When i saw the trailer to this movie, my inital reaction was "Oh no, not again". Mehndi looked to be yet another attempt of Hindi Cinema to address 'issues', sadly the issue in Mehndi are slighty out of date. It is basically the same old story of a greedy family which make the life of their new miserable when they discover the lack of dowry.

Rani Mukherjee however is the saving grace of the film, readers be forewarned that I am a big fan and therefore slighty biased, but her performance in this movie is excellent. The actress whos debut in Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat was good but not perfect has matured relatively quickly and in my opinion is already a better actress than some of the older heroines, like Karishma.

For a relative newcomer to bag such a female oriented role so early in her film career is no small feat, but Rani lives up to the expectations. She plays an educated bahu, who 'indures' the torture because she believes all Hindu bahu should go to their sasural in a doli and leave in an aarthi. However contrary to expectations when the going get tough the tough get going, and Rani undoes her saat phere' vows around the aarthi of her father and gets revenge.

The writer and director of the film need to work on the story logic and common sense, some parts of the plot are a bit hard to swallow, such as why an educated lawyer would take the abuse of her husband and inlaws is beyond belief. As is the 'soap on back' scene between the jeejaji and sali.

Overall the movie is not one of Rani's best, and even for a film based on her character the role is abbrviated. The music and cinematography of the film are sadly lacking as is the acting of most of the supporting cast. But under a better director and with a more realistic plot this movie could very well have been of the 'Damini' fame. In short Rani is wasted on such a film and she could have definately done better.

"Indian film-makers need to accept a sense of responsibility towards society and and presenting equality among human beings. Having recognized that the subservient treatment of females in many South East Asian households is unfair, Hamid Ali Khan should have presented a story conveying that in a marriage without trust, equality, fairness and love, women need not try to make the relationships work. Tolerating mental or physical abuse is not an acceptable way of living. Mahesh Bhatt's Arth aptly conveyed the message back in the eighties. We may be nearing the twenty-first century but Hamid Ali Khan is no Mahesh Bhatt. Mehndi harks back, in parts, to demonstrating rights and values which were considered bold for the late-eighteenth century.  Too late, too little, Mr. Khan."
- quote from Mohammad Ali Ikram