Made in China movie review: Rajkummar Rao's movie does 'THE TALK' without being too preachy
Rajkummar Rao plays Raghuvir Mehta, a small businessman hailing from Gujarat, who has a pool of entrepreneurial ideas, but none of them work. He has a strong support system in the form of his wife, Rukmini but she is getting tired of his failing business ventures with each passing day. But even with their mouth-to-hand existence, they are happy and much in love. Raghu's cousin, played by Sumeet Vyas, is a wealthy businessman whose father keeps pestering Raghu to do something substantial in his life. It is because of him that he goes to China with his cousin, where he encounters Tanmay Shah, the great businessman who gives direction to Raghu's entrepreneurial ambitions and fuels his spark.
Soon, with the different turn of events, he bumps into a Chinese local, who takes Raghu to her boss, who proposes to him a potential business idea of an aphrodisiac Chinese Tiger Soup. What follows are Raghu's tireless struggles finding worthy business partners, workers and convincing Boman Irani (Dr Vardhi) to get on board for his business venture. Together they plan to bank on the sex-starved Indian market while spreading awareness about sexual health and wellness. But the sudden death of a visiting Chinese dignitary puts him in trouble as he gets embroiled in a police investigation.
Mixing two most popular concepts in Indian cinema right now- Indian society's stigma surrounding sex, virility problems and rising entrepreneurial ambitions of the youth, 'Made in China' aims to carry the baton of sexual awareness forward in India, without being too preachy in its approach. It merges two ideas together that have been previously attempted in movies like "Vicky Donor", Shubh Mangal Saavdhan" and "Khandaani Shafakhana", "Guru", Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year", "Band Baajaa Baaraat", but separately.
Director Mikhil Musale takes his sweet time building the plot of the movie, which leaves the audience waiting for the 'real deal'. The first half seems stretched with the movie taking quite some time to reach 'the issue'. Other than that, 'Made In China' also has some great comic moments that successfully manage to tickle the funny bone. Dr Vardhi's hilariously unexpected Q&A session at a PTA meeting deserves a special mention. Not to miss the funny moments in the middle of the government hearing right at the climax of the movie.
Boman Irani is outstanding as Dr Vardhi. We are almost reminded of him playing the stern Dr Asthana in the famed Munna Bhai series. It is a treat to watch him play the sexologist in Made in China, who is on a mission to spread awareness on sexual health in India. The conviction of his character is on full display at the end of the movie where Dr Vardhi explains the reason of his eviction from Uganda, banging the table and announcing in the government meeting that he fled from Uganda like a coward but he won't stop on his mission in India, as it is HIS country.
Rajkummar Rao is reliable as always playing a Gujarati businessman. Sumeet Vyas looks good in the role of a cunning cousin, though we don't get to see him as much in the movie. Mouni Roy looks beautiful, but her sensual portrayal seems unnecessary and a little over the top. Paresh Rawal is a treat to watch with his hilarious lessons business lessons.
The winner of the movie is the climax which balances the heavy talks on sexual health issues in the country with simple but powerful humor punches, highlighting the great chemistry between Rajkummar Rao and Boman Irani. All-in-all, Made in China is a fun comedy movie with a message that can make for a good one time watch.
Watch the trailer here.