Hisaab Barabar Review: Good Story Ends Up Being Silly

In Zee5’s Hisaab Barabar, an honest ticket checker for the Indian Railways, Radhe Mohan Sharma, finds himself embroiled in a deceptive and complicated web of lies and fraud when he comes across a small error in his bank account. Digging deeper, he comes face to face with ruthless banker Mickey Mehta, who uses his power and influence to put the entire banking system against him. Will Radhe Mohan find justice and bring the fraud in front of people?

The drama-thriller film has a runtime of 111 minutes.

Hisaab Barabar Review

The problem with Hisaab Barabar is that it sometimes feels like a caricature. There’s merit in the story that the film wants to bring forth – focusing on the huge impact of bank fraud in a country like India. The way the film breaks down this topic is not only interesting but also makes you think, which is its credit. However, the comedy is some of the worst I have seen in a while, leaving us feeling annoyed more than anything else.

Following honest and hard-working railways TC Radhe Mohan, there are moments, especially in the first half of the film, that we could’ve done away with. However, the film gives a distinct impression that it is trying desperately to be a mass entertainer while giving a social message, which is where it falters heavily. The comedy and the lighter moments, including the extended romantic moments are nothing short of unnecessary and even have the capability to get on your nerves. That’s because the jokes feel like they are from the 1900s, doing silly antics and whatnot. Sometimes it even feels like the film might pull out a fart joke at any moment in the name of making its audience laugh.

As a result of this, there’s little to no impact on the interesting social message that it wishes to convey. I was very interested when the film showcased how the fraud was taking place and Radhe Mohan’s deliberation on the topic but soon enough it pulled focus and started to blabber about some random thing. The problem is also Neil Nitin Mukesh’s Micky Mehra, who doesn’t feel like a real person and almost becomes a Disney villain thanks to his dialogues. It’s just so surface-level and jokey that things don’t ever feel serious or impactful. On top of that, the film, for some reason, incessantly keeps on singing “hisaab barabar” like we wouldn’t be able to understand what’s happening. It almost feels childish and immature after a while.

I think the movie doesn’t feel real or meaningful because there is hardly any subtlety. The police ask Radhe Mohan to appear for an inquiry and tell him he’s doing his doing and isn’t playing ludo… while literally playing ludo. These moments are scattered throughout the runtime and don’t us any room to come to our own conclusions. This results in the film becoming boring and preachy.

However, I will say that R Madhavan is fantastic as Radhe Mohan and is probably one of the biggest reasons I enjoyed watching it a bit. He’s warm but analytical and makes you want to root for him. His logical mindset goes well with his need to follow the truth makes him stand out. The other characters, unfortunately, as mentioned previously, feel like caricatures – as if they are being forced to exist in this world for their small roles instead of being a natural part of Radhe Mohan’s life. It’s odd.

Final Thoughts

Hisaab Barabar has its heart in the right place. The story is interesting and the social message impressive. However, it’s the execution that feels flawed and sometimes silly. It overexplains everything and adds an unnecessary layer of humour that takes away from the weight of the main story. In the end, I feel that the film could’ve benefited from a more serious tone without the unnecessary padding and characters that have no impact on the plot.

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