The Mehta Boys Review: Emotional and Humorous, But Lightweight

In Prime Video’s latest film, a father and son dissect the intricacies of their strained relationship over a period of 48 years, navigating their clashing perspectives and different worldviews with the hopes of coming closer after a personal tragedy. Will Amay and his ageing father resolve their differences so that they can spend their lives in harmony?

The film has a runtime of 116 minutes.

The Mehta Boys Review

There are hardly many things as relatable as watching frayed relationships in Indian households and the dysfunction that exists in different households. It’s so common and mainstream for Indian kids that it doesn’t seem to come off as anything interesting or even shocking — we are all just broken people trying to co-exist with the older generation and hoping not to lose our collective minds in the process.

The Mehta Boys, on Prime Video, is a funny and warm watch that has a charm to its dysfunction that gets under your skin in a very sweet way. I think the series brings forth the intricacies and the problems that we perhaps all have in some form with our parents in a very relatable and kind way. No one is blaming anyone here because the generational gap and the traumas that we all carry from our childhoods prohibit us from understanding each other’s perspectives in a way that might bring us closer.

Thus, in a way, the drama film gets that right — although Amay and his father have a lot of differences in opinions, the film showcases that in a rather funny way. It’s a little uncomfortable, but it’s easy to understand their perspectives and find ourselves in them. It’s not black and white and thus you relate to everyone in the film with ease. The best thing, and the thing that differentiated this film from others on the topic, is that the characters are kind and very likeable in spite of everything.

There’s also a sweet romantic story here that will catch everyone’s hearts. Boman Irani is so fantastic in the film — the subtle mood shifts and emotions that overcome him, especially when he talks about his wife, are so full of emotions that I couldn’t help getting caught up. Avinash Tiwary is, as always, absolutely fantastic as well and brings forth the underconfident son who has some growing up to do. The two actors work off each other superbly well and leave you hooked to their back and forth. It’s infuriating but it’s comforting in a weird way.

That being said, I will admit that I am not satisfied with the explanation that is given in the film about why Amay has a fraught relationship with his father. I am unconvinced and frankly a bit disappointed with the explanation because it feels like a cop-out. Lots, if not most, youngsters leave their hometowns for better opportunities. We neither go deeper into this issue nor try to understand why this was such a big deal in Amay’s house, considering his sister also lives away from home (in America, no less!). It makes the film fizzle out because the conflict that we follow for so long feels like an orchestrated drama without any true intention behind it.

Final Thoughts

The Mehta Boys is an emotional watch that doesn’t quite deliver on the why of it all. We fight, we overcome obstacles, we have outbursts and we make up at the end. There are a few things that are completely unbelievable and a few that will touch your heart in more ways than one. With fantastic and moving performances, the Prime Video film is good entertainment that falls short of being great.

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