A female lead trying to carry the whole story on her shoulders, not the first time. A character that is not bound by the realms of good or bad, not the first time again. Despite references to similar works, Simran is experimentally different. The story of a rebellious young lady who lives her life on her own terms. The badass gets crazy and the crazy gets absurd.
Kangana as Praful Patel is a Gujju housekeeper, divorcee, living in the US with her parents. Without delving much into the story ( because there is hardly any), within the first 15-20 minutes of the film, Praful Patel comes out almost soaked in all the mannerisms of her Queen character. She is bold, blunt, vulnerable and honest, quite an extension of all what we have seen in all her well-timed interviews. Praful Patel does everything on her own, cleaning, traveling, stealing, flirting and much more, all this while being absolutely unapologetic. The first half still manages to entertain you, but the second half is where you start losing patience. Logic is lost and emotions get unrelatable.
There are moments of effervescence where Kangana wins your heart over with her sheer simplicity, but you are compelled to sit and appreciate that over a 2.5 hrs long narrative. While Kangana gets to play all possible emotions, the supporting cast is one-dimensional. Despite being talented, they are just there to let Kangana bask in the glory of her eccentricities.
Simran wants us to laugh and cry with the protagonist and just flatter her being despite all absurdness. Which you might do if you are a die-hard Kangana fan. Just a PR exercise would be too harsh to say but Simran at most is an ode to Kangana, her boldness, and incomprehensible talent. And why is this movie called Simran? Don’t put yourself through it, ask me and I will tell you.
Simran won’t stay with you one sec after you leave the theatre, I would rather watch Queen again.