Vikun Taak review: Inconsistent and sloppy screenplay makes this a boring watch

Sameer Patil has earned a reputation in Marathi cinema for his choice of subjects. In Poshter Boyz (2014), he dealt with vasectomy and in Poshter Girl (2016) with female foeticide, but in both cases he smartly injected a comedic streak despite dealing with serious subjects.

His latest film, Vikun Taak, is another comedy about a serious issue. But this time Patil misses his mark.

Mukya (Shivraj Waichal) has returned home from Dubai to get married. His father committed suicide a year earlier because he could not repay his bank loans. Now, as everyone is getting ready for the marriage, Mukya receives a notice from the bank to pay up the remaining Rs9 lakh or face seizure of the family's land and house.

Mukya's marriage is called off and he feels humiliated. Then one day he receives Rs50 lakh in his bank account and an Arab named Shaikh Abdul Latif arrives claiming that Mukya has sold him his kidney.

The film doesn't waste much time arriving at the main conflict. Normally that is the sign of a good film, but not here. The initial 20 or 25 minutes are entertaining, but as soon as the conflict arises the film loses its grip. And the culprit is the inconsistent, sloppy writing by Charudatta Bhagwat, Siddheshwar Ekambe and Sameer Patil. The screenplay is all over the place and concludes with a forced social message on organ donation.

The film also has an inconsistent tone, probably because it was written by three different writers. The convoluted screenplay is a perfect example of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Vikun Taak marks Chunky Pandey's entry into Marathi cinema, but the veteran has chosen the wrong script for his debut. His supposedly funny Arabian accent does not make you laugh at all.

If the screenplay was going to be focused on Mukya, why make it an ensemble? The characters played by Samir Choughule, Rutuja Deshmukh and Jaywant Wadkar add zero value to the script. In fact, if the writers had not wasted time on these characters, the film would probably have made greater impact.

The film also has an unnecessary love angle between Mukya and Dhani (Radha Sagar), which feels more like an afterthought by the writers to make it more 'commercial'. Another thing that feels like a last-minute add-on is the kidney racket subplot. It comes out of nowhere. Patil should have controlled his urge to turn the film into a social drama in the climax.

Vikun Taak has an ensemble of some very good artistes but fails to use their talents well. Varsha Dandale, who plays Mukya's mother, is consistently loud and becomes too irritating after a point. The same goes for the characters of Chunky Pandey and Samir Choughule. Both overact on multiple occasions, especially Pandey.

Shivraj Waichal and Hrishikesh Joshi are the only saving grace here. Joshi does not get much screentime, but his character is interesting and he does justice to it. Waichal delivers an honest performance.

This is another letdown on the Valentine's weekend.