Laxman Utekar’s Mimi, starring Kriti Sanon and Pankaj Tripathi in lead roles has the quintessential heroine with big dreams in her eyes; the distant small-town where nothing ever really happens and a plot twist that turns everything upside down. But above all, Mimi is a film with a big heart, and a sense of purpose that will leave many (including yours truly), bleary eyed when it all boils down to what matters.

Mimi does not start with Mimi (Kriti Sanon) though. Instead the film plays about with the idea of surrogacy, and how it has turned into a booming business in India – introducing an American couple (Evelyn Edwards and Aidan Whytock), who are travelling the country in search for the perfect woman to bear their child. The tone set, the audience is then introduced to Mimi, almost as an afterthought, as a dancing girl in an exotic Rajasthan locale, where, as clichés would have it, the travelling couple visit, with driver Bhanu (Pankaj Tripathi) in tow to experience India.

Mimi, with big dreams in her eyes of becoming a heroine, needs money. And a particularly lucrative offer from the American couple is one she cannot refuse, along with some convincing from Bhanu. However, things turn sour when despite having a successful pregnancy, the couple find out that their unborn child could have Down Syndrome and instead of accepting the baby, decide to shrug their responsibility and leave the country.

In some ways, the real story of Mimi starts from this point. A poignant tale of motherhood, sacrifice, and how strangers are brought together under extraordinary circumstances, Mimi has a beautiful soul the captures the essence of humanity at its brightest.

Kriti Sanon, as the doe-eyed dancer, who sacrifices everything for a child she bears, Shama (Sai Tamhankar), as the best friend who in a moment of poignancy shuns aside society and promises to rear the child as her own, or Bhanu, who despite having no reason to help, stays back to navigate Mimi through the muddy waters of an unwed pregnancy, each paint a poignant picture of the myriad ways the human soul works.

In a film that has a deeply problematic undertone playing beneath the comic narrative, Kriti Sanon shines bright, showing a character arc, that helps highlight her prowess as an actress. The actress effortlessly flits through multiple evolutions as Mimi, from being a dancer, to a surrogate, and finally a mother.

Pankaj Tripathi as Bhanu is as effortless as ever, offering the quiet comic moments that help brighten up the narrative. Sai Tamhankar, Supriya Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Jaya Bhattacharya and Amardeep Jha, all excel in their respective roles.

Granted, the film could have done more in terms of brevity, but with a narrative that has a message to deliver, and some sound performances by a stellar cast, the narrative of a small town girl with a big heart manages to set everything aside and remain a spectacular and thought-provoking watch.