Jahnvi Kapoor has succeeded cinematically in capturing the nuances of this specialized genre.
STORY: Mili, played by Janhvi Kapoor, is a typical Indian man from a small town who is constantly torn between following his dreams and taking care of his family. But as we all know by now, something happens that turns her life upside down, and the story that is told in front of the audience is a combination of nerve-wracking survival techniques and a string of unfortunate coincidences. Mili is every bit the nightmare you don’t want to live, barring the film’s pacing.
At the tender age of 10, I unintentionally locked myself in a room and was unable to escape until my terrified father was able to smash the front door down. As I watched Mili endure what she had to in 2022—when she was a fully grown woman—all those suppressed feelings of helplessness and the realization that my life was ebbing away at that ripe age came rushing back. Janhvi Kapoor has succeeded in this regard from a cinematic standpoint by accurately capturing the subtleties of this specialized genre.
Yes, Mili gets off to a dramatic start with a film-loving boyfriend named Sameer (Sunny Kaushal) and a dependent father named Manoj Pahwa who manipulates his daughter’s emotions by having her neighbours try to talk her out of travelling abroad on his behalf. The girl, who is plain and understandably docile, secretly hopes to make a lot of money while working as a nursing assistant somewhere in Canada’s bitter cold. the partner? Not pleased. Father? secretly heartbroken Mili, who wore the apron from Doon’s Kitchen in the evenings to support her aspirations and mouthed fancy English words during the day, was groaning under the weight of her seemingly isolating dream.
How did Mili get inside the freezer if it had a large staff working in it? Was it a cunning ruse to convince her to remain in Dehradun? Who would perpetrate such a cruel joke? But on the other hand, people are unpredictable and emotions are high. While Mili asks some pertinent questions and injects some funny conversational moments into the story, the survival drama’s necessary pace and tightness is noticeably absent. Sure, Mili uses humour and wit to make up for the lack of visual distress, but eventually even the viewers start to wonder when it will be over.
Mili was, of course, a wise and logical decision to make if the goal is to establish Janhvi Kapoor as a bankable solo star from the outset of her career. Janhvi was naturally susceptible to her circumstances, with the exception of those amusing-looking frost bites on her body—which she had no control over; I get that. One can’t help but weep in sympathy as one watches her doe-eyed face as tears fall. Despite the script’s shortcomings and the makeup artist’s mistakes, Janhvi manages to hold her own in this slowly produced survival drama-thriller.
If this is how two people fall in love in the mountains, I’m sold thanks to Sunny Kaushal and Janhvi Kapoor’s easy-going chemistry! Likewise, with his slick one-liners and easy connection to his on-screen daughter, veteran actor Manoj Pahwa adds warmth and comfort to the story. Like I said, Mili is a self-aware movie that more than makes up for its flaws.
Again, Mili is one of those movies that brings to mind an unpleasant experience or a severe fall that you initially believed you wouldn’t be able to recover from. However, you are happy to see that, like you, she survived.
The story of Mili has its ups and downs, but if you enjoy survival dramas with compelling backstories, you should give it a try.
