Murtuza Iqbal

Akshay Kumar has starred in many South remakes like Rowdy Rathore, Holiday, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, and more. The actor’s new release Laxmii is also a remake of a South Indian movie, Muni 2: Kanchana (Tamil).

Laxmii was initially supposed to hit the big screens on Eid this year. But due to the pandemic, the makers decided to release it on the OTT platform, Disney+ Hotstar, and the movie has started streaming today.

The film is about Asif (Akshay Kumar) who is married to Rashmi (Kiara Advani) and he is living a happy life. He doesn’t believe in ghosts and proudly says that the day he will see a ghost he will wear bangles.

Meanwhile, Rashmi’s father has not accepted their inter-caste marriage. But, to convince her father, Asif and Rashmi visit the latter’s house and decide to stay there for a few days. One day Asif along with a few kids goes to a nearby haunted ground to play cricket. After they come back from the ground, paranormal activities start taking place in the house, and Asif gets possessed by the ghost of a transgender. What will happen next, takes the story forward…

As I have seen Muni 2: Kanchana, I know the story and the screenplay of the Tamil film. In the Hindi remake, the makers have changed a couple of things in the basic plot of the film, but the screenplay is mostly the same. There are a few scenes that would make you laugh out loud, especially, the ones featuring Ayesha Raza and Ashwini Kalsekar. But, the horror element is less.

Muni 2: Kanchana was directed by Raghava Lawrence, and he has helmed Laxmii as well. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get anything new in the narration it’s the same thing that we got to watch in the Tamil film. His direction is not bad, but it’s not even great.

Also, if you haven’t seen Muni 2: Kanchana, Laxmii won’t be a super entertaining film for you. We have seen better horror-comedies. Muni 2: Kanchana released in 2011, and now we are watching the remake in 2020. In these nine years, the filmmakers have tried a lot of new things because of which Laxmii looks outdated.

Talking about performances, Akshay Kumar is excellent. He has surely given one of the best performances of his career. Ayesha Raza and Ashwini Kalsekar are mind-blowing. Both the actresses are amazing; their comic timing is simply outstanding. Sharad Kelkar leaves a strong mark with his performance in the film. What a performer! Kiara Advani looks pretty but doesn’t get much scope to perform. There are a couple of scenes where she could have shined, but she has been sidelined. Rajesh Sharma and Manu Rishi Chadha are decent in their respective roles.

Coming to music, the songs in the film are good, but apart from Bambholle, others were not required. The background score of the film is noisy and after a point, it starts irritating.

Overall, Laxmii is surely not a perfect horror-comedy. It lacks an x-factor. But if you are an Akshay Kumar fan, then it’s a must-watch for you.

Ratings: 2.5/5

Watch the trailer here…