102 Not Out Review

102 Not Out is a film directed by Umesh Shukla. The trailers of the film impressed me and I was looking forward to watch this film. Finally, I watched this film and was totally impressed.

Plot: Dattatraya Vakharia decides to send his son Babulal to an old age home if he doesn’t fulfill some of his conditions.

Story and direction: The film’s strong point is its writing. Saumya Joshi (who adapted it from his own Gujurati play) has proved to be a very nice writer as his voice is heard in almost every scene. The film knows how to balance its light-hearted and dramatic moments. I laughed hard durimg the funny moments and became emotional during the dramatic ones. And that comes when the writer and director are on the same page (that was the very case in this film). In each and every condition that Dattatraya keeps, an important life lesson is learnt that is applicable in real life too. There was never a dull moment in its 102 minute runtime. The characters are so awesome and real, that you feel the emotions they are going through in a particular scene. A department that deserves full credit is the make-up department. The actors did look convincing as 102 and 75 year olds. However, the film does have its flaws. There are many scenes which felt like product placement. It felt very annoying. Also, the climax of the film felt clichéd and guessed from a mile away.

Performances: This film is filled with award winning performances. Starting with the evergreen, Amitabh Bachchan. This man just goes on to defy every norm and rule of acting and delivers a great performance in each film. He also nailed the Gujurati accent. Rishi Kapoor in the couple of years has redefined himself in his career and this film will go down as one of his gems in his illustrious career. Complementing these 2 stars is a mammoth task which Jimit Trivedi did fantastically. He was awesome and one of the shining elements of this film.

Music: The film has 3 music directors composing for 6 songs. But each of the songs sits comfortably in the scenes. My favourite was ‘Kulfi’by Sonu Nigam. That song was just awesome.

Favorite Scene: I won’t say much but this is the one where all the 3 central characters are involved and the song ‘Waqt ne Kiya’ plays. After that, there is dialogue that made me emotional and struck my heart with a lighning bolt.

Verdict: Do watch this film not for some amazing performances, but a heartfelt story.

I am going with an 8/5/10.