Direction: Saurabh Varma
Actors: Manish Paul, Elli Avram, Varun Badola
Rating: **
A somewhere buried deep inside Mickey Virus is an entertaining story about a lazy computer hacker in Delhi who is enlisted by the cops to crack a complex multiple-murder case and discovers that all is not what it seems. The trouble is, writer-director Saurabh Varma makes this story so unnecessarily long and convoluted that by the time we get to the great climactic reveal of who did what, we don’t really care.
The forgettable songs and synthetic leading lady, Elli Avram, don’t help. Neither does the somewhat forced Desi Dilli vibe — you know, characters going on about siyapa and chand mar deni hai. Or the laughable scenes of hackers with names like Floppy and Chutney congregating.
What does work is the dramatic chase sequence that kicks off the film.
Leading man Manish Paul lays on the goofiness a bit too thick but has moments of charm. And the memorable Inspector Bhalla, who despite being a supporting player makes the biggest impression — at one point he comes across the locked phone of a murder victim and ruefully declares: ‘Aaj kal ki generation… kapde khule aur phone pe lock’.
I also enjoyed some of the T-shirts that the characters wear. One says: Jab Tak Hai Trojan. But if you’re noticing T-shirts, clearly the narrative hasn’t done its job. Mickey Virus works in fits and starts. It could have been so much more.
