Go Goa Gone

I've been a zombie movie follower for some time (sometimes unwillingly). This movie obviously breaks ground as far as Bollywood goes - it is a respectable (?) zombie movie.

Any respectable camp zombie movie should have the following, IMHO - an unconvincing social message (e.g. Romero's "Dawn of the dead" was a backhanded critique of consumer capitalism and mall crawls, Danny Boyle's "28 days later" against irresponsible experimentation), references to other movies of the same genre (e.g. Shaun of the dead), and some innovative twist or variation.

Go Goa Gone scores on all three - it has a (tacked-on) message against drug culture, references to other zombie movies including Shaun of the dead (whose solutions are quickly discarded, since it should be obvious to the gentle viewer that desi/pardesi zombies in Goa are different from desi/British zombies in England), and an enjoyably terrible "solution". Also, good music, which Danny Boyle would concur with.

All in all, a respectable attempt!! As a camp horror addict, I am satisfied!! Also, a memorable quote that does not quite reach the heights of "When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth" - it goes: "What do we know? What have we learned?"

I wasn't in the best of the moods because when entering the theatre I planned to watch Shootout at Wadala, a movie of my second all time favorite actor. But, I had to settle for this one. This is the movie I started to Like Saif Ali Khan. I used to hate him. Coming back to movie, Bollywood hadn't witnessed zombies much. The way Koi Mil Gaya was a cult, rare SciFi Alien movie, which was very new to Bollywood and the 90s kids, similarly, this one, makes it's entry in a hilarious way not only in the horror comedy genre but a Bollywood Cult Zombie Movie which will be remembered over years. There are a few adult scenes in the movie, starts with one too, which nowadays aren't that big a deal. This is not only Horror Comedy, but mixed with lots and lots of adventure. People are always looking for adventure/jungle + comedy + good acting + good story + plot + great cinematography + something creative. This one has all. The direction, and cinematography isn't the greatest, but pretty much above average. I've watched this movie for about 3-4 times now, and can consider watching more. Not a keep watching anytime movie, but 2-4 times watchable. Also, I've heard second is going to get released too. Back to the movie, you'd love the experience of watching this movie for the first time. It's hilariously amazing. Yes, there is a margin it could have been better, but with the starcast, we don't expect more. Saif and Kunal both were exceptional. Vir Das overacted a little at times. This movie is really fun. I still remember that day watching the movie in the theatres with my friends and laughing out loud at many occasions.

If Illuminati had any reservations while producing this risky film they should be laid to rest.The movie has the right pace and gels well with the youth.The movie is teeming with witty one-liners and comedy sequences.The songs are quite peppy and keep going on in your mind for a long time after watching the movie.The best role is of Kunal Khemu who just steals the show a bit from Vir Das(loved him in Delhi Belly).Pooja Gupta looks hot all the time.Saif's cameo is awesome as pseudo Russian 'BAREES'(Boris).Their antics keep the audience rolling with laughter in major part of the movie.Some of the dialogues are just awesome"Haan Dilli Se Hun Bhainchod","Jungle Ke Beech Main Dumbcharades Thode Na Khelunga"and "I Keeel Ded People".A bit loose ending but isn't ending movies like this the hardest part?.Hint of a sequel? We'll have to wait and see the fate of this one.

It's a rarity for Indian movies to step beyond the conventional(and convenient) love stories and venture into the unknown.'Go Goa Gone' tries that and does a commendable job.You have heard of romcoms,now there is a new genre and it's called 'ZomCom!'.The movie stars Saif Ali Khan,Kunal Khemu,Vir Das and many many zombies.

There is good chemistry between the friendly trio of Luv,Hardik and Bunny.There's lot of slapstick humor,plenty of boisterous moments.The trio attend a rave party in Goa where all goes wrong.Thanks to a drug,suddenly zombies are spawning out of the blue and they are hungry for any human they can find.The trio find themselves stranded on an island with zombies all around and no way out.Enter Saif Ali Khan as a Russian mafia Boris.Off late Saif's acting has really transcended to a new level of confidence and this role is an example of that.His character is just so amazing.His dialog delivery with that Russian accent,his intimidating yet adorable looks,his intriguing persona-are all things you will love about him.You get a kick within when he says with that Russian accent- 'I kill dead people'.The rest of the cast has acted pretty good as well and i liked Kunal Khemu's(Hardik) performance.There are plenty of genuinely funny moments.

Don't try applying your mind too much or connecting the dots,this one is just meant for fun.Watch it and enjoy!

Long back (actually 2 years back) there was a rumor that Bollywood was on its way to make movies on Zombies. Two unnamed films were heard to be in making. Two years after one movie is already released "Rise of the Zombie" (released and flopped) another released today "GoGoa Gone". The name is wacky and trailers are not that interesting but the songs...the songs were its USP. Remember "Delhi Belly", how its wacky songs created the curiosity around it and turned it into a smash hit?....I hope the same thing clicks for it. Now the main business, the review.

Theme: Three friends goes Goa for different reason. Two guys to just chill out and one for office presentation. They join a rave party and things turn bad there. People suddenly start turning into zombies. What now? (Well Zombie movies were always about two things either its a horror or its a comedy. Its a comedy and that's the maximum you need to know about it)

Character Development: There is hardly any chance of any character development. And this being a "piece-of-life" movie its unjust to ask any from it too. So, leaving this topic.

Direction: Was going through the filmography of both the directors. A very impressive catalog : "Shor in the city", "99" to be mentionable. In case of "Go Goa Gone" I would say they have nailed it. The big hit that everyone waits for is here, they can enjoy the success. Its not easy to make offbeat movies in India specially if you want to make profits too from ticket sales. But I guess this is gonna be hit among young viewers. The direction is very much to the point, gives very less focus to individual characters so less time to commit mistakes. You would get almost 100% dialogs rather any monologue. This ensures a creative input of comic timing and surprise element to audience. Just imagine you won't be seeing Saif doing overacting! That's an achievement on its own! On second thought, actually Saif actually did over the top acting. And that blends to the tone of the movie. Crazy characters! Every single one was created with utmost care and then was given some intelligent lines. The chemistry between Vir Das and Kunal Khemu to be mentioned here for this. Then the intelligent film-making by including inspired scenes from "Zombieland" and "Shaun of the dead". Well, you know what is intelligent here? They not only copied scenes but took a dig on it! Bollywood making fun of Hollywood movies is a remarkable scene for sure. Another intelligent aspect is how they handled Clichés. They touched every Cliché that is related to such zombie flicks and made fun of those. Then they made fun of themselves too. Too many things in a movie?! Yeah and you would enjoy it for these things. Hats off to the director duo. Hope they bring a sequel too.

Cinematography: Though the movie takes place in Goa they have cautiously escaped showing the scenery of Goa. That was unnecessary for his movie and it was avoided. Rather collage of a rented room of bachelors, office room and a zombie infested island is well crafted. No special mention here. You get to see just what is there, no artsy-fartsy bullsh1t.

Songs and background score: The songs are already popular. Specially "Slowly slowly" and "Khoon choos le". Whacky lyrics along with party themed music. Apt to the mood with movie. Two of the songs are used as title credit scene and end credit scene and others are as background score. The dedicated background score is average though.

Editing: The editing is superb till intermission but the movie slows down its pace in the second half and this happens mostly due to lack of ideas in screenplay. Still a very good job.

Entertainment value: After a long time laughed out loud in theatre. Full entertainment (provided profanity does not bother you!). Kunal Khemu and Vir Das runs havoc and Saif's crazy Russian accent is fun...trust me!

Verdict: Since "Delhi Belly" this is the only movie which can shake the former's stature of intelligent. tongue-in-cheek comedy movie. Beware of profanity though. IF you have problem with profanity, this movie is not for you. Rest all assured you would enjoy for sure.