00:00It's so refreshing to see a Bollywood movie that has roles written for women that are
00:04not put on a pedestal. They're not perfect women but they are enduring.
00:11Good afternoon, this is Manjusha Radhakrishnan from Gulf News. I'm the entertainment editor
00:16and I'm here with the review of the movie called The Crew. It stars Kareena Kapoor,
00:21Tabu and Kriti Sanon as cabin crew and it's a black comedy about three air hostesses
00:27who try their hand at gold smuggling. It's an audacious comedy and what I love about this film
00:33is that it's heartening to see three talented women. I have to say Tabu, Kareena Kapoor and
00:40Kriti Sanon are very accomplished actresses do the heavy lifting. It's not often that you see
00:46gangster movies or movies that deal with illegal activities being spearheaded by women. So it's
00:53really heartening to see feisty women and sassy women take the narrative forward and that's what
00:58really worked for me. You know when it comes to feminist movies sometimes what happens is that
01:04they take it very seriously but this is a black comedy. The context of it, the plot point of it
01:10is that three women who have worked as air hostesses have not been paid for several months,
01:15they are desperate, they are cash strapped, they are also sole breadwinners for the family
01:21and they need their salaries quick. They stumble into the scheme of laundering, of smuggling gold
01:27because their job kind of allows them to go through different countries with very minimal
01:32checks perhaps. What works for this film is of course Tabu. She's one of the most seasoned actresses
01:37and I can see the camaraderie between all these three women, the bondhomie, the sense of
01:42kinship between them because these are three women who are not in top form. They have their flaws
01:48but they are bold, they're just trying to make their ends meet. It's so refreshing to see a
01:52Bollywood movie that has roles written for women that are not put on a pedestal. They're not perfect
01:58women but they are enduring. What makes this comedy engaging are these three women and of course
02:04there are these cameos by very interesting people like Diljit Dosanjh who plays the customs officer
02:10who has a crush on Kriti Sanon's character and then there is Rajeev Sharma who plays the HR
02:17manager of this Kohinoor Airlines where these women work. The first half of the movie moves at
02:22a quick pace, it's zippy. We get a sense of why these women, they are very earnest at their jobs
02:27but are not being paid. So they're kind of desperate and they come up with this get quick
02:32rich scheme. It also talks about the flawed capitalist system where the owner of the Kohinoor
02:39Airlines, he's a flamboyant businessman but then he declares bankruptcy and then just escapes,
02:45leaving thousands of his employees in a lurch. They're all desperate. It kind of shows it's a
02:50mirror to the current times that we live in, the capitalist times that we live in that the rich
02:56kind of get off easy whereas it's the middle class that bear the brunt of the capitalist
03:02greed. In terms of performances, I have to tell you Thabu and Kareena Kapoor, even Kriti Sanon
03:07who's relatively more inexperienced than the other two, they hold their own and they seem to have a
03:13natural chemistry going on between them. They don't try too hard. In fact, there are scenes in
03:18the movie where there is a fallout between them. Let's not forget that these women, they may be
03:22very good looking, they may be very enduring but at the end of the day they're doing something very
03:26illegal. What I love about the movie is also Kareena Kapoor who plays Jasmine. I love her
03:31character because she's aspirational, she aspires for the fancy things in life. It's so good to see
03:37a Bollywood film that showcases their women as real people. I mean these are women that you might
03:42meet on a regular basis. So that's what makes this movie work as well. But I have to warn you
03:48that there are parts which are just audacious, especially the second half of the movie.
03:52The climax is just, you know, the parts in which the movie descends into robbery and utter chaos
03:58is not wholly believable. How they track down a flamboyant businessman and their former boss
04:03and become these Robin Hoods don't make much sense but if you're willing to suspend belief
04:08and just enjoy this ride then perhaps you'll walk off with a smile on your faces. And remember
04:14the soft branding in this movie is not so subtle. You often see brand endorsements being done and
04:19that's very very unsettling. But if you're in the mood to watch a black comedy where women are in
04:24top form then this movie is for you. I've gone with 3 out of 5. For our full review go to gulfnews.com
04:38you
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