Friday, April 09, 2004
Masti
Indra Kumar’s Masti has the have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too attitude of a typical commercial potboiler— unleash a crude sexual barrage and then wag a moralistic finger as well.
Unlike last week’s Murder, the sex here is not of the heavy breathing in bed variety, but in the form of crude double meaning dialogues and vulgar gestures. Not to mention a far-fetched plot, idiotic characterization and blatant sexism. Unfortunately, for want of a better quality of comedy, this puerile nonsense is just the kind of film that will attract mass audiences.
The writers and director of this 1940s style farce, start with the premise that marriage destroys a man, still all three ‘heroes’ of Masti marry rich girls and then crib about boredom in just three years. The wives, of course, are specimens who ought to be displayed in a zoo. One (Genelia) beats her husband, the second (Tara Sharma) worships him, and the third (Amrita Rao) keeps strict tabs on him.
Frustrated with his devout wife, Prem (Aftab Shivdasani) comes up with the idea of having an affair and convinces his friends Meet (Vivek Oberoi) and Amar (Ritesh Deshmukh) “to taste outside biryani.” After a few misadventures with women, all three fall for the same girl Monica (Lara Dutta), who turns out to be a blackmailer.
Since all three are scared of their wives, they cough up the money, only to find the girl dead and a cop (Ajay Devgan) on their trail.
The film might actually have been funnier if the comedy hadn’t been so over the top, with cringe-making dialogue and very crass gay gags. Because the tone is loud, the actors are made to roll their eyes, contort their faces and ham away. Still the three leading men have fine comic timing and some truly funky lines, but you have to have taste for smuttiness to enjoy this kind of humour.
Unlike last week’s Murder, the sex here is not of the heavy breathing in bed variety, but in the form of crude double meaning dialogues and vulgar gestures. Not to mention a far-fetched plot, idiotic characterization and blatant sexism. Unfortunately, for want of a better quality of comedy, this puerile nonsense is just the kind of film that will attract mass audiences.
The writers and director of this 1940s style farce, start with the premise that marriage destroys a man, still all three ‘heroes’ of Masti marry rich girls and then crib about boredom in just three years. The wives, of course, are specimens who ought to be displayed in a zoo. One (Genelia) beats her husband, the second (Tara Sharma) worships him, and the third (Amrita Rao) keeps strict tabs on him.
Frustrated with his devout wife, Prem (Aftab Shivdasani) comes up with the idea of having an affair and convinces his friends Meet (Vivek Oberoi) and Amar (Ritesh Deshmukh) “to taste outside biryani.” After a few misadventures with women, all three fall for the same girl Monica (Lara Dutta), who turns out to be a blackmailer.
Since all three are scared of their wives, they cough up the money, only to find the girl dead and a cop (Ajay Devgan) on their trail.
The film might actually have been funnier if the comedy hadn’t been so over the top, with cringe-making dialogue and very crass gay gags. Because the tone is loud, the actors are made to roll their eyes, contort their faces and ham away. Still the three leading men have fine comic timing and some truly funky lines, but you have to have taste for smuttiness to enjoy this kind of humour.
Labels: Cinemaah
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