Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II

An unconventional and surreal 'reaction to Bollywood' as the film calls itself, Waisa Bhi Hota Hai is an unconventionally comedic and serious movie with the main character who is a Ad writer in Bombay, with a cop girlfriend and a gangster best friend. The plot is decent, and so is the acting. The dialogues are quite amusing in a subtle and intelligent way, so rare for any bollywood flick. I expected to see an independent-style gangster production with profanity and more-than-needed violence, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Could have been better, but a good rent if you're sick of the the regular overdramatic/romantic/too serious crap that comes out.

'Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II' is one of the funniest dark comedies to come out of India in recent time. It's part spoofy, part pulp fiction, part bloodbath and part comically bizarre. It opens hilariously with the following line: "this is a mindless work of fiction, the characters happen to be fictional despite our sincere efforts. the locations however are real. the story has been plagiarised from several films". Then it is followed by an amusing item number that features Ganesh Acharya, some boys and girls and a piglet.

Though I must say that 'Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II' is not a rip-off and it's clearly a work of inspiration. I also appreciated that the maker acknowledged their source of inspiration (something hardly any Hindi-film director does) that includes names like Kitano, Tarantino, Gopal Verma, Coen Brothers etc.

We are introduced to several funny characters: the protagonist who is ironically a copywriter (Arshad Warsi), his no-nonsense copper wife (Sandhya Mridul), his gangster friend (Prashant), his 'Maa' (Pratima Kazmi, The Bazpur Boys and many others. Then there are numerous appearances by celebrities like Ranvir Shorey, Shibani Kashyap, Kailesh Kher and Mahima Chaudhry, most of them who play themselves (in a spoofy way). Arshad Warsi's wife Maria Goretti Warsi also performs sensually in an item number.

The ensemble cast is impressively created as all the actors fit their parts like a glove. Arshad Warsi rocks! It's not an out and out comic role (the kind he's more known for) as the character does have multiple layers and the actor does an outstanding job. Sandhya Mridul is getting more versatile with each film and here as the tough cop but the vulnerable wife/girlfriend, she too holds her own. However, her character could have been a little further developed. Pratima Kazmi is back again in her not-to-be-messed-with kingpin (or queenpin) role, a part the audience certainly doesn't tire of watching her in and this time there's a touch of comedy which she effectively pulls off.

Vishal Shekhar's soundtrack is overall very appealing to people who have eclectic taste in music (like me). It features singers whom we rarely get to hear in movies like Kailash Kher, Shibani Kashyap, Rabbi Shergill etc. Many of them feature in the background while a few are well put in the foreground of the story. My favorite songs are Kher's 'Allah Ke Bande' and Kashyap's 'Sajna Aa Bhi Jaa'.

This is director and writer Shashanka Ghosh's achievement. She wonderfully brings it all together. As the tagline suggests: a not normal-urban film, it is indeed very 'not normal' but hugely entertaining, providing us many laugh out loud moments that might keep you laughing even after the end credits have rolled. :)

This is the funniest, slickest Hindi movie I've seen. It is what I hope Bollywood is changing to. This film gives me hope for Indian movies in the international scene. The dialogue, the acting, the plot, and the asides were all meticulously crafted. I haven't been this more thoroughly and cerebrally amused by a movie, let alone a Hindi movie, in a while! Yes, some of it was predictable, but what movie doesn't borrow from predecessors (Or Tarantino?)? I particularly liked the voiced-over thoughts for Puneet (Arshad Warsi) and Agni (Sandhya Mridul). Gangubai (Pratima Kazmi) was a hoot; Mahima's cameo fantastic. And the music -- what a refreshing change. Besides the My Name is ... song, everything else is beautifully fitting. A side note: it's unusual to find a short-haired heroine in a Hindi film and that, too, was striking.

Bollywood is witnessing a transformation, maybe slow but yes its there. At least we have the new kids on the block who are seriously attempting to defy the Bollywood standard formula. And thanks to the media and internet such movies are being watched and appreciated.

Not getting much into the storyline, the movie shows from two perspectives. One from the underworld (Prashant Narayan) and the other from advertising agency executive (Arshad Warsi).

Arshad Warsi was good trying to balance his character of various shades.

Prashant Narayan - I noticed him in Chhal and surely he is the one to lookout for. He is Naseer and Om Puri rolled into one.

Sandhya Mridul was obviously trying to shrug off her goody-goody image from the TV serials and Saathiya. Sadly she couldn't carry the character of police officer too well. Even the character's name Agni was a bit too heavy for her personality.

Suchitra Pillai as Shalu was good. Perhaps Sandhya and Suchitra could have swapped their roles for effectiveness.

If the role of Gangutai could have been changed to a male don and performed by a seasoned actor like Sayaji Shinde, it would have carried a greater impact. It was a bit hard to digest a female Mumbai don, otherwise Pratima Kazmi's performance was first-rate.

Mahima Chaudhry's track in a special appearance as herself is interlaced well into the story.

Songs are quite noticeable. Noteworthy to mention are Allah Ke Bande (by Kailash Kher) and Sajna (by Shibani). To be frank, it was the former song which compelled me to watch the movie.

As the credits rolls we see a special word of thanks to Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino and Ram Gopal Varma - our director Shashanka Ghosh's obvious inspiration for abstract direction styles.

The humour keeps the pace of the movie going. Actually its dark comedy - if you happen to enjoy QT movies then you will definitely like it and feel pleased that Bollywood is evolving.

This movie could be a good pedestal for the director and we sincerely hope that is roped into one of biggie production houses. Roll on Shashank - we are waiting.

Arshad Warsi is at his comic best (once again after Munna Bhai) in the film. He refreshes the movie with his presence and brings subtle humor to scenes which could have turned quite cliché otherwise.. the ones I like best are the ones where he learns how to shoot and the other one in which he is made to sit next to Gangubai - his little squeak just throws the seriousness outta the sequence in a split second.

Equally intense in his performance is Prashant Narayan as Vishnu- the gangster with the simple, no-hassle attitude to life. The sorta chemistry between him and Arshad is somewhat reminiscent of the one we have seen in Satya movie between Bhiku and Satya. The friendship is like a Innocent, benign relationship budding amidst the morass of material conflicts, gang wars and pillage.

The director has done a great job at dealing with different issues in a lighthearted yet non-trivializing manner. At one end of the spectrum is the gory scenes with people mindlessly shooting one other, and yet there are moments which let you wander in the mushy,idealistic world of romance, friendships, ideals and all.

Music is another great add on to his movie.. Personal favs - Allah ke bande, Jism and Sajna.

Summary- Great movie. Shud have received much more attention.