Mogambo (Amrish Puri, with a toupee that makes him look like he’s
wearing a dead squid on his head) doesn’t want to rule the world. He
wants to rule India. Why India? He never says, but he does seem to
hold some sort of personal grudge against the Indian people, since he
plans to crush them before commencing his reign of evil and badness. To
that end, his minions are spread throughout India, selling guns and
drugs, tampering with food, running gambling dens, and generally making
India a bad place to live.
To his credit, while otherwise completely evil, Mogambo is a big believer in diversity in the workplace. His minions include gangsters, soldiers, scientists (you can tell they’re scientists, because they have lab coats), Amazon priestesses, the sole Indian member of the Nazi party (who seems to be named Captain Zorro), a robot, and Fu Manchu. That’s right. Mogambo is so bad, Fu Manchu works for him. These minions are so loyal that if he picks three men at random and tells them to jump into a pool of acid, they’ll do it with a smile. In addition to his fanatical-yet-diverse minions, Mogambo has a nifty island fortress. The only thing he needs before taking over India is an invisibilty formula.
Twenty years ago, just such a formula was invented by a Professor Verma; Fu Manchu murdered the professor in order to get the formula, but was foiled when Verma’s assisstant, Professor Sinha (Ashok Kumar) . . . locked a door. Verma had one son, Arun (Anil Kapoor). Since he grew up as an orphan, Arun has started his own orphanage, but since his day job as a mild-mannered violin teacher doesn’t pay enough to support an orphanage worth of people, money is tight.
Arun’s money problems grow when Mogambo’s men decide that Arun’s house would be a fine central location for smuggling guns. Arun’s credit is cut off, and the rent is due. In desperation, Arun sublets the room upstairs to Seema (Sridevi), a plucky young reporter who hates children. The orphanage is saved (hooray!) but tensions quickly mount with the new tenant, culminating in what I can only describe as a light operetta about an errant soccer ball - it really has to be seen to be believed.
Since legal trickery didn’t work, Mogambo’s men try violence. They toss a few orphans around, beat Arun, and tell them all they have two days to vacate the premises. Meanwhile, Professor Sinha is spotted on the street by Fu Manchu. (After foiling the nefarious Fu Manchu by locking a door, Sinha evaded capture by teaching at the same university for twenty years under his own name. Since Fu Manchu is a well known criminal genius in his own right, I can only conclude that Fu Manchu is also really, really lazy.) Before leaving town forever, Sinha leaves Arun Dr. Verma’s greatest secret: a wristwatch that can make the wearer invisible!
Before long, Arun is battling injustice as Mr. India, champion of the people. The rationale behind his choice of super-name is surprisingly well done. As Mr. India explains during his first outing, the villains have been so wrapped up in their own schemes that they haven’t seen the common men of India; until they do so, they won’t be able to see him.
Mr. India’s invisibility power is also surprisingly consistent. The explanation given (the formula alters the body so that light passes through it, “like glass") is nonsense, but the power obeys the same rules throughout the film, with only one small exception (and that one’s during a song.) Just as Superman is vulnerable to kryptonite and the Green Lantern can’t affect things that are yellow, Mr. India also has a weakness: his invisibility doesn’t work in red light. There’s no explanation given for this flaw, but again it is applied consistently. Even the red light that lets Mogambo discover Mr. India’s location at the end of the film is set up from the start.
Apart from these high points, the plotting of Mr. India is often nonsensical. Perhaps the worst example of this is when Seema infiltrates a casino disguised as Charlie Chaplin. I wish I knew why she thought that going undercover as a dead white male star from the silent film era was a good idea; I’m even more confused by how well the disguise works. The sequence makes no sense at all, but it does showcase Sridevi’s remarkable gift for physical comedy, so it’s hard not to like it.
Amrish Puri gleefully chews the scenery as Mogambo. Anil Kapoor brings a charming everyman quality to his role as Arun; he doesn’t look like a superhero, and that makes him accessible and likeable. Sridevi is quite charming. She’s a gifted comedienne, willing to put herself in decidedly unglamorous positions for the sake of a joke, which lends her a different kind of attraction. (Also, she does a mean Chaplin impression.) The children are bad but forgiveable in the way that only child actors can be. (I was actually impressed with the actress playing the oldest orphan girl, but the imdb doesn’t list the orphans by name. Still, well done, Nameless Orphan Girl, whoever you are.)
The production values are pretty cheesy; the special effects fail to impress, the sounds are off (every punch results in a huge meaty slapping sound), and the costumes . . . I still can’t get over that thing on Mogambo’s head. I’m a lifetime Doctor Who fan, so I didn’t personally mind the cheesiness, but if you think you might mind, be warned.
By any reasonable standard, this is a bad movie, and yet I couldn’t help but like it despite myself. It never takes itself too seriously, and the whole film is filled with an infectious sense of fun. Just try not to think about the plot. (She infiltrates a casino . . . dressed as Charlie Chaplin . . . my brain hurts. I have to lie down.)
To his credit, while otherwise completely evil, Mogambo is a big believer in diversity in the workplace. His minions include gangsters, soldiers, scientists (you can tell they’re scientists, because they have lab coats), Amazon priestesses, the sole Indian member of the Nazi party (who seems to be named Captain Zorro), a robot, and Fu Manchu. That’s right. Mogambo is so bad, Fu Manchu works for him. These minions are so loyal that if he picks three men at random and tells them to jump into a pool of acid, they’ll do it with a smile. In addition to his fanatical-yet-diverse minions, Mogambo has a nifty island fortress. The only thing he needs before taking over India is an invisibilty formula.
Twenty years ago, just such a formula was invented by a Professor Verma; Fu Manchu murdered the professor in order to get the formula, but was foiled when Verma’s assisstant, Professor Sinha (Ashok Kumar) . . . locked a door. Verma had one son, Arun (Anil Kapoor). Since he grew up as an orphan, Arun has started his own orphanage, but since his day job as a mild-mannered violin teacher doesn’t pay enough to support an orphanage worth of people, money is tight.
Arun’s money problems grow when Mogambo’s men decide that Arun’s house would be a fine central location for smuggling guns. Arun’s credit is cut off, and the rent is due. In desperation, Arun sublets the room upstairs to Seema (Sridevi), a plucky young reporter who hates children. The orphanage is saved (hooray!) but tensions quickly mount with the new tenant, culminating in what I can only describe as a light operetta about an errant soccer ball - it really has to be seen to be believed.
Since legal trickery didn’t work, Mogambo’s men try violence. They toss a few orphans around, beat Arun, and tell them all they have two days to vacate the premises. Meanwhile, Professor Sinha is spotted on the street by Fu Manchu. (After foiling the nefarious Fu Manchu by locking a door, Sinha evaded capture by teaching at the same university for twenty years under his own name. Since Fu Manchu is a well known criminal genius in his own right, I can only conclude that Fu Manchu is also really, really lazy.) Before leaving town forever, Sinha leaves Arun Dr. Verma’s greatest secret: a wristwatch that can make the wearer invisible!
Before long, Arun is battling injustice as Mr. India, champion of the people. The rationale behind his choice of super-name is surprisingly well done. As Mr. India explains during his first outing, the villains have been so wrapped up in their own schemes that they haven’t seen the common men of India; until they do so, they won’t be able to see him.
Mr. India’s invisibility power is also surprisingly consistent. The explanation given (the formula alters the body so that light passes through it, “like glass") is nonsense, but the power obeys the same rules throughout the film, with only one small exception (and that one’s during a song.) Just as Superman is vulnerable to kryptonite and the Green Lantern can’t affect things that are yellow, Mr. India also has a weakness: his invisibility doesn’t work in red light. There’s no explanation given for this flaw, but again it is applied consistently. Even the red light that lets Mogambo discover Mr. India’s location at the end of the film is set up from the start.
Apart from these high points, the plotting of Mr. India is often nonsensical. Perhaps the worst example of this is when Seema infiltrates a casino disguised as Charlie Chaplin. I wish I knew why she thought that going undercover as a dead white male star from the silent film era was a good idea; I’m even more confused by how well the disguise works. The sequence makes no sense at all, but it does showcase Sridevi’s remarkable gift for physical comedy, so it’s hard not to like it.
Amrish Puri gleefully chews the scenery as Mogambo. Anil Kapoor brings a charming everyman quality to his role as Arun; he doesn’t look like a superhero, and that makes him accessible and likeable. Sridevi is quite charming. She’s a gifted comedienne, willing to put herself in decidedly unglamorous positions for the sake of a joke, which lends her a different kind of attraction. (Also, she does a mean Chaplin impression.) The children are bad but forgiveable in the way that only child actors can be. (I was actually impressed with the actress playing the oldest orphan girl, but the imdb doesn’t list the orphans by name. Still, well done, Nameless Orphan Girl, whoever you are.)
The production values are pretty cheesy; the special effects fail to impress, the sounds are off (every punch results in a huge meaty slapping sound), and the costumes . . . I still can’t get over that thing on Mogambo’s head. I’m a lifetime Doctor Who fan, so I didn’t personally mind the cheesiness, but if you think you might mind, be warned.
By any reasonable standard, this is a bad movie, and yet I couldn’t help but like it despite myself. It never takes itself too seriously, and the whole film is filled with an infectious sense of fun. Just try not to think about the plot. (She infiltrates a casino . . . dressed as Charlie Chaplin . . . my brain hurts. I have to lie down.)
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