Maruti Mera Dosst Movie Review: Too Melodramatic and Heavy

Hanuman, the Indian monkey God is perhaps India's only answer to the batmans and supermans of Hollywood. A couple of years ago, the animation flick Hanuman generated a lot of interest. Trying to cash in on the popularity of Hanuman among kids and adults alike, comes the film, Maruti Mera Dost, Maruti being another name for Hanuman. Director Manikya Raju packs the film with enough masala, and tells a predictable tale about good versus evil. The film does have its interesting moments though and the two child actors are quite competent as well. What doesn't work for the film, since it is said to be a children's movie, is the larger than life evil characters and the havoc that they try to wreck on the poor unsuspecting protagonist.

The film tells the story of nine year old Rameshwari (Ritika Srivastav), who is brought up by her kind father, played by actor Chandrachur Singh and her stepmother. After losing her mother, the little girl finds comfort in a large stature of Hanuman near her house. Soon her stepmother's cruel mother, Kokoi (Sushmita Mukherjee) enters the scene and plots to eliminate her. The little girl naturally turns to Hanuman for help and the Monkey God takes on an avatar as a young boy called Maruti (Erik Nanda) and enters her house without her being aware of his godly status. He now becomes Rameshwari's savior and teaches the villains a lesson. The villains, who are led by Kokoi include a tantrik, played by Murli Sharma and her brother, Shahbaz Khan. All three do their best to eliminate the little girl but fail to cause her any actual harm as Maruti is always there to protect and save her.

On the positive side, good and evil are clearly delineated in the movie with no grey shades. But the only problem as one sees it, is the strong presence and the footage that the forces of evil receive in the movie. The film would have worked more favourably for its target audience, if there was a little more attention paid to the scenes between the kids. Since Hanuman is a much loved figure in India, it takes nothing to fall in love with the character of Maruti. However, despite the presence of Maruti, the film does not rise above the level of mediocrity. There is nothing elevating about the entire experience. The difference between a Hollywood super hero and a Hanuman for instance, is the sheer difference in stature, but that does not really come across in this movie.

The film's animation could have been better. The film's music is mediocre and the only piece which creates an impact is the famous 'Jai Hanuman Gyan Gun Sagar', which is the opening track. It is a very familiar number and that accounts for much of its appeal.

Coming to the film's cast, one is amazed that Chandrachud Singh has chosen this movie as his comeback vehicle. He hardly has much to do as Rameshwari's gentle and kind father. Sushmita Mukherjee gives a good performance and so do Murali Sharma and Shabaaz Khan. The child actor playing the role of Rameshwari is quite competent but the one actor who stands out is Eric Nanda as the young Maruti, who delivers the most natural performance of all.

In the final analysis, Maruti Mera Dost never rises above mediocrity as the director does not display much of an understanding about children. The tone of his film veers more towards a melodramatic Hindi potboiler, with long drawn put sequences. There is no sense of lightness, either in feel or mood, which turns out to be the film's biggest failing.