Saturday, October 12, 2013
War Chhod Na Yaar
Comedy of Platitudes
It claims to be India’s first war comedy, which it does dare to be when
every other film in the list is either bombastic, jingoistic or boringly
melodramatic. Unfortunately, Faraz Haider’s War
Chhod Na Yaar, is a juvenile effort, with a script that seems to have been
written in a college canteen by dopey teens.
It doesn’t quite make the grade as a satire or black comedy, but it must
be the only war film ever in which no one dies.
India’s Captain Rana (Sharman Joshi) and Pakistan’s Captain Qureshi
(Jaaved Jafferi) are at a desolate border outpost, passing the time trading
insults or playing antakshari. They don’t want war, because, as the dialogue
pedantically explains several times, Indians and Pakistani are bhai-bhai. The fault lies with war-mongering superpowers looking for arms sales, and
corrupt politicians on both sides, getting their cut. All four slimeballs are played by Dalip
Tahil, an amusing if obvious touch.
A TV reporter called Rut Dutta (Soha Ali Khan), inspired by you-know-who,
comes to the desert army camp to report on impending war. The Indian minister
has leaked information to her, in return for a fudged story that makes it look
like he was on the spot when the war broke out.
But Rut and Rana fall in love, they want to stop the war, and take the
help of the 'enemy' to pull the plug on the politicians’ evil plans. It is
the media, if you please, that acts as peacemaker.
Haider tries hard to extract laughs—like the unrelated track of three
clueless Afghan infiltrators, as a running gag. It’s okay to make fun of the enemy
in a comedy, but surely Pakistani soldiers are not starved and forced to fight
on an empty stomach! China gets a
battering too, as the instigator of war and producer of substandard
goods—including bombs that don’t go off.
No noteworthy performance, except for Jaaved Jafferi trying to do his
bit dutifully. Tacky in every way, this one’s headed straight to the home
viewing rack.
Labels: Cinemaah
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