There comes a point in Mubarakan when Anil Kapoor’s dejected figure draws laughs simply by walking into a room. Anees Bazmee’s film, by then, has more than established that without the dynamism of this 60-year-old actor, this comedy of errors really would be a forgettable, messy affair. Kapoor dominates each frame, establishing that age is just a number and it hasn’t diminished his youthful energy. There are two Arjun Kapoors, Ileana D’Cruz, Neha Sharma and thankfully only one Athiya Shetty, but even the five together cannot match the enthusiasm of Anil Kapoor. Not that the writers want them to. When you have an ace in the pack, you don’t play the jokers.
Mubarakan is the sort of ensemble comedy that will worryingly remind viewers of Sajid Khan’s movies because of its tropes such as the foreign setting, a double role, mixed identities and misunderstandings leading to chaos and confusion and OTT acting(Pavan Raj Malhotra takes the honour here). Only the humour is less cringe-worthy, with fewer intolerable puns and its pretty daft actresses are treated a tad better, although they have ridiculous names. Athiya is Binkle.
The story revolves around identical twins, Karan and Charan(Arjun Kapoor), who are orphaned young and raised apart, by their aunt Jeeto(Ratna Pathak) and uncle Baldev(Malhotra) in London and Punjab respectively. Their youngest uncle, Kartar Singh(Anil Kapoor), is a bachelor living the high Punjabi life in London with his English but Punjabi-speaking butler/manager Jolly. Trouble begins when Jeeto(Ratna Pathak Shah) and Baldev(Malhotra) arrange the marriages of their sons. Mubarak’s narrative rests entirely on boys not being men, for both Karan and Charan are unable to tell their parents that they already have girlfriends(Ileana D’Cruz as Sweety and Neha Sharma as Nafisa). When a meet-the-bride’s parents go terribly wrong, Jeeto and Baldev part ways and look to get their sons married on the same date in London. Soon, Kartar Singh is coming up with nonsensical ideas to resolve the ensuing chaos only for them to repeatedly backfire.
Mubarak is not without some disconcerting depictions including making the bride’s rich father poorer by having him foot the bill in a destination wedding and troubling, dismissive treatment of a relationship between a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl. The few funny moments here belong to the senior actors with the younger actors unable to hold the scenes. No wonder then, the makers bring Anil Kapoor into many scenes featuring them. The songs are superfluous with a particularly ill-timed ballad. Malhotra is on loudspeaker mode. Meanwhile, Athiya Shetty is on silent mode, an Indian girl whose lack of personality can only be attributed to having lived a life locked in her London mansion. The writers treat D’Cruz better giving her some spine and more screen time too. Arjun Kapoor is serviceable, although easily outshined by his Chacha on the comic timing front.