TIFF 2018: Don’t Miss the Indian Action-Comedy: The Man Who Feels No Pain
Indian Action-Comedy THE MAN WHO FEELS NO PAIN (Midnight Madness) is a delirious homage to B-movie-Bollywood-Martial Arts-Comedy Mashup Mayhem
The first Indian film to be featured in the Festival’s Midnight Madness section, despite that country’s prolific export of gonzo cinema, The Man Who Feels No Pain is an action-packed ode to a generation raised on the punches of Bruce Lee, the kicks of Jackie Chan, and the dance moves of Chiranjeevi.
The writer and director of this movie is Vasan Bala. The film stars Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Gulshan Devaiah.
In this Bollywood-infused action film a young man literally born with the ability to feel no 
pain strikes out on a quest to vanquish 100 foes.
Abhimanyu Dassani, son of popular Bollywood star Bhagyashree, makes a charismatic debut as the title character, Surya. He fights alongside rising star Radhika Madan, a fearless warrior determined to rehabilitate the honour of her one-legged karate master, Manni, who is – as one tends to be in any good martial-arts epic – caught in a gang war with his psychotic twin brother, Jimmy (Gulshan Devaiah in a remarkable dual performance, one half of which seems to be channelling Nicholas Cage circa 1997). Dassani and Madan have delightful chemistry, both in the film’s numerous inventive brawls and the requisite musical set pieces. Madan in particular shines in a progressive subplot that brims with subversive relevance.
Seasoned with delirious pop-culture references and freewheeling fisticuffs, Bala’s film endearingly synthesizes the infectious vivacity of Bollywood masala extravaganzas with the irreverent martial arts mayhem of vintage Stephen Chow, underpinning this amusingly serpentine story with a through line about personal empowerment.
TIFF SCREENINGS:
Mon Sept 10th, 1:45pm, Scotiabank 7 (P&I)
Wed Sept 12, 9:00am, Scotiabank 10 (P&I 2)
Fri Sept 14, 11:59pm, Ryerson Theatre (World Premiere, Public 1)
Sat Sept 15, 6:00pm, Scotiabank 1 (Public 2)
Check out the trailer:
