Vishu review: This ‘love story’ starring Gashmeer Mahajani is downright absurd

When a film is named after its central character, you expect the protagonist to be a great person. If not that, you at least expect them to be interesting or likeable. But that isn't the case with Mayur Madhukar Shinde’s Vishu, where Gashmeer Mahajani plays the titular character. 

Vishwanath 'Vishu' Malwankar is a carefree youngster living on rent with roommates in Mumbai, away from his village in the Malvan region. The youth has the tendency to abandon jobs as soon as he gets bored. In order to avoid paying rent, he carries out a fake romance with his landlord’s daughter. 

When interviewing for a job — after being needled by a friend — he instantly gets selected and is offered a huge salary. But he turns down the offer as he doesn’t find the work exciting. However, the very next moment his eyes fall on the company’s beautiful vice-president Arvy (Mrinmayee Godbole) and he changes his mind.

After a while, Vishu falls for Arvy and proposes to her despite knowing that she is engaged and her marriage preparations are in full swing. Later on, he makes her life hell by refusing to carry out a simple formality. On top of that, a supporting character labels her as someone with an attitude problem. 

Given the qualities and actions of the protagonist, it is impossible to root for or sympathize with Vishu. 

Unfortunately, the problematic characterization isn’t the only negative. The film is plagued by logical issues. It’s difficult to believe that a job-hopper such as Vishu would get hired instantaneously and receive an offer of Rs85,000 per month at that. This happens even after the HR person raises an eyebrow at his spotty work history. Weirdly, when Arvy reads the same CV, she is bowled over. We also don’t know why Vishu works part-time as a cab driver even after bagging the lucrative job. 

The film becomes unintentionally hilarious when the employees of the company start wearing black bands to protest against the indirect sacking of an employee. They also constantly share pictures of their agitation on social media. Now, which company would tolerate this? Instead, the stir gives the impotent bosses sleepless nights. 

Vishu gets worse after the interval when the story shifts to the Malvan. The beautiful locale is the only pleasing factor here. The storytelling, however, takes a backseat as it seems the makers were more interested in showcasing the beauty and culture of the region. The film throws in a major twist at the very end, which has you in splits — again unintentionally. 

The only positive in Vishu is the performances. Despite the problematic nature of his character, Mahajani is impressive. During the scenes at his village, he is convincing as a native. Godbole also overcomes the shortcomings of her character and delivers a natural performance. Newcomer Aetashaa Sansgiri shows promise.