If the promos of Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola are anything to go by, the movie seems to be positioned as an ensemble affair rather than a quintessential Bollywood flick with the male lead in focus. At least that’s the sense most filmwallahs get.

“For starters, there is way too much emphasis on Pankaj Kapur. No doubt he is a terrific actor and also shares a great rapport with Vishal Bhardwaj. Together they have delivered great films like Maqbool and The Blue Umbrella. But Pankaj’s presence in the promos seems to be a little overbearing,” says a trade analyst.

The most recent promo especially, solely focuses on the veteran actor in a scene where he is shown snoring away to glory. “And it’s not just him. Even Anushka seems to have more visibility than Imran in scenes where she’s dancing around with Arya Babbar. That is rather odd, considering the fact that Imran plays Matru, the protagonist in the movie,” adds the analyst.

However those familiar with Vishal’s works vouch for the fact the director has good reasons to do what he’s doing. “Omkara had an ensemble cast too, but every got his or her due,” asserts an observer. We’ll reserve our comments for later on this one.