Lots Of Slaps And Schtick. But Second Half Funny.
2.5 stars
Mini Review:
Gopal, Laxman one, Madhav, Lucky and Laxman two are at it again. Slapping one another, hating each other in newer and un-funnier ways. But there’s Khushi, Anna the ghost whisperer and the regulars: the snake man in a new avatar, Inspector Dande, Vasuli Bhai and Babli bhai. Prakash Raj gets to play the baddie along with Neil Nitin Mukesh. The jokes are funny in the second half and some ghostly goings-on make you laugh. But it’s loud and lurid and you come away with a headache.
Main Review:
If you like to watch grown up men slap each other accompanied by comic background score and ear splitting slaps, then watch the film. Because it will make you laugh. And people do laugh out loud because Gopal (Ajay Devgn, looks like he overdid the tanning machine) who is bulkier is still pissed off at someone pointing fingers at him. This time, he is shown to be afraid of the dark. But don’t worry, this is a Rohit Shetty film, there are plenty of night scenes where they forget he’s afraid of the dark. The other characters - Madhav (Arshad Warsi), Lucky (Tusshar Kapoor), Laxman one (the lisper, Shreyas Talpade) and Laxman two (the deaf one, Kunal Khemu) - are the same ole, same ole. The first half of the film shows us their history and we wonder where this is going. Nostalgia isn’t getting anywhere, so they show atta falling on Arshad Warsi and then the tin, Finolex pipes being thrust into crotches (such a horrendous advertising placement!), Kunal Khemu being thrown into a gigantic washing machine (Intex, the brand gets an ad, but safety-wise, a terrible idea!)
So the five have to come together and save the orphanage they grew up in. Erm… Why do they take so long? The audience seems to be happy with the lowbrow slapping and hitting, but the story, the real meaty part begins ten minutes into the second half. This is where we get real laughs!
‘Balak balak! Paneer palak! Alakh Niranjan! Daant mein manjan!’ is inspired nonsense. Spoken with madness, the snake man (Vrajesh Hirjee) is back in a super funny role of Nag Baba. I have to say that Rohit Shetty keeps the franchise going by using the same characters well.
Vasuli Bhai is now a real estate wheeler dealer and Mukesh Tiwari does a good job (especially with a picture of Sanjay Dutt on his table! Good detailing that!).
Sanjay Mishra tends to be rather over the top with his terrible spellings (‘Piss spells Peace’, ‘Booty is Bhoot’) and it wears on you but then it’s better than seeing the lurid pink and green in the songs…
Parineeti Chopra seems like she’s having fun, but I wish she had taken Kunal Khemu’s advice: Baba is blind, you could change your clothes, no?
I wish the writers had used the incredible comic talent of Ashwini Kalsekar better (we saw her in the funny Poster Boys directed by Shreyas Talpade). She barely gets a line in, and that is not funny at all.
Prakash Raj's encounter with Nag Baba is hilarious. The two win the stars for the film hands down!
Johnny Lever goes berserk mostly, and tries hard. Tabu tries hard too, but when she’s given dialog like, ‘Hreem Breem Cold Cream’, you wish the writers had tried harder. Sigh. You are reminded that it’s a Rohit Shetty film, so don’t expect anything but slaps and schtick.
The really funny bits need to be searched for in the mayhem. The best moment? Blind baba (Sachin Khedekar) gets up to leave and the lads move the settee out of his way...
(this review appears on www.nowrunning.com )
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