Punching below its weight

Mard ko Dard Nahi Hota” (‘Men don’t feel pain’) is a literal rendition of this common cliché about men. Born with a rare ‘congenial insen­sitivity’, a man literally feels no pain. The movie is about how he turns this diagnosis into his strength as he learns martial arts and hunts down muggers. It’s an intriguing concept, and yet you may be disappointed if you go with high expectations. The film starts with Surya (Abhi­manyu Dassani) in his full maroon tracksuit ready to fight a bunch of goons. As they approach him, he has flashbacks of his entire life: how he learned to handle his ‘gift’ of feeling no pain, how he was bullied for it throughout his school life, how he then found his love Supri (Radhika Madan) who was always ready to fight bullies for him, how he grew up with a strict father and an eccentric grandfather, and how, amid all this, he learnt martial arts by watching scratchy VHS tapes.

 

It is while watching films in his childhood that he comes across ‘Master Mani’, his Karate Guru, and later across Jimmy, Mani’s evil twin and his nemesis. The whole movie is a comic-book style action-comedy filled with flashbacks.

Even though the plot could have been better, most characters do justice to the storyline. Dassani, who debuts in Bollywood with this film, portrays Surya well. His comic timing is good and his char­acter is a brilliant portrayal of how it is like growing up with two very different guardians.

 Who should watch it?

If you like action films, this one is packed with interesting, well-directed fight sequences. But keep your hopes low.

Radhika looks comfortable in her role as Supri, especially in action sequences, with her hair flying and legs kicking. Some of the best parts of the movie are when Supri and Surya are small, the actors emoting their child-like innocence near perfectly.

Radhika however falters in emo­tional scenes, when she has to show the struggle of growing up with an abusive and alcoholic father. Her stilted dialogues are painful to watch as well.

 Writer Vasan Bala could have done so much more, with the movie dealing with such powerful themes as domestic violence, alco­holism, bullying, and toxic masculinity

Writer Vasan Bala could have done so much more, with the movie dealing with such powerful themes as domestic violence, alco­holism, bullying, and toxic mascu­linity. As it is, the movie is flat and fails to touch any of the audience’s emotional buttons.

Yes, Mard ko Dard Nahi Hota is unpredictable and the director han­dles the material he is given rather well. But, again, the plot is still too slow. When the film is over, you real­ize it did not have much to say and was exhaustingly repetitive. Some action and comedy sequences stand out but it is not a movie that will stay with you.