Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Ek Se Badhkar Ek
Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro was such a cult comedy, that one was waiting expectantly for the director to hit that high again. Ek Se Badhkar Ek took a long time in the making, and came into the theatres suddenly, with no promotion. Since expectations from the film are nil, it ends up looking like an underdog, trying too hard to please.
While JBDY had farce, slapstick, black humour, and all the elements of a classic comedy, the plot was within the realm of possibility. Ek Se Badhkar Ek is based on a preposterous premise, and it can’t go anywhere from there, except to string together some gags—a few work, several don’t.
In a plot that could have been cooked up by a doped out college kid, Rahul (Sunil Shetty), a gardener’s son stands to inherit a fortune, but a lawyer’s error in the will puts forward the condition that he has to become the city’s biggest don! How such a will was signed by he millionaire and witnesses, is not explained.
With the help of the lawyer Anand (Shekhar Suman) and an inept but ambitions cop Kanchan (Raveena Tandon), Rahul makes brainless schemes to become a don. After a failed bank robbery and a hilarious boxing match with a don, they plan to kidnap a nuclear scientist (Makarand Deshpande), but pick up a major don Jindaal (Gulshan Grover) by mistake. The scientist, sought by the ISI, is kidnapped by Tracy (Ishaa Koppikar), a bizarre femme fatale.
It gets crazier as two look-alikes of the scientist appear and the entire cast lands up at a hotel to ‘exchange’ the scientist for money. There was scope for frantic comic chaos here, which Shah hasn’t quite managed to pull off with the same élan with which he did the caper with the corpse in JBDY.
The film delivers a few laughs (not the 501 promised in the ads), but it needed a lot more gags, a faster pace, better performances, and a complete eschewal of songs to make it work.
When you think of the wealth of talent Shah had gathered for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, this lot simply cannot cope. What does go in the film’s favour is that it is not boring, and it is not in the least vulgar.
While JBDY had farce, slapstick, black humour, and all the elements of a classic comedy, the plot was within the realm of possibility. Ek Se Badhkar Ek is based on a preposterous premise, and it can’t go anywhere from there, except to string together some gags—a few work, several don’t.
In a plot that could have been cooked up by a doped out college kid, Rahul (Sunil Shetty), a gardener’s son stands to inherit a fortune, but a lawyer’s error in the will puts forward the condition that he has to become the city’s biggest don! How such a will was signed by he millionaire and witnesses, is not explained.
With the help of the lawyer Anand (Shekhar Suman) and an inept but ambitions cop Kanchan (Raveena Tandon), Rahul makes brainless schemes to become a don. After a failed bank robbery and a hilarious boxing match with a don, they plan to kidnap a nuclear scientist (Makarand Deshpande), but pick up a major don Jindaal (Gulshan Grover) by mistake. The scientist, sought by the ISI, is kidnapped by Tracy (Ishaa Koppikar), a bizarre femme fatale.
It gets crazier as two look-alikes of the scientist appear and the entire cast lands up at a hotel to ‘exchange’ the scientist for money. There was scope for frantic comic chaos here, which Shah hasn’t quite managed to pull off with the same élan with which he did the caper with the corpse in JBDY.
The film delivers a few laughs (not the 501 promised in the ads), but it needed a lot more gags, a faster pace, better performances, and a complete eschewal of songs to make it work.
When you think of the wealth of talent Shah had gathered for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, this lot simply cannot cope. What does go in the film’s favour is that it is not boring, and it is not in the least vulgar.
Labels: Cinemaah
Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa
Even if one were to go by the unruly conventions of film melodrama and forget for a moment that the heart is not the seat of emotions, and certainly does not have a ‘mind’ of its own, Atull Agnihotri’s Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa is still a painfully boring copy of the Hollywood comedy Return To Me.
Ad agency boss Rishabh (Salman Khan) and his wife Dr. Pari (Preity Zinta) are the perfect couple. The film takes forever and a couple of songs to establish their intense love for each other. Pari dies in an accident and donates her heart to her patient Dhani (Bhumika Chawla), who would have not have survived without a transplant. Minor things like blood and tissue matching, etc., are not even taken into account. If the ‘heroine’ gives her heart, the receiver had better accept it!
Dhani’s heart gives out a ‘wheeee’ signal when she passes by the grieving Rishabh and she falls in love with him, because she has started to think and feel like Pari. Such ridiculousness in this day and age is unbelievable! If it were given a comic treatment, the film would have probably gone down easier. But forget comedy, Agnihotri can’t even manage the regular Hindi film emotions!
Dhani gets a job in Rishabh’s ad agency, which seems to be peopled by lunatics. She spends all her time dreaming of him or making cow-eyes at him, while he sternly rebuffs her.
There must have been a subplot about Dhani, her grandmother (Helen Khan) and her “colony”, which ended up on the cutting room floor, because some strange creatures pop in and out abruptly. Even the characters that do find themselves in the film are decidedly odd! What is Bobby Darling pouting around for? And why the weird friends, including one who keeps lisping “best friend” at Pari and another outlandishly dressed pal of Dhani’s? Renuka Shahane does a quick and unnecessary cameo as Rishabh’s sister.
The film has its unintentionally hilarious moments—like when Rishabh has a conversation with the transplanted heart which actually obeys his command! Every time Salman weeps and whines, he makes people laugh.
A little ray of sunshine is brought in by Preity Zinta’s cheerful presence, when Pari dies, the film’s already limited appeal is switched off. Two of the most popular music composers (AR Rahman and Himesh Reshammiya) could not come up with one memorable song. This one’s a complete loser!
Ad agency boss Rishabh (Salman Khan) and his wife Dr. Pari (Preity Zinta) are the perfect couple. The film takes forever and a couple of songs to establish their intense love for each other. Pari dies in an accident and donates her heart to her patient Dhani (Bhumika Chawla), who would have not have survived without a transplant. Minor things like blood and tissue matching, etc., are not even taken into account. If the ‘heroine’ gives her heart, the receiver had better accept it!
Dhani’s heart gives out a ‘wheeee’ signal when she passes by the grieving Rishabh and she falls in love with him, because she has started to think and feel like Pari. Such ridiculousness in this day and age is unbelievable! If it were given a comic treatment, the film would have probably gone down easier. But forget comedy, Agnihotri can’t even manage the regular Hindi film emotions!
Dhani gets a job in Rishabh’s ad agency, which seems to be peopled by lunatics. She spends all her time dreaming of him or making cow-eyes at him, while he sternly rebuffs her.
There must have been a subplot about Dhani, her grandmother (Helen Khan) and her “colony”, which ended up on the cutting room floor, because some strange creatures pop in and out abruptly. Even the characters that do find themselves in the film are decidedly odd! What is Bobby Darling pouting around for? And why the weird friends, including one who keeps lisping “best friend” at Pari and another outlandishly dressed pal of Dhani’s? Renuka Shahane does a quick and unnecessary cameo as Rishabh’s sister.
The film has its unintentionally hilarious moments—like when Rishabh has a conversation with the transplanted heart which actually obeys his command! Every time Salman weeps and whines, he makes people laugh.
A little ray of sunshine is brought in by Preity Zinta’s cheerful presence, when Pari dies, the film’s already limited appeal is switched off. Two of the most popular music composers (AR Rahman and Himesh Reshammiya) could not come up with one memorable song. This one’s a complete loser!
Labels: Cinemaah
