with Sab Kushal Mangal, which roughly translates to 'All is well and good'. But my numb mind had a totally different feeling by the end of the film. It questions me as to what made Akshaye Khanna present this unfunny atrocity, while also agreeing to make a mockery of himself as an actor. Considering a few months back, he delivered a scintillating performance in Section 375 that earned a place in our best male performances of the year, it feels all the more awful. Sab Kushal Mangal: Padmini Kolhapure’s Son Priyaank Sharma Excited About His Bollywood Debut with Akshaye Khanna.

So Akshaye Khanna plays Baba Bhandari, an MLA and a don-like figure in Jharkhand, who is instrumental in arranging jabariya shaadis in town. We meet Pappu Mishra (Priyank Sharma), a hotshot reporter in a media channel who is from Bhandari's hometown and has done an expose on him. As revenge, Bhandari gets Pappu kidnapped and tries to get him forcefully married to a young Mandira (Riva Kishan). Though he doesn't know her identity at first, Pappu develops feelings for Mandira.

When Pappu escapes from their clutches, Bhandari goes to Mandira's family to apologise to them, where he sees her for the first time and is instantly smitten. Meanwhile, Pappu also realises he is in love with Mandira and tries to win her back, leading to a very convoluted love triangle.

The theme of forced marriages was already the subject of humour last year in Jabariya Jodi. It wasn't funny then, and it is certainly not at all funny in Sab Kushal Mangal. To be fair, the first half did have a few half-funny moments. But once the love triangle is established, then the film takes a huge nosedive from which there is no recovery. The performances feel disinterested. The scenes are roughly edited. The writing is plain ordinary, and the direction by Karan Vishwanath Kashyap feels dated. The same applies to the way how some characters are treated, like Mandira's irritating family whose close-minded thoughts range back from before Akshaye Khanna stop bothering to wear a wig. Sab Kushal Mangal Trailer: Ravi Kishan's Daughter Riva Kishan Makes an Impressive Debut in This Romedy Drama Also Starring Akshaye Khanna.

Some characters and subplots are forgotten midway. Like this colleague of Pappu whom he had a crush on. She is conveniently ignored when Mandira appears, and only resurfaces towards the end only with no mention of the romantic connection. And speaking of the ending, it is an assault to our senses.

Watch The Trailer of Sab Kushal Mangal:

The most frustrating part about Sab Kushal Mangal is that the lack of laughs lasts for two and a half hours, in which they also get time to insert an item song featuring Shriya Saran.

The Performances

Remember the time when Akshaye Khanna was quite funny in Hungama and Hulchul? Well, keep remembering that for the actor is struggling to get the laughs in here. In fact, it almost feels embarrassing to see him go through the motions and making a mockery of himself. Here's hoping that producer in Akshaye Khanna gets a better sense of script after this travesty.

Priyank Sharma, the son of actress Padmini Kolhapure, looks less like a hero, and more like the hero's friend who gets killed in the second act. His performance isn't completely bad; his diction and dialogue delivery are good. But the emotions that he wants to portray never reaches his eyes.

Riva Kishan, who resembles her dad Ravi Kishan closely, fares better. Although it does feel creepy to see the 18-yo girl being lusted after by an actor who made his acting debut a year after she was born. Among the supporting cast, Satish Kaushik and Supriya Pathak leave a good impression.

Yay!

- Some Funny Moments

Nay!

- A Comedy That Consistently Tries to Fail

Final Thoughts

Sab Kushal Mangal is a comedy that taunts you for not leaving your body and mind, along with your brains, back home! Nothing Kushal Mangal about this one!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 03, 2020 10:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).