Ratings:2.5/5 Review Aakash Barvalia MoviezAdda The graph of the movie has many ups and down, and thus it is an enjoyable experience in bits and parts. On the whole, Vishal Bhardwaj has given a meaningful cinema with Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, with a good sense of humour.
Ratings:2/5 Review Taran Adarsh Bollywood Hungama MATRU KI BIJLEE KA MANDOLA is definitely not Vishal's best work, though the master touch is evident in several sequences. The story barely moves in the first hour; there are stretches when the account begins to blur. Thankfully, the sequence of events and some exceptional moments in the post-interval portions save the film from tripping. At the same time, I wish to add that the film could've done with some judicious trimming for a stronger impact. It's way too lengthy! On the whole, MATRU KI BIJLEE KA MANDOLA holds your attention in parts, but that's not enough. The first half is lackluster, while the post-interval part catches some steam. However, the excessive length plays a spoilsport. Below expectations!
Ratings:3/5 Review Srijana Mitra Das Times of India (TOI) But here's my angst - this movie could have been so much more. Like champagne gone flat, the film's left lying about for too late, its plot meandering everywhere (including a plane ride through moon-lit clouds, ending in a Maoist meeting), the director so determined to have fun that often, the viewer doesn't. Sure, there are hilarious moments involving pink buffaloes and deep wells, Shakespeare and Sheila Dixit, even a laal rang ka kachcha, and it's all very clever - but where's the self-control? With its intellectual foundation and dramatic potential, MKBKM needed disciplined direction, not wandering shots, predictable banter or dull crudity.
Ratings:4/5 Review Raja Sen Rediff It's theatrical, insightful, wickedly clever and, often, too funny to even laugh at, if you know what I mean. It is also, as may be apparent, an utterly random movie, sometimes jarringly uneven and frequently meandering. And yet it works, because it is, at every single step, unexpected and surprising.This film swings with two sultans, each spurring the other on toward a sillier spectacle, a sight of grand lunacy. Laced with both acid and arsenic, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola isn't everyone's cup of tea. It takes a while to get into its groove, but changes gears with spectacular finesse after that.
Ratings:3/5 Review Saibal Chaterjee NDTV It is a wild, wacky, wicked satire that carries the unmistakable Vishal Bhardwaj signature. But it leaves you with mixed feelings. It isn’t a big, bloated blockbuster wannabe. It has its daring share of moments that defy popular expectations. Despite the uneven quality of the ambitious narrative, Bhardwaj packs in just about enough quirky energy to make Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola generally watchable. Few filmmakers in Mumbai engage with ideas and issues of contemporary relevance as felicitously as Bhardwaj. He might have fallen short this time around, but even when he is not at his best, he is infinitely better than most in the business.
Ratings:2/5 Review Shubhra Gupta Indian Express
Once the director gets to the point, we realize it’s a very meat-and-potatoes kind of story, the most meat-and-potatoes Bharadwaj has been, despite the weird contrivances he includes in the telling of it. The conflict is the familiar poor `kisaan’ vs rapacious overlords, and true love vs forced alliances, and how education save our souls, shot through in some parts with the sort of VB flourish that make his films such delights. But he makes us wait for the good bits, does Bharadwaj, and by then we’ve nearly fallen asleep.
Ratings:2/5 Review Kanika Sikka DNA Ten minutes before the ending of the first half (which is mighty slow), the movie is still trying to set the plot. Just before the interval, there’s a twist (not like you couldn’t guess it) and during the break, you wonder what the movie is trying to show. This confusion is carried on till the end of the second half, in which, characters appear and disappear conveniently. At the end of it, even though they had worthy intentions, I doubt the filmmakers knew what exactly they wanted to portray through their various characters. Watch the film for Pankaj Kapoor and Shabana Azmi and some fun that the duo bring about. But don’t expect too much out of it. Final warning: Bharadwaj fans, stay away from this one.
Ratings:3/5 Review Roshni Devi Koimoi What’s Good: The funny bits; the Haryanvi setting; Gulabo’s appearances; Pankaj Kapur’s act. What’s Bad: The slow first half; the undecipherable parts of Pankaj Kapur’s speech; Imran Khan’s lack of rustic charm. Loo break: A few before the interval. Watch or Not?: Watch it for a nice dose of rustic comedy!
