The movie Laxmii has been released on the Disney Hotstar streaming platform. The movie was earlier titled Laxmmi Bomb, but apparently, that hurt sentiment and the name was amended by the filmmakers. The film is billed as a comedy horror film and stars Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani in the lead roles.
The movie is about Asif (Akshay Kumar) who marries Rashmi (Kiara Advani) against her parents’ wishes. Visiting the family of Rashmi, Asif is possessed by the spirit of a transgender woman called Laxmi. The film is based on Kanchana, a Tamil film.
Someone who is generally fairly generous with his stars, Taran Adarsh has said this one is ‘disappointing’ while taking the time to lavish praise on Kumar.
The film is loud and over the top. It is neither funny nor scary. It is completely unsubtle and very poorly written. Some reviewers predict that the film will do badly on the digital platform.
He plays a man who is possessed by the ghost of a transgender woman. Others have said the opposite.
The bam bhole track from the film has little in the way of melody but has a strangely hypnotic beat that draws in the listener.
In particularly, it is fans of Akshay Kumar that have loved the film.
Some reviewers also spoke positively about the film.
Some viewers said that the unusual story line, the humour and the performances have appealed to them.
There are many on Twitter that claim to have hated the film; some who said they couldn’t tolerate even 15 minutes of the film. I sat through the film and regret the 2+ hours of my life that I am never getting back. The movie started out seeming to decry belief in ghosts and superstition, but later the movie reinforces all the superstitions, and witchcraft type practices with a vengeance.
Some viewers were expecting to watch a film that sensitively explored the issues of transgender people. However, this was largely a loud and crass caricature of the community; the stereotypical Bollywood characterisation of trans people. There is some small attempt to clear misconceptions about transgender people but the terrible acting and high melodrama eclipses whatever positive message the movie could possibly have conveyed.
However, some are of the view that hating the movie is something of a trend that people want to be seen to be associated with. Recently, we have seen a lot of calls to boycott Bollywood, the down rating movies and YouTube videos/trailers.
There are many who have organised themselves in support of the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and have down-voted the film as a generalised protest against Bollywood.
Those who have seen the original feel this is a poor remake.
Some disliked the film for being Hindu-phobic (presumably because a Hindu girl married a Muslim man in the film). Some disliked it for being Islamophobic (there is a Muslim man shown to be dancing for a Hindu goddess). Then there are those who disliked it for being crassly made; treating sensitive subjects ham-handedly. Far from dispelling superstition, the film seems to reinforce it. But then there are those who thoroughly enjoyed Laxmii (Laxmmi Bomb) – one to watch at your own risk.
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