Sab Kushal Mangal (2020)

#FinalVerdict

Fridays are turning into an untidy jumble in Bollywood in the matter of getting an epochal release. In actuality, releasing a film on the very first Friday of the New Year is unavoidably viewed as cursed. When there are myriad of Bollywood films churning out every single Friday, the makers are now being left barehanded other than to explore the date.

Seriously, it's damn difficult to poke fun at oneself. Sure, we relish madcap entertainers, but what first-time director Karan Vishwanath Kashyap serves in Sab Kushal Mangal transcends all limits! The jokes fall flat on numerous occasion. The situations/characters try too hard to chuckle you but fail miserably. There's nothing in the film which has got an iota of intelligence. While Sab Kushal Mangal begins on a promising note - it's a premise ripe with comic potential - the graph only spirals southwards barely ten minutes into the film. It's not sacrilege to attempt a no-brainer - the audience loves it - but the smiles/guffaw/laughter should never be in short supply. With a run time of approx. 2.15 hours, Sab Kushal Mangal drains you at the end of it, despite the actors trying so so so hard to make you giggle even when the gags are weak. Prashant Singh Rathore's editing causes extemporaneous sleep. The banal jokes and the lame PJs coupled with the muddled screenplay (Brijendra Kala, Karan Vishwanath Kashyap) are clearly responsible for the royal mess. There are several scenes in the film which make the drama appear so stretched that the audience wonders what’s going on. Even the climax does not have the desired impact. Emotions fail to touch the heart. The substandard VFX by Katalyst Creates is an absolute letdown. The result is a confused, unpleasing, long-drawn mess. In fact, the film makes a mockery of everything you may have seen or heard.

While bits and pieces of the first half are tolerable, the film goes completely awry in its post-interval portions. Seriously, what was Karan Vishwanath Kashyap thinking while penning and executing this one? Choosing an unconventional story is great, but coming up with a gripping film is nothing short of a challenge and that's where this film boomerangs. In fact, it gets cumbersome to sit through the film after a point, since what unfurls is ridiculous and bizarre. The soundtrack (Harshit Saxena), too, is neither catchy nor melodious. A listless score! Sachin K. Krishn's cinematography is tacky.

Akshaye Khanna is exceptional and evokes laughter whenever he comes on the screen. He's the sole saving grace. Debutant Priyaank Sharma and debutante Riva Kishan are monotonous. Also, the spark is missing. Satish Kaushik, Supriya Pathak and Rakesh Bedi are completely wasted. They're just gap fillers.

On the whole, Sab Kushal Mangal won't live up to its title. From start to finish, there’s isn’t a single shred of conviction on display. Steadfastly puerile, Sab Kushal Mangal is a big splotch of utter nonsense. Disaster!