‘Hello Mummy’ Movie Review: Sharaf U Dheen and Aishwarya Lekshmi’s Spooky Comedy Is Haunted by Glaring Inconsistencies (LatestLY Exclusive)

Hello Mummy Movie Review: The troubling spirit in Hello Mummy is a ghost with a peculiar quirk - she despises anyone disrupting her organised household or breaking things. How does she respond? She retaliates by throwing breakable objects at the offender or pushing them at stuff and then creating a bigger mess. Vaishakh Elans's Hello Mummy is as erratic as the disembodied spirit haunting her new son-in-law. The script (by Sanjo Joseph) shows potential, but it seldom fulfils its promise, except in a few comedic moments elevated by Sharaf U Dheen’s enjoyable performance. ‘Sookshmadarshini’ Movie Review: A Highly Engaging Mystery Thriller With Superb Performances From Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph.

Bonnie (Sharaf U Dheen) is a wealthy but irresponsible man who constantly causes trouble and headaches for his family, especially his father (Johny Antony). His family decides to get him married, though Bonnie initially shows no interest. That changes when he meets Stephy (Aishwarya Lekshmi), a beautiful scientist who moved to Kerala a couple of years ago from Simla with her widower father, Samuel (Jagadish).

Watch the Trailer of 'Hello Mummy':

Alarm bells should have gone off in Bonnie’s head as to why a scientist like Stephy would agree to marry a jobless, non-graduate slacker like him. The answer lies with Stephy’s late mother, who continues to look out for her daughter as a spirit, fiercely protective of her. Bonnie dismisses the idea of a ghostly presence—until he experiences his deceased mother-in-law’s wrath right from his wedding night.

'Hello Mummy' Movie Review - Humour Spooked Away!

The concept holds promise for a wealth of humorous situations, but Hello Mummy struggles to deliver consistent laughs. It takes over half an hour for the film to present its first genuinely funny scene. Until then, we endure a lacklustre introduction of the hero (complete with a forced callback to Pandippada—why?), mildly amusing family dynamics, and irksome interactions with Bonnie’s brother-in-law and best friend.

With Stephy’s introduction, I hoped the film would find its footing, but the chemistry between the leads falls flat. The rushed manner in which their attraction is established makes it difficult for the audience to invest in their relationship.

The screenplay also suffers from glaring inconsistencies. When Stephy finally confides in Bonnie about her mother’s presence, he doesn’t believe her, assuming she’s trying to get rid of him. If that’s his belief, why does he insist on staying in the relationship? Is it sheer desperation? On their wedding night, Stephy reveals her mother’s conditions, including a ban on physical intimacy until she completes her studies. But why wait until after the wedding to disclose this, even if Bonnie seemed to accept her ghost story earlier? These illogical choices undermine the characters’ credibility.

'Hello Mummy' Movie Review - Sharaf U DHeen Rescues Movie to Some Extent

To its credit, Hello Mummy improves once Bonnie accepts the reality of the ghost. The slapstick humour in the subsequent scenes, as Bonnie gets harassed by his mom-in-law, aided by Sharaf U Dheen’s comic timing, is amusing. Jagadish also shines as the exasperated father who finds solace in his eccentricities. The use of Kalliyankattu Neeli song "Nizhalaay Ozhukivarum" works well in one such sequence. ‘All We Imagine As Light’ Movie Review: ‘Spirit of Mumbai’ Gets a Poignant Reality Check in Payal Kapadia’s Beautifully Haunting Film.

I thought I felt this germ of a nice idea here of how a dead spirit would train her irresponsible son-in-law into being a better-organised person or make him a better husband by scaring him, and the movie should have explored more of this.

Unfortunately, the film neither explores this much nor maintains the momentum established post-Mummy's introduction. It repeatedly tries too hard to extract laughs from forced, farcical situations, such as when Bonnie’s parents visit Stephy’s house, and his father causes a drunken scene. While Johny Antony, Sharaf U Dheen, and Jagadish perform well in this sequence, the humour feels laboured. Aju Varghese’s crime podcaster character adds little to the story, serving mainly as a vehicle for manufactured exposition.

There is also Bindu Panicker, who plays another character of convenience and who must have come to the sets wearing the makeup she had worn during Soothradharan, which must have been lying around her house.

The film struggles to hold attention during its dramatic moments, and with characters that are hard to connect with—Bonnie being the lone exception—the emotional depth is lacking. In a bid to inject action in the third act, the narrative pivots to a black magic subplot, introducing Sunny Hinduja’s character as a villain seeking to trap the spirit for malicious purposes (equipped with a typical evil laugh). The climax, involving Bonnie and his allies confronting a group of sinister "grunge babas," feels derivative. Jagadish’s presence made me recall the 1993 film Sakshal Sreeman Chathunni, which had a similar finale. It’s disheartening that, 31 years later, we’re still recycling such tropes.

'Hello Mummy' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

Hello Mummy has flashes of good slapstick comedy but fails to deliver a consistently engaging or funny experience. While the performances of Sharaf U Dheen and Jagadish provide occasional fun, the film’s uneven pacing, lacklustre screenplay, and forced humour weigh it down. And yes, the movie also suffers from sequelitis, promising a second instalment at the end that is most likely to be exorcised in the bud itself.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 27, 2024 01:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).