What Is the Story About?
Disney Plus Hotstar’s latest original film ‘Cash’ is a comedy, centred on the 2016 demonetization that happened in India. Armaan Gulati (Amol Parashar) is a down-on-luck entrepreneur, who’s constantly on the lookout for a startup that’ll give him success. He senses an opportunity to make money from demonetization by helping people launder their demonetized black money into white. But when politician Acharya (Gulshan Grover) saddles him with 5 crore to launder, he knows he’s bitten off more than he can chew.
Cash is produced by Vishesh Bhatt and directed by Rishab Seth.
Performances?
Amol Parashar is superb as Armaan Gulati. He makes the character believable and lovable. His somewhat flashy, over-the-top performance suits his character to the T. Kavin Dave is charming and funny as his partner-in-crime, Soda. Gulshan Grover establishes his screen presence despite the poorly written role. Krishna Singh Bisht is good as petty money-launderer Qazi Bhai. Anand Alkunte is a riot as the upright dabbawala-turned-cop, Tukaram Pingle. Smiriti Kalra is average as con-woman Neha.
Analysis
‘Cash’ is a comic caper that aims to cash in on demonetization, but is several years too late. The film would’ve been more relevant and maybe well-received had it released in 2017. Alternatively, the stale plot could have worked if the screenplay was extremely well-written and uproarious funny, neither of which can be said for Cash. At the most, Cash can be described as an average comedy that starts off well, lags desperately in the middle, and then never gets a chance to recover in the later stages.
This is not to say that all is lost in Cash. Several of the one-liners are humorous and manage to evoke a smile. The characters are well-written and embellished with unique quirks and idiosyncrasies. The dabbawala-turned-cop character is entertaining, as is the pain-loving Qazi Bhai. But too many subplots thrown into the mix combine to spoil the broth. The shock-gun subplot and the ‘IIT’ sequences are kind of draggy and boring. Cash is afflicted with the old syndrome of average comedies – that start off well but fizzle out within the first half an hour or so.
A forced romance, pointless songs and a lot of beating around the bush add to the averageness of Cash. Director Rishab Seth displays a certain flourish in the way he captures the story. The comedy is entertaining in parts. But in the end, none of it is enough to help elevate Cash into a must-watch film from an average one.
Music and Other Departments?
The musical score of Cash is quite average. Akull and Arijit Singh’s ‘Tera Hua’ is pleasing to the ears, but remains to be seen whether it will have a shelf life of more than a few days. Nagaraj A Rathinam’s camerawork is nothing out of the ordinary. Devendra Murdeshwar’s editing is average.
Highlights?
Quirky, well-written characters
Funny in parts
Drawbacks?
Starts off well but fizzles out soon enough
Draggy in the middle
Did I Enjoy It?
It’s an average watch
Will You Recommend It?
Only for die-hard Hindi content watchers
Cash Movie Review by Binged Bureau