Mardaani 3 review: Rani Mukerji’s bravura act fails to save the film from the curse of the second half

Mardaani 3 review: Rani Mukerji’s bravura act fails to save the film from the curse of the second half

‘Mardaani 3’ ticks off with a shocking abduction of two minor gals by a deadly trafficking ring somewhere in the interior of UP, a town that goes by the name of Bulandshaher. It spirals into a thrilling downstream of events demanding a fast-track closure since one of the girls is the daughter of a high-profile officer in the Embassy.

Mardaani 3 movie review

In no time, ACP Shivani Roy (Rani Mukherjee), who has just moved into NIA. takes charge of the case. Her sharp acumen helps in cracking the vicious web of organized crime that leads to a menacing figure Amma (Mallika Prasad), the nexus of the beggar mafia and a business syndicate of terrifying proportions.

‘Mardaani 3’ sees Rani reprising the unanimously loved cop and spearheading YRF's female-led franchise that refuses to settle even after 12 years. Taut, gripping and relentless, the first half boasts of Abhiraj Minawala's (‘Love Yatri’ – 2018) strong directorial prowess and command on the subject. Its racy and edge of the seat discourse coupled with a shocking twist instantly lures you to call it out as the best film from the franchise.

But YRF as a production house is terribly cursed - the curse of the second half. Starved with creativity, the film not only falls into cracks, but craters. Compared to the outstanding first half, the post intermission portion is an unpardonable letdown.The writing loses its steam and the execution goes haywire in a bid to satisfy the project's overt ambitions.

Rani is good in the first half, but the second hour reduces her to an ordinary figure disseminating stagy heroics in a campy drama. She screeches and screams, whose decibels are no less than Sunny Deol's from the last week’s release, ‘Border 2’.

Combating crimes against women - sex trafficking, rape, child trafficking, Rani's fierce cop Shivani Shivaji Roy leans to amplitude rather than attitude.