Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal

There are 2 kinds of movies that Priyadarshan makes. Either the totally roller coaster, supremely slapstick, excruciatingly painfully loud kind of movie like Hulchul or that Malamaal Weekly. Or the average, sensible, semi-serious kinds, with a little bit of slapstick and loud in parts kind of movie like Bhool Bhulaiyya or Tezz. Mind you, I am not including his classy Malayalam movies which are a treat to watch.

Very rarely will you come across a movie from his table that is without a sense of purpose or which leaves you wondering – What was the purpose of this movie. Priyadarshan is exactly the kinds who stays true to the adage – Love him or hate him but you cannot ignore him. For a change, he has made a movie that leaves you totally flabbergasted at the end of it all.

Why did Priyadarshan make Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal? Was it because he did not have any work at all? Not possible right? He just released Tezz earlier this year. Which was his 67th movie in some 26 years. That’s a lot of cinema isn’t it? Maybe he was paid so much money that he could not say no. Or just maybe he wanted to give the out of job Nana Patekar, an opportunity to come back into cinema.

Whatever the reason maybe, KDM would easily qualify as one Priyadarshan’s most insipid pieces of work. It starts with a background story which involves 2 friends from Bijnor in UP. David (Om Puri) and Peter (Paresh Rawal). They are the thickest of friends with the exception of Maria (Sona Nair) who is Peter’s girl friend. But when Peter gets his servant knocked up, David steps in to marry Maria. Why was all this back story given or required in the first 3 minutes – beats me. It has nothing to do with the rest of the movie whatsoever.

And then we cut to the current day where David has been pulled down by life to only ringing the bell @ the local church. He has 2 daughters who are of marriageable age. And a good for nothing son, Johnny (Shreyas Talpade) who believes he can get rich by buying lottery tickets. But he is also a “piss in his pants” scaredy cat who cannot stand up for either himself or the love of his life – again Maria (Madhhurima). All of this till his long lost brother – Sam aka Kallu (Nana Patekar) reappears.

I saw KDM only because I had nothing better to do and because it is an occupational hazard. But you really do not need to. There is nothing really worth looking forward to. Even the attempted item number featuring Anjana Sukhani is without purpose or direction. A very disappointing attempt that truly leaves you feeling cheated. 3 on 10 and extremely avoidable.

Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKGrDahdu3w

Bol Bachchan

Like I said earlier in the day. I do not mind Rohit Shetty movies at all. But sometimes they do get to your nerves. And quite a bit. With no offence meant to the monotony or the predictable quality – one such comparison would be Def Leppard. No two Def Leppard songs are too different from the other. Similarly no two Rohit Shetty movies – whether it the totally slapstick Golmaal series or the Bajirao “Atha maajhi satakli re” Singham – can be too different. No offence meant to either Rohit Shetty or Def Leppard fans out there :p.

The difference being, Def Leppard can be heard out for quite some time. After a while of Rohit Shetty, one is compelled to switch channels or even consider moving out of the theatre. Not because it is a badly made movie but simply put because – if you have seen it once, you have seen it all. So essentially, Bol Bachchan is yet another cut copy paste of all his previous ventures with a vastly different star cast.

Shetty of course continues with his tried and trusted Ajay Devgn but adds in the angle of good “friend” Abhishekh Bachchan who seems to have signed up for a limited 2 movies per year – good for him. I can see it only going down to one per year. AB Jr. – I like you. And I mean it. But get out of the shadow of Yuva. You will not be able to repeat such a performance. Live with it and go out there and just be natural. It will help.

Prithviraj Raghuvanshi (Devgn) is the be all and do all in a village called Ranakpur in Rajasthan. He is widely respected and feared. Respected for his sense of justice and huge heart. Feared for his affinity for the English Language. So “Chhati ka doodh yaad dila doonga” translates to “I will make you remember Milk number 6”. You get the drift right.

Shastri (Asrani) is one of his “subjects” so to say who is a close family friend of Abbas (AB Jr.) and Sania (Asin) from Delhi. Abbas and Sania lose a property dispute case against their paternal uncle. With nothing to lose they come to Ranakpur on Shastri’s insistence. When Abbas breaks into a disputed temple to save a drowning child, Prithvi is impressed and gives him an accountants job that pays 35K per month. But to ensure no major communal issues, Ravi (Shastri’s son) introduces Abbas as Abhishek Bachchan. The comedy of errors ensues.

Rohit Shetty has not made any bones at all about the obvious inspiration he has drawn from Golmaal. If there was one person who is deeply influenced by the 1979 comedy it would be Shetty. The entire story of Bol Bachchan moves into a double role for Jr. B – one with a moustache and the other without. Need I say more? Go back to paragraph 2 of this review if you have forgotten what I have written earlier.

Watch it if you have nothing better to do – 6 weeks from now when it airs on TV or Tata Sky Showcase. You may like a bit of the slapstick humour that Shetty is famous – or should I say infamous for. 4 on 10 despite a warm welcome to one of my all time favourites on screen – Archana Puran Sing. Good to see her back with a performance typical of her.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn7I0Ajp0xc