A still out Crew. (politeness: rheakapoor)
A boisterous and greedy trio of flight attendants steers Crew, a crime comedy that’s trial and error at best. The low-yield film taxied to the designated runway without any visible hitch, but once airborne it encountered strong headwinds and a lot of awkward wobbling.
The positives first. Yes, there are a few, not the least of which is Kareena Kapoor, who turns back the clock a bit and lets her hair down without a care in the world. She comes up trumps. Tabu also rises above the noise, despite being saddled with a rather sketchily defined character who has to carry much of the weight of the film on her shoulders.
That aside, at a time when a section of Bollywood is busy pushing selective history lessons and polarizing propaganda films, a heist film meant to provide innocent fun with no agenda, not even a feminist agenda (which would be appropriate anyway) , should be praised for being what it is: an unapologetic caper about the rich robbing the nation and three representatives of a struggling middle class looking to pay back the rich with their own currency.
It’s a different matter Crew it would have been a lot more fun if it only knew how to kick things off with touches of real inspiration. Yes, that’s what’s sorely lacking in a film that goes for gold but fails to find a source of sustained sparkle.
Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri’s screenplay lacks a polish that could distract our attention from the film’s drawbacks. It goes out of its way to be funny. It only works sporadically and to a mild extent.
Three spirited ladies who are not averse to bending the rules to achieve their own goals are the driving force behind the film. However, they don’t stand on a soapbox and talk about empowerment and gender equality. They achieved both in no uncertain terms. Their struggle is against the aviation company they work for and against their own fate in life.
The film’s protagonists, flight attendants who have not received their salaries for six months, stumble upon a golden opportunity when their in-flight supervisor (Ramakant Dayama) falls about 35,000 feet in the air. They seize it with gusto, but soon discover that the pursuit of gold – no matter how essential it is – has pitfalls.
Tabu plays Geeta Sethi, a former Miss Karnal who is happily married but spends her waking hours worrying about unpaid wages and mounting loan defaults. Kareena Kapoor is cast as Jasmine Kohli, who is raised by her maternal grandfather (Kulbhushan Kharbhanda). While struggling to pay the rent on her house, the energetic woman dreams of owning a beauty products company. Her mantra: always have a plan B.
Kriti Sanon is Divya Rana, a class topper from a nondescript Haryana town with an airstrip that has never been used. She is a trained pilot, but has had to settle for the job of a cabin crew member due to a recession in the airline industry. She hides the fact from her parents for fear of breaking their hearts.
Geeta, Jasmine and Divya, who are as thick as thieves but whose friendship is often tested, do not shy away when the opportunity to change their fate comes their way. But they have a ruthless customs official, Sub-Inspector Mala (Trupti Khamkar, who steals the leading ladies’ thunder), to reckon with.
Acting on a tip-off, the sub-inspector orders a thorough search of the plane carrying Geeta, Jasmine and Divya. The three ladies are forced to disembark. They are being scanned on suspicion of smuggling gold from Mumbai to a fictional country in the Middle East.
This is where Crew begins. The film returns to the same point at the break. The second half loses steam quite quickly as nothing the protagonists do to set things right for themselves contains any element of surprise.
Wait a minute, there’s one. Customs officer Jaiveer Singh (Diljit Dosanjh in a cameo appearance) shows up and the film brightens up for a moment. Divya knows him, having once met him briefly after a pint of beer. Will the man save the girls for old time’s sake?
Crew is director Rajesh A. Krishnan’s first theatrical release. He debuted on a streaming platform in 2020 with the lively Loot. The two films, which differ in size and ambition, are connected by their absurdist undertone and empathy with the victims of an economic system in which the rich get richer and the poor survive on unrealized ambitions.
The three main characters of Crew However, they are not the kind who like to play victims. The men in their lives are nice guys. Geeta’s husband (Kapil Sharma in a special appearance) supports her through thick and thin. Jasmine’s grandfather is both friend and protector. And the man who flickers in and out of Divya’s life – Jaiveer – can charm the birds from the trees without lifting a finger.
All the girls demand is a better deal from life and the moneybags that control it. They’re done with their fake lives and fake vibes – best exemplified by Jasmine when she packs a Louis Vuitton bag to take a selfie with. They are now ready to turn the tables on their exploiters, regardless of the consequences. There is a lot of potential here that remains untapped.
Crew is a flight that never reaches cruising altitude. Just when it’s time to get off the ground, we’re running out of fuel. Stuck on a narrative asphalt littered with predictable nonsense, the film is undoubtedly beautiful to watch thanks to all the glamor and sass that the three leading actresses bring to the table. But all the beauty we see on the screen only scratches the surface.
Form:
Tabu, Kareena Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Diljit Dosanjh and Kapil Sharma
Director:
Rajesh A Krishnan