The Legend Of Michael Mishra review – A fitting tribute to Anthony Kaun Hai?

Film: The Legend Of Michael Mishra
Rating: 1/5

Director Manish Jha made his debut with the internationally acclaimed Matroobhumi – A Nation Without Women (2003). So, it is difficult to believe that he has come up with something like The Legend Of Michael Mishra. The use of the words ‘something like’ will be justified as you read on. 

The film starts off with a hotel owner (Boman Irani) narrating the tale of Michael Mishra (Arshad Warsi) to a group of tourists. Michael was a tailor in his adolescence in Bihar, who falls in love with a girl Varsha (Aditi Rao Hydari's younger avatar). But the two are separated after Michael is jailed for committing a crime. By the time he returns, the girl and her family are nowhere to be seen. 

Michael grows up to be a gangland boss with the help of his right-hand man Half Pant (Kayoze Irani). He runs the biggest kidnapping racket in the state and has a private jail for his victims. All this while he continues to make attempts to find Varsha. When he does find her, it is in an unexpected situation. However, to win her love, he will have to give up his criminal ways. Is that too much to ask of Michael? 

The Legend Of Michael Mishra (TLOMM) provides a feeling of deja vu, reminding us of director Raj Kaushal’s Anthony Kaun Hai? (2006). In fact, as far as the basic plot is concerned, it’s like a remake of that film. Anyone who has seen Anthony Kaun Hai? would know that this is not good news. 

Here are the similarities between both films:-

– Sanjay Dutt featured on the poster and other promotional material of Anthony Kaun Hai? But he had just a cameo in the film. The same happens with Boman Irani in TLOMM.

– In both films, Warsi plays the protagonist who struggles to find love.

– His romantic mission is complicated by his jail sentence.

– The story of the protagonist is narrated in a flashback.

 – The title of both films have a Catholic name.

– But here’s the biggest similarity. Anthony Kaun Hai? suffered from an uninteresting story told in a poor manner. There was nothing to amuse or entertain the audience apart from few giggle-worthy lines. This is exactly how TLOMM can be described. In fact, this one fares worse. The 2006 film was more bearable. 

Coming to the performances, you wonder what made good performers like Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani accept this one. Warsi overacts most of the time. Someone like Salman Khan or Akshay Kumar would have been a better fit for this role. 

Boman Irani is the best of the lot, but still falls way short of the class he is capable of. Kayoze Irani was impressive in his debut, Student Of The Year (2012). Watching him here makes it difficult to believe this is the same actor.

Overall, The Legend Of Michael Mishra is a fitting tribute to Anthony Kaun Hai? It couldn’t have released at a better time as the 2006 film completed 10 years yesterday. 

Director: Manish Jha
Producers: Shareen Mantri Kedia and Kishor Arora 
Writers: Manish Jha and Anshuman Chaturvedi 
Cast: Arshad Warsi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kayoze Irani, Boman Irani 
Music: Meet Brothers Anjjan, Abhinav Bansal, Nikhil-Ujjwal, Rishi Siddharth and Somya-Raul
Genre: Romance/ Drama
Runtime: 123 minutes