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“To make money, you got to have money,” It’s a line we hear more than once in Crew. Filmmaker Rajesh A. Krishnan is sure what a hefty bank balance means to a middle-class person. Whether they wear a natty cabin crew uniform or pull vegetable carts, the hide-and-seek with money never ends. In a film designed around Ila Arun’s orgasmic songs (and moans), we get a fast-paced narrative filled with humor, glamour, and sisterhood.
Geeta (Tabu), Jasmine (Kareena Kapoor Khan), and Divya (Kriti Sanon) work for a near-bankrupt Kohinoor Airlines owned by a suave tycoon – cheekily christened as Vijay Walia (Saswata Chatterjee). Their backgrounds are different, and so are their ages and ambitions. One thing that binds the trio is the lack of funds to sustain a decent living. Clad in sharp red uniforms and the best of makeup, they never knew of ways to end their misery. Until they find their cabin supervisor dead aboard a flying plane.
Life changes almost overnight for the girls who soon begin to actualize their dreams. Narrated in a non-linear fashion, Crew, in the first half, oscillates between an interrogation and the series of events that led to it. Divya’s ‘husband in a Bangkok massage parlor’ expression triggers the first inspection when a lady cop (Trupti Khamkar is a riot) scares the daylights out of the leads. The savior is, again, Divya’s love interest Jaiveer (a cute, harmless Diljit Dosanjh) who is a Customs official.
Crew drives on a more generic road in the latter half. The humor is intact, and the acts are A-grade yet the zing slowly melts off from the screenplay (Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri). If the last 30 minutes were the highlight of Krishnan’s debut feature Lootcase, he fully loses control as Crew crash lands on a runway of no logic.
Krishnan wishes his film to be an edgy dark comedy but Crew has the DNA of a female bonding film with estrogen in abundance. On one end we watch gold biscuits rolled into chocolate balls and on the other, a single mother laments about Montessori school fees. After a point, the swanky clothes and jewelry refuse to conceal the contrivances. The actresses hold the film together despite clichéd characterizations and the silver linings are the witty lines they get to mouth. Tabu and Khan seem to be having great fun and their natural flair for comedy is on full blast in Crew. Marketability-wise, Tabu ups the ante for female actors of her generation whereas Khan effectively applies her proven sway with the hoi polloi. The youngest of the lot, Sanon is earnest and refreshing in the company of seasoned seniors.
The film, admittedly, is an all-woman fare where the male actors are somewhat listless (including a typecast Rajesh Sharma as Mittal), and the women – be it the leads, the cop, or the scorned wife – spell a riot together. On the plus side, the film never ceases to be fun. It entertains throughout its run-time of two hours and you exit the hall humming a couple of Ila Arun hits – moans included.
Crew could have easily been India’s answer to Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Instead, it goes all Veere Di Wedding with an overdone wardrobe and copious sentiments that rip the designer heist comedy off a landmark tag.
Rating: ★★★
