Saturday, June 21, 2014
Humshakals
Thrice As Awful
The long term impact of films like Housefull
becoming hits is that Sajid Khan thumbs his nose at sensible audiences and
critics to make Himmatwala and now Humshakals. He proudly claims to know
the pulse of the people, which just goes
to show just how contemptuous of the audience money-chasing filmmakers can be.
Khan also claims to be a Bollywood buff (his films are peppered with
in-jokes), he must have seen Do Dooni
Char and Angoor; didn’t he learn
anything? Both films used the plot device of two sets of duplicates causing
confusion, without any vulgarity. But
Khan thinks making grown men act like dogs or get into drag is funny. (Ram Kapoor playing a virginal maiden is
enough to get anyone to throw up their last meal!)
Khan also makes fun of gays, the mentally disabled, the ill, women,
dwarfs, other races, scientists, doctors and the humour borders on the sick.
His level of comedy—people getting high on cocaine and vodka parathas. Then, he
stages the climax at London’s House of Commons, where a private company changes
hands, in the presence of a Hindi-speaking Prince Charles. (In an earlier film, Khan has a similar
climax in Buckingham Palace.)
Humshakals
The plot involve a villainous uncle (Kapoor) trying to usurp the
property of his nephew Ashok (Saif Ali Khan), who is almost attached at the hip
to buddy Kumar (Ritiesh Deshmukh). With
the help of an evil scientist, he wants to prove that Ashok is crazy. The
scientist creates a chemical that makes Ashok and Kumar act like dogs.
They are locked in the Lord Cray G Mental Asylum, run by a Hitler
worshipper (Satish Shah). In there are lookalikes of Ashok and Kumar with the
same names, whose minds have been affected by electric shocks and they are
mentally five years old, lisping, “Hum
paagal nahin hain, hamara dimaag kharab hai.”
The two sets get exchanged at the asylum—because in England, discharge
forms don’t note surnames, and the doctor is an idiot. The sane guys now find a
lookalike of Mamaji in the asylum and plan to turn the tables. This Johnny has
“third stage OCD” (seriously?), which means he attacks anyone who sneezes.
A third set of lookalikes is produced when the bodily fluids gags run
out, and the three men running about in drag begin to annoy. There are three
females too, in all this mess, just meant to wear skimpy clothes and dance.
This is Sajid Khan’s idea of entertainment? For a little giggle he has the
neo-Nazi warden play videos of Himmatwala
and Tees Maar Khan to torture the
inmates, who are already mentally deficient.
Maybe there should be a law introduced now to show Humshakals to criminals to force confessions out of them. That’s
all this travesty of a film is good for! Riteish Deshkmukh has done worse films
but let’s hope Saif Ali Khan is ashamed of himself.
Labels: Cinemaah
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