Goa is by far the most glamourous destination in Bollywood, its beaches replacing any other seen on the celluloid. Add to that the Goan music, the techno beats and visuals of beach shacks and Indian actors in beachwear, Goa seems more attainable than the beaches one sees in US or South East Asian movies. The visuals of drugs, hippies in dreadlocks and Russian mobsters gives it some edge too; Goa is not just beach paradise, theres some danger too, it says. So to present a Goa that turns most of these tropes on their heads, or at least sideways would seem like a bold move.
Madgaon Express, directed by Kunal Khemu, takes the Goa that viewers often see on the big screen and turns over its head. Sure there are the beaches and shacks and cocaine and Russian/firangi folks, but there is also homegrown mafia, narrow bylanes, three-star lodges, unreserved train coaches.
By no stretch is Madgaon Express a perfect film. On the contrary, it suffers from pacing issues, disjointed narrative, and minimal to zero chemistry between the main characters. The movie starts with the chawls of Mumbai and then proceeds to wander in the by-lanes of Goa. The Goa seen in this movie is not the glamourous place we have become accustomed to.
Starting at the beginning, the storyline of Madgaon Express seems disjointed, with may concurrent storylines, each with their own potentials. Kunal Khemu set out to make a caper buddy film, and he nearly succeeds; I say nearly because he falters in a key film-making aspect - actors. Kunal Khemu did go for fine actors, but there is little to none interplay between them. Each seems to have prepared their roles in solitude and not bothered to do together. As a result we get each actor doing their part but their energy levels rarely match. Divyendu as Dodo, Pratik Gandhi as Pinku, Avinash as Ayush playing childhood friend don't get that well to be convincing as chaddi buddies . Amaong the supporting characters, Upendra Limaye as Mendonza bhai, Chhaya Kadam as Komal Komdi as the antagonists don't come across as menacing or funny..
As I said earlier, Kunal Khemu eschews the regular celluloid haunts for less glamourous location, not just for Goa but also for Mumbai. This gives this film a more grungier, grounded look. Even the Goa beaches look desolate and polluted. In place of glitzy hotels, we have a three-star lodge with window ac. The part about the actors talking of the beauty of the Konkan region, only for the viewers to discover that the train travels at night is both funny and relatable at the same time!
On the plus side, Kunal Khemu's love for Goa shines on the screen. He has been visiting Goa on and off, and knows its nooks and crannies. There is little to no glamour in the Goa that we see, but a lot reality vibes, which is possible if one has been visiting a place for a long time.
Kunal Khemu makes a few appearances and each of his appearances are a delight.
To surmise, Madgaon Express, though not a well crafted movie, still has some charma. It is well suited for an afternoon watch with friends.
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