Mickey Virus (2013)

Really Surprised!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A Disappointing Continuation

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I am a huge fan of thriller movies but I was always disappointed by the lack of quality thrillers from Bollywood. Most of the Bollywood films are Rom-coms & over the top action. This movies comes as a surprise, as one of the first cyberpunk thriller movie from Bollywood. The premise is decent, but don't expect to see real world hacking, just a few random terminal sessions and swoosh banking sites hacked, computers cracked etc.. This movie is shot in Delhi & the local slangs are spot on. Manish Paul is surprisingly good in his first venture, he carries role surprisingly well. Director has done a decent job too. Overall a Good film.

Mickey virus is basically a story based in Delhi where youngsters deal with this world virtually behind a computer screen that is hacking. It also has a hackers gang and a few cops trying for a 100 Crore Rupees heist. This movie deserves a lot but wont get what it deserves due to lack of awareness. For me Manish Paul was amazing and Elli Avram as KungFu Chameli was charming. All the other characters were good and funny like "floppy,chutni,pancho" etc. Manish as Mickey for me was way beyond my expectations, as a host he is awesome and as an anchor too whether its a reality show or an award show. "Pyaar China Ka Maal Hai" sung by Manish himself and "Tose Naina" sung by Arijit Singh are melodious. Overall its gonna be a fine evening/weekend watching it. Its fresh and I salute the Director Saurabh Verma for trying a not so common new subject. 8 out of 10 stars.

Welcome to the world of hackers and Trojans – with enough idiosyncrasy and meticulousness, writer/director Saurabh Varma narrates a story which is seldom witnessed on the silver screen. With its titular resemblance to the sleeper hit of 2012,Vicky Donor , Mickey Virus is a complete departure in its theme and subject which delves into the murky world of cyber-crime and hacking keeping the humor quotient intact.Set in New Delhi, the plot is centered around a lazy mastermind , a genius hacker Mickey Arora (Manish Paul ) who is hired by the Delhi Police led by ACP Sidhant (Manish Chaudhary) and his assistant Bhalla(Varun Badola) to crack the racket of the cyber gangsters who have created ruckus in the city through serial murders. Mickey is a slacker , hangs out with his gang – Chutney, Floppy and Panjo who are whiz-kids in their own admissions and is smitten by the sexy lady, Kamayani(Elli Avram). After a lot of resistance due to his work-phobic attitude, he succumbs to the demands of the ACP who is hell-bent on this 'Hacking ki duniya ka Sehwag' but little does Mickey know that he is sucked into the whirlpool of dangerous nexus with life-threatening ramifications. What happens next !Varma picks the nuances of Saddi Dilli with flourish – the grey marketplace of Nehru place where people even sell 'W' alphabet of the keyboard as 'M' (After all , its oolta M !)are captured with great details. He has done his research on the subject well and this becomes more apparent from the plethora of information bombarded on the average viewer related to internet and software lingoes(server crash, firewall, buffering..).After a few funny sequences in the beginning, he throws us altogether into a different orbit of intrigue and mystery and keeps us riveted till the climactic revelation. There are particularly no glaring flaws but I wish Varma could have been more innovative while dealing with the serious portions and the romantic angle involving Manish and Elli. He appears myopic while handling the cat-and-mouse game where every tick of the clock matters.Manish Paul is a delight to watch ! As a débutant (with a passable cameo in Farah Khan's disastrous TMK as Master India), he exudes charm and confidence with his impeccable comic timing.His vocal rendering(Pyar China ka maal hai ) is equally quirky !Elli Avram looks jaw-dropping gorgeous and is sincere in her part. Mickey's hack-gang comprising of Raghav Kakkar, Puja Gupta and others give him a credible support.Manish Chaudhry is very convincing as the stern cop, but the real combat machine here is Varun Badola who triumphs with his ingenious straight- faced humor and mouths crackling dialogues with typical Haryanwi accent.If suspense thrillers are your cup of cake, then go for it – You will have a good time ! And that's not all, there is a scope for its sequel too !My Rating : 3/5

Bollywood finally welcomes a caper comedy which samples the much-awaited "hacking" element. Only, the film, with a let-down plot, overstays and gives an impression that it did got infected by the Trojan... the Bollywood Trojan!The mumbo-jumbo is fantastic for a commoner, but if you are a computer-freak and know a thing or two about hacking and stuff, you are in for utter disappointment. Why? Because the samples, borrowed from various sources (other films, quotes, books, memes, usual parlance, etc.) lack plausibility. The degree of technicality is a gimmick: the film showcases the fictionalized material of computers, hacking & cryptography.The plot is ludicrous, mind you! The makers/writers have taken a predictable heist plot and juxtaposed it with teeny Delhi & the computer fundamentals. Cast is fine, where Varun Badola stands out. Elli Avram should munch on probably the first & the last film of her career.Music & songs are good. And the B'wood Trojan I was talking about is the climax sequence, which happens in a type of garage (remember the tons of movies that end at a derelict garage/warehouse?) where the characters narrate what happened so that the viewers can make sense of the plot; wonderful! And you will ask where the hell was the virus involved? You mean the Mickey Virus? Oh, please!Finally, the witty lines, generous humor, Dilliwalli language, 2 plot twists and the sex quotient of the newbie makes me rate it average.BOTTOM LINE: In an attempt to create a breakthrough, Mickey Virus gets infected halfway. Yet, for the heck of it, Mickey Virus is a calm/mindless watch on a Sunday afternoon. Of course, you could wait for the rentals. Faintly recommended!Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YESProfanity: Very Mild | Nudity/Sex/Vulgarity: No | Mouth-Kiss/Foreplay: Very Mild | Alcohol/Smoking/Drugs: No | Violence/Gore: Mediocre