Hichki movie review: Rani Mukerji makes a ‘wah wah wah’ comeback with this one

Directed By: Siddharth P Malhotra
Produced By: Maneesh Sharma, Aditya Chopra
Cast: Rani Mukerji, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Supriya Pilgaonkar
Duration: 1 Hours 59 Minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 3.5/5

In 2010, I had seen a film titled ‘We Are Family’ directed by Siddharth P Malhotra. I remember crying during the climax of the film. I thought maybe its only me who is crying so much, but when I looked around I saw that mostly all eyes around me had tears. I remember hearing an aunty saying while leaving the theatre that Karan Johar (the producer of ‘We Are Family’) should have given tissue boxes with tickets. Cut to 2018, after eight years, Siddharth P Malhotra is back with his next directorial venture titled ‘Hichki’. The movie marks the comeback of one of the finest actresses we have in Bollywood, Rani Mukerji. Well, in this we won’t need a tissue box, but at least a couple of tissues in hand.

‘Hichki’ tells the story of Naina Mathur (Rani Mukerji) who suffers from Tourette Syndrome. It’s a neurological condition because of which a person makes different types of noises. Since her childhood, Naina has been facing discrimination, even at home. But, one incident changes her life, and Naina becomes a confident girl. She dreams to be a teacher, but thanks to the hichkis (the voices she makes), she doesn’t get a job. Finally, Naina gets a job to teach some underprivileged children, but it won’t be an easy task for her. The movie then moves forward with some entertaining, inspiring and whistle worthy scenes, but has its own share of hichkis (hurdles) in the screenplay.

‘Hichki’ has two subjects as its basic plot – Tourette Syndrome and the inequality in our education system. Siddharth P Malhotra does a good job by gelling these two things. He very well explains what Tourette Syndrome is, but the hichki in the film is that at some places when the film takes a very good momentum, the next scene just flattens.

As I said the movie deals with Tourette Syndrome and the inequality in our education system, but the biggest take away is that ‘there are no bad students, only bad teachers’. We are sure that every individual watching this film will go back to his or her school days, and will at least once remember their teachers, especially the favourite teacher (we all had one). There are very few films that make your eyes moist but with a smile on the face and that’s what ‘Hichki’ does.

The movie marks the comeback of Rani Mukerji after a gap of around four years, and from first scene itself she proves that she is back with a bang. In a simple film, Rani plays a very complex character and she nails it. Watch out for her tics in the film which will make you say ‘wah wah wah’ for her performance. Neeraj Kabi’s character might be a bit disappointing as his hate towards the underprivileged kids is not explained well, but the actor’s performance is top notch. The movie has a bundle of very talented kids, each and every one has done a fantastic job, a special mention to Harsh Mayar and Sparsh Khanchandani. The film also stars Sachin Pilgaonkar, Supriya Pilgaonkar and Hussain Dalal, and they are good in their parts.

Overall, ‘Hichki’ is a sweet, simple and a refreshing film with Rani Mukerji once again at her best.

P.S. I am a self-confessed Rani Mukerji fan, and many might feel that this could be a biased review. But, let me tell you guys, I have written this review without having a hichki of being a fan.

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Murtuza Iqbal

‘Eat Sleep Bollywood Repeat’ is his life Mantra. Dance is his first love and Rani Mukerji is his eternal crush. He is someone who loves being himself, and as for the ones who don’t agree, his reply? “Talk to my hand!”