Chasme Baddoor (2013)

I tweeted this and also mentioned it in my review for Himmatwala.  I seriously think that there should be a governing body that controls movie names and remakes.  People should not even be allowed to use names of movies that have achieved classic / cult status.  Remakes are actually the next level.

Thankfully Chasme Baddoor (2013) restricts itself to borrowing the name and some inspiration from the 1981 stunner (unlike Himmatwala).  So thank you Shri David Dhawan for not having done a Sajid Khan.  For that, my final rating will not be impacted by my love for Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval.

 

The movie that I saw a few hours back has released 32 years after but in terms of humour and class is around 3200 years behind.  Omi (Divyendu Sharma) is a popular college boy thanks to his ridiculous poetry.  Here is a sneak peek, “Seema – teri na hoti khair, Shabba Khair, Kailash Kher, Anupam Kher, I don’t care” (I shall not translate that on principle).

 

Then there is the entry of Jai (Siddharth) who cannot stop drooling.  Unfortunately, he is drooling only over himself.  He thinks he is a great actor and cannot stop himself from using movie names in his dialogues. Sneak Peak – “Jab Krish 2 ban sakti hai, Don 2 ban sakti hai, toh apne dost ki Love Story 2 kyon nahin ban sakti”? (again no translation).

 

By the time the 2 snide characters are introduced, David Dhawan I guess ran out of reel and time and so forgot the formal introduction to Siddharth (Ali Zafar) who is the sincerest of the terrible trio.  He is the person who gets them the extensions on rent and food that they haven’t paid in years.

 

The story, screenplay and dialogues are what you have come to expect from David Dhawan over the years.  Slapstick from frame one to the last one.  One that sees classy actors like Anupam Kher saying, “Tere pass na etiquette hai na manners hai”.  In response, his twin says, “Mere paas Maa hai”.  (sorry no translations).

 

If you are really into David Dhawan and his genre of movies and if you were a huge Govinda fan (like I was), you may find Chashme Baddoor to be a decent watch.  But David Dhawan seems to have lost his magic.  Maybe it is the Govinda factor.  The cheesy dialogues do get to you in a bit.

 

Sajid Wajid’s music is a saving grace of sorts in an otherwise very disappointing movie.  There was too much of acting on display for my comfort.  That it was cut well made it tolerable.  But neither the great Anupam Kher nor the otherwise superb Rishi Kapoor (despite his ridiculous tattoos) could get the movie above the level it had set for itself.

 

The crowd present for the first day first show really seemed to be enjoying the story and the corny dialogues.  I didn’t quite think it was time well spent.  I was tearing my hair apart half way down. If you have the courage to go through a movie that was marginally better than Sajid Khan’s new method of torture, please go ahead.  3 on 10.

 

By the way, PVR has done the smart thing and announced 8 pm shows of the 1981 classic.  I will be there this weekend.  Will you? Coincidentally, the best dialogue from the movie was from the 1981 one, “Paapon ka prayaschit karna chahiye.  Toh pehle paap toh kar le” (We should repent for our sins.  So lets sin first) – ABSOLUTE CLASSIC!!!

 

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