Crew: Kareena Kapoor’s caper film wants to shed light on corporate slavery, but ends up becoming a corporate slave itself
Post Credits Scene: How else can Crew explain the creative decision to give GoIbibo a close-up before Tabu, or put a bottle of Yardley perfume in the spotlight over Kriti Sanon?
Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tabu in a still from Crew.
Hindi movies of a certain kind can always be identified by two dead giveaways, even before they’ve actually begun. With an equal disregard for cinematic effect and creative integrity, the opening credits will spoil all the ‘guest appearances’ while overwhelming you with logos of brand partners — rare is the Indian actor who can suppress their ego to go uncredited; rarer is the Hindi movie producer who can turn down a good brand deal. It stands to reason that Crew — perhaps the most social media influencer-coded Hindi movie in recent memory — allows corporations to dictate its creative choices. This would’ve been harmless had it not been in direct conflict with the film’s central premise: middle-class women banding together to take down a wealthy business tycoon.
Geeta, Jasmine, and Divya Rana (from Haryana) — played by Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon — are flight attendants working at the fictional Kohinoor Airlines, closely modelled on the now-defunct Kingfisher Airways. They haven’t been paid in months, and are essentially surviving on the declining daily allowances that are handed out to them on international sectors, like ‘boondi’ at a temple. Each of them has compromised on their dreams to work at Kohinoor. Jasmine comes from a broken home and hopes to give her grandfather a grand life one day; Geeta wants to open a restaurant in Goa with her husband; Divya continues to lie to her long-suffering parents about having become a pilot.
All three of them have families to support and bills to pay, single-handedly. But being women, they’re forced to temper personal ambitions. After the initial high of making loads of money through their illicit operation, the three women are caught and questioned by the cops. They discover that they’d inadvertently been funding their defaulting boss this whole time, and in effect, ensuring that their co-workers remain penniless. The guilt-ridden Geeta, Jasmine, and Divya Rana (from Haryana) put together their final plan, to take their criminal boss for every paisa that he has illegally accumulated and distribute the wealth back to the people. It’s like Jawan, but glossier and with significantly fewer anti-smoking disclaimers.
For all its anti-capitalist sentiment, however, Crew can’t help but feel like a product itself. How else can you explain GoIbibo getting a close-up before Tabu? How else can you explain the establishing shot of a scene spotlighting a box of Wow Momos? A bottle of Yardley perfume is more noticeable than Sanon in the introductory montage from Divya Rana (from Haryana), and the boastful BoAt branding in the climactic music video makes it feel less like a platform for starry hotness and more like Aman Gupta’s fever dream.
Even influencers find more elegant ways to integrate brands into their posts, and for a movie that appears to have been designed around the song “Choli Ke Peeche,” surely they could have found better ways to fulfil their contractual obligations without actively distracting the audience with these glorified commercials. Consider how intelligently director Luca Guadagnino got away with something like this in his recent film Challengers, which probably has even more brand placements than Crew. But each mention of Applebee’s and Adidas, Aston Martin and Augustinus Bader is integral to the film’s plot about social climbers and work horses. Instead of diverting attention from the drama, the product placement in Challengers actually enhanced it.
Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu, and Kriti Sanon in a still from Crew.Michael Bay obnoxiously panning to a Victoria’s Secret banner in the middle of an action scene, or cutting to a bunch of Bud Light cans after a chase sequence in the Transformers movies is meaningless, because those movies are in no way pretending to stick it to the man. They’re trying to sell action figures. In that regard, Crew is similar to The Boys, the massively successful superhero show that critiques tech giants while happily streaming on Prime Video, or Barbie, which adopts a faux feminist attitude in an effort to increase toy sales. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this sort of studio filmmaking; it’s a means to an end. But watching Crew can often feel like chewing on a Maharaja Mac while parsing through the Communist Manifesto.
Crew on OTT: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu and Kriti Sanon’s sizzling chemistry leaves a lasting impression on fans
Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon and Tabu’s film Crew has arrived on the digital platform. Here’s what movie-buffs think of the heist comedy
Kareena Kapoor Khan won the audience over as Kalindi in Veere Di Wedding (2018), which was a film dedicated to female friendship. Well, she took things a notch higher when she joined forces with the phenomenal Tabu and the incredible Kriti Sanon in Crew. The heist comedy film left audiences wanting more, as they rolled on the floor laughing. Well, after an impressive run at the silver screens, the Crew has now landed on the digital platform.
This is great news for members of the audience who enjoy watching new releases from the comfort of their homes. Well, a majority of these movie-buffs have already binge-watched the trio’s turbulent roller-coaster ride and the verdict is now in. Kareena, Tabu and Kriti’s sizzling chemistry and very convincing performances have won hearts. While some have called the film a ‘feast’, others have termed it an ‘enjoyable watch’. Even internet users who were not entirely impressed by the film have found bits to love— may it be the women-centric theme or the lead stars’ ability to slay like actual queens.
