Director Akshay Roy treats Vijay 69 as a standard biopic. There are evil, one-dimensional villains who just want the lead character to fail in his venture. There are strangers and family members who think the lead character is crazy for undertaking a risky endeavor. And, of course, there are people who support him wholeheartedly and want him to achieve success. Our hero faces multiple obstacles, but he doesn't give up on his dream, and his mission. His determination is inspiring because even with certain limitations, he completes his task triumphantly. What all this means is that Vijay 69 is filled with stock characters and predictable situations. It shouldn't have worked at all, and still, it works quite well due to its relentless cheerfulness and optimism. Roy doesn't infuse the clichés with a dramatic weight - he doesn't make the mistake of treating them with utmost seriousness. In fact, he summons a cheeky, lightweight tone to keep his film buoyant. When Vijay (Anupam Kher) gives an emotional speech in front of his friends, Roy stops the scene from dipping into melodrama through a short exchange between an old woman and the woman standing behind her. Later, when a son cries after being beaten by his father, we don't get a sad, weepy song or a sentimental conversation. The movie, like Vijay, prefers moving forward with spirit, happiness, and zest. It doesn't ask for your sympathy; it's very confident about itself.
I wish Roy had written good jokes for this material. The funeral scene or that moment where gum gets stuck on the shoe of an important person gives the impression that you are watching something hilarious, but you don't laugh because the actual content is pretty lame and witless. But these scenes stay afloat due to the bustling energy that Roy provides to them. Vijay 69 has a loony tunes kind of atmosphere. The characters are more cartoons than flesh and blood individuals. Hence, you don't mind watching those unidimensional bad characters because they are cartoonish by nature. This means when Vijay cries, and the movie turns melodramatic for a while, you get temporarily disconnected from the onscreen events. You see where the emotion is coming from, and Roy smoothly changes the gears, but you prefer the jolly tone more than something this serious. And yet, you buy whatever Vijay 69 sells to you because it's too convincing, too irresistible. I think the movie would have struggled without an actor like Kher at the center. He is the main reason you accept many things, even when they feel false. Notice Vijay's face when he struggles to come up with more than two achievements or look at him when he cries before the end credits. Kher renders Vijay's feelings tangible.
Roy's Meri Pyaari Bindu was somewhat undermined by its implausible elements, like the couple's love for the old Hindi songs (this touch works perfectly here, given Vijay belongs to a generation that grew up watching villains like Mogambo and Shakaal). Abhimanyu and Bindu shared a feeble chemistry, but Ayushmann Khurrana and Parineeti Chopra were so good that this flaw didn't bother you much. My feelings for Vijay 69 are also similar. I wasn't terribly convinced by Aditya (Mihir Ahuja) and Malti's (Ketika Sharma) romance. She is just present to solve a problem. The scene where Vijay's daughter, Deeksha (Sulagna Panigrahi), embraces her father's dream seems to be inserted with the motivation that things must be wrapped up for the climax. This moment could have worked in a drama where the characters' thoughts are built carefully. There are some plot conveniences that feel too tidy. Still, Roy gives his images such a wild force that you submit yourself to them completely. Vijay 69 is moving, and effective - it's worth watching.
Final Score- [6/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
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Publisher at Midgard Times