Let me first clarify that I have been a fan of this movie for a long time. When I say its overrated, I mean to say that its still a very good movie, much much ahead of its times, but its not as great as its made out to be.
I will just outline some of the negatives that may or may not have been pointed out by prior reviewers. Positives are many obviously. The biggest positive is the fact that a film of this nature was conceived, that too back in 1983, with a budget of barely around 800k rupees. The comic sequences are nice, the satire is accurate. I especially loved the portrayal of early 80s Bombay, India. The people and the places of that era.
Coming to the negatives, the whole plot is so superficial, so shallow, so vain. may be that type of a premise was necessary here, to combine the comic and tragic aspects of the movie. But it makes all the characters of the movie seem incredible, in the bad sense. Too inconsistent. They keep switching from being normal, to being idiotic, to being intelligent, randomly. Perfect example of it is the scene between Naseeruddin and Bhakti Barve in her office. It could have been an awesome scene, but it doesn't reach that potential. And the same is true for so many other scenes. May be the film was made in a hurry.
Another thing is, when you watch the movie now, the humor doesn't work much. Its like a movie playing on slow-mo. Even the actor's reactions and dialogue deliveries seem to be delayed, everything seems too slow. There are a number of Priyadarshan movies, that are way funnier than this one. Of course its unfair to compare movies like that. The point is, its just not as hilarious as I first found it to be.
There are other issues too. The whole Murder-Deadbody segment is so flawed logically. Why would Tanreja murder someone in a park, that too in broad daylight? and why would he choose to return there in the middle of the night to pick up the dead body. And then, why would anyone dump the body under a bridge to be inaugurated to the public the next day.
The satire is monotonous. We Indians are all already aware of corruption. the film doesn't really say anything new. and the worst thing is, there isn't really any greater message to the film. I mean if its a satirical movie, it should have something to say. shouldn't it? This one just announces that the COMMON man is doomed in corrupt India.
I still do endorse this movie. My favorite scene is the one under the bridge, where the two innocent citizens, Naseer and Ravi get harassed by the constable. Unfortunately, its 2014 and the same is still happening in India. I guess thats the ultimate message of this movie. To laugh at it, or to cry over that, is left to the viewers choice.
