Golmaal Returns

Golmaal Returns is not an ordinary film but to be most precise a vagrant, bid scale, lavish Spoof-fest..It is spoof of all typicalities of bollywood cinema..It spoofs action, it spoofs romance, it spoofs even comedy and doesn't even spare Rajnikant too..Its not a film but a compilation of about a 1000 jokes rolled into a 2 hour 20 min show..You can say that its an extended Great Indian Laughter Challenge with each actor trying to outsmart the other..

Its strange that even though it has no story, no script, a screenplay which I could write in my sleep, its pretty "SHAQING" enjoyable..You laugh at all though jokes but would still be wondering why cause they are so funny..Its an absolute time pass with a galore of single meaning dialogues(yeah not double meaning)..Its a guilty pleasure I would say..The jokes are all funny barring the atrocious climax where I wished to be doing what each character of the film was trying to do..

Acting wise Tushhar Kapoor was dumb and he was good, so naturally he has been wasting his talent mouthing dialogues till date..Shreyas Talpade is good ..Strange that an actor Of Ajay Devgan's calibre accepted such a role where he is neither funny nor effective..Kareena Kapoor hams but then who in this so called film doesn't..Rest all are wasted(specially Arshad Warsi).

Music is bad and songs are worse..

Rohit Shetty, chooses to remake an old bollywood comedy in the form of his "Golmaal Returns". The story is heavily based on an under-rated, 1973 released, Bollywood comedy called "Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar" featuring Kiran Kumar, Radha Saluja, I. S. Johar & Asrani. In fact Asrani also got a Filmfare Award for his performance as "Champak Bhumiya".

The plot revolves around a suspicious wife (Kareena) and her husband (Ajay Devgan). To explain, why he was out of the house a whole night, Ajay makes up a story and then it goes on & on creating new difficulties for him. Actually Ajay was stuck while saving Celina Jaitely from some bad elements and had to spend a night in a friend's place with her. However in the original movie, the real happening was more innovative, where the hero gets stuck on a giant wheel (in an amusement park) whole night with a young girl, due to power failure.

So the idea of first main scene, borrowed, was not adapted well. Feeling a low, I still had expectations from the movie as it was progressing, but coudn't find much to laugh and enjoy since the plot was not new for me. Rohit, the director, could not create the same old magic, which was there in his first part. The film goes on & on with no strong storyline up and makes un-impactful attempts to make you laugh.

The two people who give some scenes to enjoy are Tushar & Shreyas. Tushar still shows the magic in his funny language and Shreyas displays his great talent for comedies again. Ajay Devgan was OK in his part with no support from Arshad Warsi. In simple words, Arshad is wasted in an underwritten role and has got nothing to show. Kareena plays the role of a suspicious wife in a good way, but the role was not meant for her and it looks like she was added to the cast only for more commercial values. Celina Jailtely, Amrita Arora & Anjana Sukhani, all are simply there to fill up the screen space with nothing really written for them in the script.

Instead of an original "Champak Bhumiya" (in Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar), this time we have "Anthony Gonsalves" as the imaginary character who turns out to be existing live. The name and the act done by the comedian is a great let down if compared to the original source. Whereas in the first part "Golmaal", there are rarely scenes that make you bore, here in this sequel you find it tough to find the scenes you can enjoy with a great laughter. So it is not a well made sequel, quality wise. Though it has a more glossier star-cast this time. As usual, songs are just thrown away in unwanted places just to give you break for your snacks. And moreover no particular song registers itself in your mind.

The climax is the most annoying part and is quite similar to like you have earlier seen in many "Priyadarshan" comedies. Where the entire star cast comes together on the screen and tries to generate laughter indulging themselves in some funny sequences. But here it fails to create a similar impact. So in all, the movie fails to keep the promise its name suggested, "Golmaal Returns".

However, like the current trend, if the film-makers are only interested to get a good initial in the first 3-4 days and don't care about what happens to the film later on, then "Golmaal Returns" may give them back their money. But quality cinema is no where in the frame here.

The rating is so high just because they made me laugh – a lot ! Its asinine for most parts, there are a lot of PJ's thrown in, the plot has more holes than my socks and it drags a bit towards the end. Yet it manages to entertain, crack enough good ones, poke enough fun at the producers, Saawariya or Balaji films to keep us in a state of mild amusement throughout with several sharp upwards spikes in the middle. Thankfully, they chose to abandon the earlier storyline and most of the characters – keeping just a few (I thought the first Golmaal was terrible) so you can peacefully watch it without being at a loss.

Ajay Devgan is married to Kareena, named Ekta in the film just to allow some merciless leg pulling of Ekta Kapoor and her inane serials. They live with their siblings, Kareena's brother Tusshar (who's mute) and Ajay's sister, Amrita Arora. Kareena always suspects Ajay of having affairs and so one night when he doesn't return as he was rescuing damsel in distress, he prefers to lie rather than risk the truth. That lie leads to a lot of complications, some of which involve, Arshad Warsi as the cop who doesn't like Ajay but is in love with his sister, the snake-tattooed guy, a Rani Mukherjee from Saawariya clone, a dead body, men in drag etc etc.

Some of the best moments come when they're ripping off something – there's a hilarious sequence when they're going hell for leather behind the Kingfisher tune (ooh lala le oleo), another where Ajay spouts dialogue mentioning every one of his films, again when Kareena uses all the Hindi serial names or when they use music from 'Tashan' and towards the end when they start beating Tusshar just because he's from Balaji Productions (in real life).

Ajay was very good in this one, Arshad seems to have re-discovered his spontaneity (had been a bit flat in some of his earlier ones), Tusshar was good though I think they over did the mute jokes while Shreyas was wasted in his role – it was too slapstick for his talents. Amongst the women Kareena looked hot (though do you also feel that she's lost too much weight ?), while Celina, thankfully in this one, keeps her clothes on.

I'll leave you with a couple of PJ's that are used – they're both questions really. What would Lara Dutta be called if she married Brian Lara ? Whats the difference between a secretary and a personal secretary ? If the answers (the first one is obvious) can make you smile, then you have a hope of enjoying the film. Else save yourself the effort or the expense. More reviews at ApurvBollywood at blogspot

Pros:1.Great performances by Shreyas and Tushar. Tushar brings a smile on your face with his antics. 2.Crisp dialogues are a highlight of this film. 3.Ajay Devgan essays his role very well. 4.On the whole, very funny film. Cons:1.A very weak script spoils the film. 2.Film is dragged in the second half. 3.Some characters are unnecessary. 4.Arshad Warsi is wasted. 5.Music is one dimensional. Verdict: Overall, it is an entertaining film to say the least. However, some poor editing and bad script writing are blemishes on the film. To cut a long story short, GR is NOT a worthy sequel to Golmaal-1. You can watch it, if pure humour and baseless entertainment is your cup of tea.

This movie is so stupid that it's funny.I was expecting this movie to be like golmaal-fun unlimited but what I got was all comedy shows wrapped into one.I had a blast with this movie.The jokes are classic.The story lacks some stuff but with the funny chaos going in the movie you have to love it.The music is average with tha kar ke and the title song being the favorite.Performances of Ajay,Shreyas,Tusshar and Arshad are superb.Although Arshad doesn't get a lot of scope.Kareena is the best of the girls.Celina and Amrita are strictly okay.The rest of the cast is good. In conclusion leave your brain at home and have a blast.Golmaal Returns does return and is bigger and better.