Excerpts from reviews of Manjhi: The Mountain Man:
Yet again, Siddiqui proves just how outstanding and charismatic an actor he is with his performance as Dasharath Manjhi.
Somewhere along the way, when no one was looking, Mehta appears to have decided that he’s going to make films that ignore subtlety, dismiss nuance and are all about broad strokes. Net result: a film that is so comprehensively artificial that you’ll forget Dashrath Manjhi was a real man and that his is a true story.
– Deepanjana Pal (Firstpost.com)
Manjhi is rousing, simplistic cinema, just about saved by a fantastic lead turn. It’ll do if all you want is a folk tale, but I wish the film had chipped away at Manjhi the way he chipped away at that mountain.
– Uday Bhatia (Livemint.com)
Nawazuddin Siddiqui takes on the challenging lead role with guns fully loaded. He is charming and cute as the clumsy Casanova and electric as the man on a mission. From a young, hopeful man, he grows into a lonely, obsessed middle-aged one. You feel for him as he realises this is his fight alone and as you watch his changing relationship with his adversary while he provokes, berates and finally embraces the mountain.
– Udita Jhunjhunwala (Scroll.in)
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