Rajesh Krishnan’s ‘Lootcase’ back in 2020 was an interesting yet underrated black comedy crime thriller. Coming from such a director, his latest outing ‘Crew’ looks like a turbulent flight right from take-off until it somehow lands on an uncharted runway. Krishnan’s ‘Crew’ is positioned as a heist comedy which probably must be created with a scribbled idea on a tissue paper while on a flight to meet the producers. Rope in three ladies (of different age groups) having troubled lives trying to make up by pulling off a heist in air.
While the one liner plot-line must have sounded interesting, the over zealous makers forgot to write the plot and directly took off filming ‘Crew’! The story (or the lack of it) is about three diligent female friends – Geeta Sethi (Tabu), Jasmine Rana (Kareena Kapoor Khan), Divya Bajwa (Kriti Sanon) – working as cabin crew for Kohinoor Airlines (with Saswata Chatterjee playing Vijay Walia!!!, Chairman of Kohinoor Airlines). The three ladies have their own back stories and reasons how they happen to be doing what they are doing.
The back and forth moving narrative explains the desires of each of them and how they had to take up this job of being an airline cabin crew. Their seemingly peaceful lives take a turn when they are unexpectedly caught in a difficult situation orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives, trapped in a never-ending struggle, desperately trying to break free. So far so good, had the writers spend time in corroborating their thoughts into skilled eventful episodes in the narrative, ‘Crew’ could have been a defining franchise.
Instead the makers instructed the writers to indulge in sexist ‘B’ grade innuendos, with suggestive flying terminology and worse. There are quite a few scenes that could be categorised as sexist camouflaged in the garb of being comedy. The only thing that the fairer sex might like is the selection of some dresees that are smart, imaginative and standout. Not to forget the writers honesty in accepting that age is catching up with atleast two of the three friends and they ‘are’ in the best position for their age.
The initial part of the plot still seems bearable but as the scenes unfold, the flight nosedives loosing control of what the writer must have thought and where it is being dragged. How the three become crew is fine, why they plan the heist can also be reluctantly accepted but the climax and the finale is ‘out of nowhere’ literally. With the flight landing on a field only to stopped besides cattle.
Tabu, Kareena Kapoor and Kriti Sanon perform their ‘duties’ as intructed by their captain (read director), nothing much that they can do anyways since the flight is already hijacked by a weak script. Diljit Dosanjh and Kapil Sharma’s presence could be at max termed as friendly appearance.
The best part of the film’s music is the nostalgia created by Ila Arun’s songs ‘Ghaghra’, ‘Choli Ke Peeche’, composed by Diljit Dosanjh, Badshah, Raj Ranjodh, Vishal Mishra, Akshay-IP, Bharg-Rohit while the background score is composed by John Stewart Eduri.
Overall, a trip to a nearby mall doing window shopping could be money well spent instead of being seated for a shade over two hours watching stupidity unfolding in the name of a heist comedy.
Movie: Crew
Directed by: Rajesh Krishnan
Cast: Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon, Diljit Dosanjh, Kapil Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Saswata Chatterjee
Duration: 2hrs 3mins
Produced by Ekta Kapoor, Rhea Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Digvijay Purohit under Balaji Motion Pictures and Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network. The film was theatrically released on 29 March 2024.
