Nikamma Movie Review: Alas, the audience is not that 'Nikamma' to fall for this cringefest of a film

Imagine two hours of the lead protagonist screaming each and every dialogue at the top of his lungs, the logic and screenplay brutally getting massacred at every sub-plot of the movie, and dialogues that will make you scratch your head in agony, that was what constituted of the Abhimanyu Dassani starrer Nikamma . One cannot fathom how such a shoddy and amateurish screenplay and execution reached the final cut while watching this snoozefest. What is more deplorable is that it just makes the performances of actors like Shilpa Shetty , Abhimanyu Dasaani, and Abhimanyu Singh unwatchable who have otherwise got massive potential.

The plot revolves around Adi (Abhimanyu Dassani) whose world revolves around his elder brother Raman (Samir Soni) who has been a parental figure in his life. Their world goes around happily until his brother marries Avni (Shilpa Shetty) who soon to Adi's dismay threatens to take his place in his brother's life. Adi is furthermore perplexed after he is sent to live with his sister-in-law who makes him do all the household chores and continuously urges him to get serious about his life. His only solace is his ladylove (Shirley Setia). However, a revelation about his sister-in-law makes Adi have a drastic change of heart and he goes on a spree to protect her against a dreaded gangster Vikramjeet Bisht (Abhimanyu Singh) who has locked horns with Avni over the seizing of his chain of public vehicles.

Director Sabbir Khan who has churned out films like Heropanti (2014) and Baaghi (2016) before this, once again tried to bring in the masala-action formula on celluloid but for that, at least one needs to have the basic synchronization of the screenplay, performance and dialogue delivery in place. Nikamma severely suffers in all aspects. If the loud, over-the-top, and cringe introduction and character development of the lead protagonist were not enough, the movie massively falters in the inculcation of even the most basic common sense and logic in all of its subplots. Be it Abhimanyu Dassani’s Adi explaining to the baddies why he won’t burn due to the LPG gas leakage or Shilpa Shetty’s Avni suddenly turning out to be a cop, in the end, you just find the chain of events and the dialogues bizarre and exasperating.

The showdown between the hero and the villain coupled with a countdown that symbolizes the days left for the male protagonist to save his sister-in-law from death only evokes laughter for all the wrong reasons. Even in the climax, one cannot connect with the flaring temperament of the film and the high-octane emotions of the lead characters. The character, plot, and screenplay development succumbs badly due to the flawed execution.

The performances hit a new low in the movie. After Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Meenakshi Sundareshwar, it is appalling to witness Abhimanyu Dassani just screaming and howling and doing some over-the-top dialogue delivery in each and every frame of Nikamma. The actor tried to fit into the commercial forefront as directed by Sabbir Khan but the deplorably written character and the shoddy execution do not do him justice. Shilpa Shetty tries to put in some good effort with her charming screen presence but her performance does not act as a saving grace for this one. Shirley Setia has a one-tone range of expression on her face even in the serious sequences and Abhimanyu Singh just shows the menacing aspect of his character by screaming at the top of his voice and mouthing cringe dialogues.

The songs and the other technical aspects do not add any validating factor to the movie. Alas, the audience is not as ‘Nikamma’ to accept this tomfoolery in the name of entertaining cinema. Give your senses some rest and stay away from this dreadful presentation.