’36 Farmhouse’ Review: Terrible Pacing, Predictable Plot And Half-Baked Characters Ruined The Magic Created By Sanjay Mishra And Vijay Raaz
I love watching a good comedy family drama movie. What’s not to like about a relatable family drama? And thanks to the Covid-19 induced pandemic, we’ve got a large variety of content at our fingertips. All the different OTT platforms have provided us with all kinds of content. But, personally, I love comedies. I mean there’s drama, laughter, thrill and comedy films really just allow you to unplug. Having said that, it is also important to understand that with all that content available online, it’s not easy to pick the right things to watch. No one really wants to have to sit through a movie or series only to be disappointed in the end. And that, my friends, is why I thought I’d save you the trouble and review this comedy-drama film. Written by Subhash Ghai and directed by Ram Ramesh Sharma, 36 Farmhouse is a comedy-drama that released on the OTT platform Zee5 on January 21. 36 Farmhouse stars Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raaz, Amol Parashar, Barkha Singh, Flora Saini, Madhuri Bhatia, Ashwini Kalsekar in pivotal roles.
The Plot Of ’36 Farmhouse’
While the story of this film begins on a promising note, it eventually takes a turn for the worst. Set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, 36 Farmhouse revolves around a migrant father-son duo, Jai Prakash, played by Sanjay Mishra and Harry, played by Amol Parashar, who land up at a rich (almost royal) family’s farmhouse after they are rendered jobless due to the global pandemic. On the other hand, the family that owns farmhouse number 36 is engaged in a family feud over their ancestral property. The family has three brothers who are busy plotting against each other in order to become the legal heir of the property owned by their mother Padmini, played by Madhuri Bhatia, who just BTW is very much alive but sick (classic). The film begins with the eldest brother Raunak Singh, played by Vijay Raaz, killing a lawyer sent by his brothers to have their mother’s will, who names Raunak as the sole heir of her property, changed. Soon after that Jai Prakash lands at their farmhouse after the housekeeper Benny, played by Ashwini Kalsekar, brings him home to replace their chef who left for his village due to the lockdown but Jai Prakash has ulterior motives. A little later, Raunak’s niece Antara (Barkha Singh) comes over with Harry, who happens to be Jai Prakash’s son and much like his father he too has a trick up his sleeve. The story also has other characters namely a police inspector investigating the case of the missing lawyer, two sons and a cunning daughter-in-law (surprise, surprise).
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Now, I will be nice and not revealed more about the story but let me tell you this, you do not want to find out more. The plot of 36 Farmhouse is as predictable as it can get, it’s all about the dead body and it’s not as hilarious as you’d expect it to be considering the star cast.
The Cast And Characters
Nearly all characters in this story are missing a backstory and lack depth. While all of them have subplots and a storyline of their own, most of them lack any significance. Barkha Singh’s character falls in love with Harry, but TBH, she has no significance. I don’t get why she’s even there since she’s not doing anything important. Now, you’d expect that with Sanjay Mishra and Vijay Raaz playing pivotal roles, 36 Farmhouse would make for a great film but the fact is that their characters were lost and had no substance. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the film has two more brothers who are practically missing. Every character in the film seems like they have an identity crisis. It honestly felt like Subhash Ghai barely scratched the surface with his characters and the story.
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Also Read: 5 Thoughts That Came To Me While Watching The ‘36 Farmhouse’ Trailer. Eager To Watch Dynamic Between Sanjay Mishra And Vijay Raaz
The Music
I really just have one thing to say about the cringe-worthy music in 36 Farmhouse – just why? Why would the makers put us through this?
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Final Verdict
In the opening scenes of the 36 Farmhouse, real footage of migrant workers walking home on foot has been used and one would expect that the film would show the adversities faced by them with a comic twist but rather it comes across as tone-deaf. Having said that the storyline and the characters of the film seem half-baked and the writing really failed to impress us. Surprisingly, the comedy-drama film is missing two of the most important elements – the punchlines and the comic timing. I had high hopes from 36 Farmhouse when I started watching it but 30 minutes into it and it felt like I had endured a lifetime of watching half-baked content. While the script was promising the screenplay failed to make an impact or send any meaningful message or even make one laugh. 36 Farmhouse failed to elicit laughter in its one hour fifty minutes of screentime. And not to mention a large number of unexplained elements and missing character depth.
