Thursday, November 1, 2007

Things Best Left Forgotten


The Priyadarshan/Akshay Kumar/Paresh Rawal has been alive and kicking since Hera Pheri proved an unlikely success seven years ago. Somewhere along the way, a Rajpal Yadav was thrown into the mix, and along came a progression of films ranging from hilarious to reasonably funny to downright awful. The team's latest offering, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, sadly falls into the latter category, making one wonder...should this team just give it a rest?


There's no point in getting into the story, because there isn't really a coherent one as such. Priyadarshan, much to our dismay, seems to have taken a leaf out of Ram Gopal Varma's book and opted to make his own comedy/horror flick, a la Darling. Perhaps someone should have informed Priyadarshan of Darling's unfortunate fate (and the pain it inflicted on the few of us who actually watched it)...

Actually, let me take that back. Before delivering the slightest warning on how RGV is no longer a source for inspiration, someone should have informed Priyadarshan that you should never, not even in your wildest dreams, cast Amisha Patel in your film. Her wrath remains unbearable, and her acting capabilities remain non-existent. One wonders how she even managed to get the role given this is not a Vikram Bhatt production...yes, that was most definitely an intentional innuendo...

As if casting Amisha was not enough, Priyadarshan then decides that he will not introduce Akshay until nearly the intermission. So every one's favorite comic boy is very much absent from the first hour of the film, if not more...subjecting us to more tears than laughs. And lo and behold, as soon as Akshay emerges from whatever hiatus that was, the film picks up and shows slight promise.

And that is when the director mixes in the RGV influence and decides to shoot for some lousy combination of The Exorcist and ...Dumb and Dumber? Yes, I was confused, too.

No folks, this is not a remake of any known film...it's just a horrid mixture of one too many genres. Hell, there's even a love triangle in there.

Oh, and wasting Akshay's talent was not enough ...Priyadarshan opted to sign on two of the most promising new kids on the block, Shiney Ahuja and Vidya Balan, was tarnish the reliable reputations they so carefully built with their first few films. (And, of course, there's Paresh Rawal who can only watch the proceedings and probably wonder what he's even doing in the film in the first place).

There's a nice tune or two...Labon Ko is the only one you vaguely remember after the debacle you were made to witness.

Priyadarshan, where did we go wrong with you? First Phir Hera Pheri, then Dhol and now this? Why don't you go back to making another Virasat? It looks like you've milked your comedies for all that they're worth.


Verdict? Best...Left...Forgotten

4 comments:

xyz said...

haha..totally agree with amisha patel comment..she is easily the worst actress EVER...

Anonymous said...

FYI...
Phir hera Pheri is not directed by Priyadarshan... he is in now way involved with that movie...

Anonymous said...

noooooooo!!!! we are not on the same wavelength this time. I thought Amisha was decent - she looked good and refrained from over-acting. I liked the twist(s) and the scattered comedies in the story as well; I thought the concept of merging the psychic aspect with the supernatural was surreal, but plausible. And Vidya 's voice and acting were mind-blowing! She comes across as a very coy person and I had never imagined her caliber for such boisterous roles! Absolutely loved her dance in the last song as well...

Unknown said...

Sorry but I don't seem to agree with you yet again. To start off, I wasn't looking forward to this movie. I am not a Akshay Kumar fan either. And, I take HORROR and SUSPENSE movies very seriously.

Having said that, I think that Indian cinema did an extremely good job with this movie. It blended in comedy, horror and suspense very well. Of course they may have done a few parts better (but that is true for any Indian movie).

I can bet a 1000 dollars (knowing you and your brother) that if you guys watched this movie all alone in a dark room on a dark night - you guys would FREAK out; would you disagree? HAHA!

Anyway, sorry but you need to re-consider this review.