Montu Pilot Review – A Stale, Pointless Plot About Life in a Brothel

BOTTOM LINE: A Stale, Pointless Plot About Life in a Brothel

Rating: 3/10

What Is the Story About?

Montu, an orphan bides his time at a red light area, where he’s supposedly a pimp. Memories of his painful past, encounters with his mother keep flashing in his mind. A man who once had aimed to be a pilot as a child is now a disturbed man in his 20s, caught between his past and present. Then enters Bhromor in his life, who’s lured into prostitution as her father sells her off to a pimp in the same area. Unable to resist the pimp coming at her, Bhrmor expresses her displeasure in taking up the profession and is being molested, until there’s a sudden murder. Montu and Bhromor are being chased by the cops. The two keep recollecting of a rosy life once they had dreamt of, in contrast to the pathetic situation they are stuck at.

Performances?

As part of the many weak links in the series, the prominent one is, unfortunately, its casting, even if you hoped against hope about a possible rescue act. Sourav Das and Solanki Roy don’t make much effort in understanding their character either. Montu’s ambition to be a pilot too has nothing to do with the outcome of the series, while Solanki Roy’s part seems like a leaf taken out of Sharmila Tagore’s role in Amar Prem.

Character actors Subrat Datta and Kanchan Mullick spring some magic in the unimaginative sequences, but they can do only so much with the mediocrity that surrounds them. By far, Chandrayee Ghosh gets the most interesting role in the series where adequate shades to explore her acting penchant. But, the backstory doesn’t get the time it deserves.

Analysis

Montu Pilot is a series that is as vague as it can get. For all its supposedly classic-interpretation of prostitution amid a cliched setting, this is a series that feels so 1970s as an idea. There’s nothing remotely even dramatic or realistic about it, although it occasionally warrants your attention with the tension in the narrative. The show revolves around losers in life who’re caught in a cobweb of issues, some knowingly and some unknowingly.

The very purpose of the digital medium is to ensure an alternative storytelling paradigm, where the characters are intriguing, no commercial diktats are hindering the story and the narrative has some conviction. Montu Pilot is everything but that. This is a recycled product of all the classic Hindi and Bengali films based on prostitution that you had probably ended up watching. Barring a few interesting situations that the characters get into, Montu Pilot is painfully slow. There is hardly any aesthetic value in the execution either.

Most characters in the series keep discussing deep-rooted philosophies about love, betrayal and loss. The lead character on whom the show revolves, Montu is the least appealing among all. Either the actor or the character itself is so lost on the screen that you have little interest in what’s going on in his mind. Despite each episode lasting only about 20 minutes, they still feel stretched, barely conveying anything concrete.

Is the story new? No. Is the treatment new? No. Is the acting impressive? No. Hoichoi can be quick in churning out one series after the other, week after week but what’s the point if it only celebrates mediocrity? Montu Pilot doesn’t at all fly high. Unless and until you would want to willingly waste a 100 minutes of your life, you needn’t knock the door of Montu Pilot.

Music and Other Departments?

Music is surprisingly the aspect that holds the show together when the actors or the story disappoints. If only the story was marginally better and less outdated, Montu Pilot would have passed muster. The dialogues are decent, if not extraordinary, with expletives aplenty to express a character’s frustration. The cinematography is tasteless. Visually, the atmosphere contributes nothing to the experience, apart from intermittent attempts to convey something metaphorical.

Highlights?

Chandrayee Ghosh’s role
Subrat Datta and Kanchan Mullick’s performances
Reasonable music

Drawbacks?

Outdated story
Poor efforts from the technical team
Weak lead actors

Did I Enjoy It?

No

Will You Recommend It?

No

Montu Pilot Review by Srivathsan Nadadhur

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