Simran Movie Review: Kangana Ranaut Is A Live Wire, But The Film Still Runs Out Of Steam!

Plot

Early in the film, Praful Patel (Kangana Ranaut) tells her would-be-bride cousin about how good girls have a boyfriend while the bad ones tend to manage many. That scene pretty much sets the 'badass' tone of our lady protagonist.

A 30 year old divorcee living in Georgia, she is a housekeeper by profession. 'Namumkin ko mumkin karna Praful Patel ki pehchan hai'. She lives by her set of rules and even asks her one-night stand man to zip up her dress just after refusing him sex without protection.

Meanwhile at home, her parents sneer her for her failed marriage and barely-respectable profession and wants her to get hitched to an eligible Gujarati boy Sameer (Sohum Shah). Praful, on the other hand, dreams of buying her own abode because it's a minority housing bargain and craves to move out of her parents' house.

After a chance bachelorette trip to Las Vegas, Praful gets addicted to gambling in a casino where she ends up losing her finances in no time. The returns of her first win tempts her to make some wrong choices. This lands her in a mess with blood-hungry loan sharks on hot pursuit.

To repay off her debts, Praful resorts to robbing banks as 'Lipstick Bandit' and going on a self-destructive spree.

Direction

'All that glitters isn't gold' and Simran proves this saying right. The biggest set-back to the film is that it lacks a purpose. Yes, it does break a number of stereotypes associated with a quintessential Bollywood leading lady. But, sadly, the filmmaker and the writer invests too much time in adding layers to their main protagonist, thereby neglecting the crucial part of a film i.e story.

Looting the bank is more like a child's play here. The strong emotional scenes get drowned in a heavy cloak of forced humour at places.

Kangana Ranaut and Sohum Shah's romantic track could have been easily avoided as it doesn't add much depth to the film. On the other hand, it would have been quite intriguing to watch some more scenes featuring the friction between Praful and her father.

Performances

Kangana Ranaut plays a flawed character with shades of black and white and grey. And as expected, she delivers a top-notch performance with a generous dose of quirks. To sum it up, it's her show all the way. Sohum Shah serves merely as a romantic purpose in the film and looks awkward while mouthing few of his lines.

Technical Aspects

Anuj Rakesh Dhawan does a good job when it comes to capturing on the lens. But, one wished that the makers could have done away with the painfully slow pace of the film!

Music

The songs of this Hansal Mehta directorial fail to register on your lips except for 'Single Rehne De' which plays during the end credits.

Verdict

Except for Kangana Ranaut and a few clever lines, Simran doesn't give you enough reasons to celebrate. This one is strictly one-time fare!