Mimi | A transparent review

Picture Source: Pinterest

Bollywood’s reaction to surrogacy has not evolved beyond the curtains, it seems. Their take on it has time and again did nothing but disappointed the audience with either limited or false information. 

 Certain big labels have repeatedly attempted to show the concept in a mediocre way!

So now let’s see how they have portrayed the recently released movie Mimi which is based on the same topic i.e Surrogacy. 

Alert: Consists of spoilers so it is advised to watch the movie before proceeding.

But before going straight to the story, I would like to say what I feel about surrogacy. 

As we know science and technologies are improving day by day. Michigan lawyer Noel Keane was the first person who wrote about surrogacy contracts in the United States.

It may be good, it may be bad, but who are we to judge that! No doubt this method serves as the last hope for those couples who can’t hold up a child. For sure there are many other options like we can get a child from an orphanage but still, there are many couples who prefer otherwise. Like every other process in the world, there are pros and cons to this one as well.

 For example, many couples can’t afford the entire expenses for the whole procedure and sometimes just give up in the middle of the show. While there are a few who abandon the surrogate mother and the fetus/child once they find any kind of abnormalities with them, which turns out to be appalling for both mother and the child.

Without further delays, let's proceed to what the film depicted in the topics related to Surrogacy, procedures, contracts, and the results.

Surrogacy! This is the central plot around which the story of the movie revolves. So now let’s understand what Surrogacy is all about and who is called a surrogate mother.

Starting with who is a surrogate, a surrogate is a woman who agrees to carry and give birth to a baby for another person/couple. In this movie, a small-town girl named MIMI (played by the versatile actress Kriti Sanon)  is the surrogate mother here. Mimi was a  small-time dancer living in a town near Jaipur, Rajasthan, with a big dream of earning her name in the movie industry which she senses could become a reality when an American couple comes looking for an Indian oven to bake their bun in, with their condition being the surrogate should be perfectly capable of giving birth to a "normal and healthy" child. 

MIMI dreamt of becoming a big Bollywood star someday. 

But, Wait! Was it easy convincing MIMI? No way! 

But as we know, a wad of cash can always be the answer to miseries for those who are longing for it! And the end of Mimi's miseries is the  20 lakhs that the American couple promises in exchange for Mimi being a surrogate for them. Bhanu( played by the brilliant actor Pankaj Tripathi), a taxi driver, sets it all up and took his commission of 5 lakhs. The character of MIMI was completely crazy about being a movie star, and this 20 lakhs was about to play a vital role in making her dream come true.

Spend 9 months and 20 lakhs in? That’s how everything was going fine, thinking it was that easy. But that girl had no clue that this decision was going to change her life completely. And yes, the American couple was happy as well for MIMI’s decision. Finally, their 4 years of yearning were about to be carried off. A deal is struck, cash exchanged, medical procedures are done and Viola! Mimi gets ready and pregnant! A couple's urge and a blooming artist's plea were all ready to sail the sea of 9 months of pregnancy. Keeping in mind our orthodox thinking of the older generation and the ethics & teaching she had been taught MIMI decided not to say about this to her parents and keeps it a secret. So next thing we know Bhanu and MIMI's best friend Shama start making plans to keep her hidden from the eyes of the world. As days passed by, Mimi gets into the cycle of hormonal, emotional, and physical changes that every woman goes through during those 9 months. 

After some months, Mimi gets alarmed by a false labor pain and is rushed to the hospital where she is informed that there is something wrong with the baby and that the baby might be abnormal with a possible Down Syndrome.

As soon as the  American couple heard about this they immediately decided to terminate their deal cause they didn’t want an abnormal child, but unfortunately, the package was already in transit. 

They even advised Bhanu to pursuit MIMI for abortion. However, MIMI decides otherwise. Being an independent and equally headstrong woman she decides to give birth to the baby and is strictly against the idea of aborting a child even when it is inside her no matter if the couple doesn't get her back or the child will be having some disabilities. 

This particular scene was hyped across social media. There was a lot of controversy about this! However my feelings aside, I have no say in this. However the flow of the story was a little off the initial line here, as till now, they showed Mimi as a gold digger who was only concerned about the monetary part and all of a sudden now she is concerned about the baby and her strong decision on her abortion, which is quite the contrary.

Now the situation was going wide off the mark, helpless Mimi with a tangled story behind her swollen belly moved back to her parent's home. And she lied to her tensed mom and disheartened dad that the child belongs to Bhanu, who by now has lost all of his self-esteem.

However, Mimi’s family was more graduate than other typical families who are always more concerned about their reputation and dignity than their Child's situation.

And that’s how a cute white baby took birth in this small town of Rajasthan. Now lies a stupefy thunderbolt. The baby that took birth was completely healthy and normal with no disabilities whatsoever, which was also confirmed in the nearby hospital during the delivery day. 

Everyone in the family and the town was delighted to get one glimpse of the little white baby. When Mimi holds her baby for the first time, the camera lingers on her face and a single tear trickles down her cheek, which we understand is a natural emotion of any mother who goes through the pain and gives birth to the little one. However, the script and the portrayal of MIMI’S character as a new mother wasn’t justified much, and neither did they touch the right chords amongst the audience.

And from that day onwards MIMI threw away all her dreams and started accepting Raj as her life. As Raj grew older, he started creating many beautiful memories in the life of everyone around him.

Time flies by and due to social media somehow the estranged couple or the biological parents of the baby gets to know about Raj and MIMI and commoner to and try to get Raj back in their life.
MIMI was headstrong to not let go raj out of her life. With the support of family and friends, she finally won the battle and got her Raj back to her life.

Meanwhile, the American Couples also learned their lesson and understood the value of parenthood, and preferred adopting a child from an orphanage to enjoy the same love and laughter which Mimi got with Raj.

Will surrogacy Remake The World?

If You think yes, then comment down below !!

This article is shared by Mister Manat Das, who is currently pursuing his second year in BCA from the Institute of Technical Education and Research, S'O'A University. Finding peace in the world of words, @_manny_19_ is Manat's Instagram handle.

Please drop your views about the article he has written and praise the author for his enlightening review in the comment section below.