Munda Hi Chahida review: Well-intentioned film that takes too long to reach foregone conclusion

Munda Hi Chahida, the directorial debut of Santosh Thite and Deepak Thaper, is aimed at being a family entertainer that also explores the obsession of Indian society with a male child. The film stars Harish Verma and Rubina Bajwa and has been produced by Neeru Bajwa.

Dharmender (Harish Verma) is a crabby fellow frustrated with having to single-handedly bear the responsibility of his family. Being the only son of his parents with sisters for siblings, he is expected to do all the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively, and wishes he had a brother who could share his tasks.

With two daughters, Dharmender feels the pressure for a son when he is constantly goaded by societal expectations. An accidental piece of advice from a Baba works in his favour and he follows his suggestion to empathize in a most unusual manner with wife Rani (Rubina Bajwa) through her pregnancy.

What Rani doesn’t know is that all this is being done to secure a son. When Dharmender’s obsession crosses all limits, Rani cannot bear it anymore and things come to a head.

The story is an unconventional one and full credit to Verma who conveys the ups and downs that his character goes through. Rubina Bajwa does not have much to do but plays the role of doting, supportive wife well. The supporting cast adds humour to the story. Honey Mattu deserves special mention for his performance.

Though the well-intentioned film begins with the powerful Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao slogan of 'Phool nahi chingari hai, hum Bharat ki naari hai' and has its heart in the right place, the long-winding social message gets garbled along the way. It is all very well to criticize the obsession with the male child, but not much is done to change the lot of Dharmender’s sisters or even daughters who meekly cower under patriarchal authority.

The slow-paced story takes very long to get on point, making too many detours along the way and resorting to conventional tropes to reach its predictable resolution. In the end, one is not quite convinced by the culmination of events as it mostly feels like symbolic gestures made to tick the right boxes.

However, male preference remains a pertinent social issue in India and the fact that the film delves into it in an imaginative way is praiseworthy.