Partner

It makes you laugh now and then, but it falls short of being a laugh riot. David Dhawan's movie Partner works because Govinda shows traces of his old comic self once again.

One would be stupid to expect some sense out of a David Dhawan flick. He is the man who can give a humorous twist to hogwash. His brand of comedy is strictly slapstick, and pretty enjoyable at that. And 'Partner', his comeback film after a gap of one-and-a-half years, does carry a good dose of comedy. But it is certainly not among Dhawan's best works.

Govinda is the backbone of the film. Salman Khan , sharing almost equal footage, provides him good support. Besides their performances, it is the script that makes the movie click. The plot may be flimsy, but the dialogue are far from banal.

The comedy in the dialogue is in rhyme. The film has many more hilarious dialogue like these with rhyming words.

'Partner' tells the story of a Love Guru and his follower. Prem (Salman Khan) was born to be a love guru. He was born among girls, grew up among girls and now he gives advice and guidance to people about how to woo girls.

Enters Bhaskar (Govinda), a chubby, bespectacled dreamer who is in love with his stunningly beautiful boss, Priya ( Katrina Kaif ), a multi-millionaire heiress of Jaisingh group of industries. When Bhaskar asks Prem for tips to win Priya's heart, the love guru laughs off and tells Bhaskar to forget her.

After a bit of persuasion and a series of minor misadventures in Phuket, Prem agrees to guide Bhaskar.

On a different front, Prem falls for Naina ( Lara Dutta ), a journalist who keeps bumping into him while running away from the underworld's 'dreaded' Chhota Don (Rajpal Yadav).

The two love stories move ahead. With more than a little help from Love Guru, Bhaskar is able to make a notable impression on Priya and win her affection. On the other hand, Prem makes his advances on Naina.

Things take a turn when Priya's father fixes her marriage with a foreigner. This is when Bhaskar arrives on the marriage scene to win her hand. And just when it seems that both Bhaskar and Prem's respective love stories would have a happy ending, there comes another twist. Their secret is exposed.

The comedy in 'Partner' is not cerebral. It is not so high on wit as on slapstick. The jokes and the gags have a ethnic, street flavor. And there are some dialogues that are indeed hilarious.

When gangster Chhota Don (who speaks in cricket lingo all the time) gets wet by a kid's urine in a toilet, he says: pitch is wet now. Or whenever Govinda gets too happy he begins weeping and exclaims: Itni Khushi!.

There is no doubt about the fact that the chemistry between Govinda and Salman is groovy. There is not a single scene in the film in which either of them tries to outdo the other. Despite this, Govinda dominates the proceedings simply because of his superb comic timing. The actor is rediscovering his old magical touch again. Salman, too, gives a few moments of laughter, but he is no match for his chubby partner.

The ladies don't have much to do in this film. Yet, Katrina Kaif looks amazingly beautiful. Lara Dutta plays her part well. Rajpal Yadav is strictly okay.

'Partner' could have done without the Chhota Don track (featuring Rajpal Yadav in a spoof on SRK's 'Don'). Even Rajat Bedi's character (that of a womanizer) is half-baked, though it has some significance in the plot. And there are certain sequences that are completely out of sync. For instance, Salman on a motorboat, dodging a killer rocket. Or Salman getting bullied by a little kid.

'Partner' may be heavily inspired from the Hollywood film 'Hitch' but the comedy in it is very ethnic. The music by Sajid-Wajid is funky and goes well with the film's theme.

All said, the best sequence of 'Partner' comes in the end, when both Govinda and Salman are having their honeymoon in adjacent rooms. In this final sequence comes the comedy that will have you in splits.

(1) The Movie --: As far as the overall movie is concerned, it is a typical Bollywood entertainer, which makes you to laugh many times and entertains you well. Govinda's comic timing, first time pairing of Salman and Govinda, very good songs and music, beautiful locals and witty dialogues make it watchable.Though it would have been much better if director had done some extra job in screenplay but still he has done a good job to come up with such an entertainer as he has mastered the skill.

(2) An Acting --: As far as acting is concerned, Govinda stands out among all with his acting and comic timing as always but still he is not at his best. Salmankhan also accompanied him well and showed his screen presence with his personality. Again he has given good example by accepting role with Govinda as with Amitabh in "Baghbaan". Katrina looks pretty and suites with the role very well. Lara acted well but lacking in glamour as per need of the role. Rajpal Yadav also acted well as "Chota Don" and put in some humour.

(3) Music and Songs --: All five songs of the movie are good in one or another way. Sajid-Wajid has given a good music album. Title song is a well-made class song. "Dupatta" song is well-choreographed good dance number. "Soni De Nakhre" and O My Love" are also good dance numbers. " Maria" song is also a good duet song. All good singers of today such as Udit Narayan, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal and others have given good justice. Songs are also well choreographed in the movie.

(4) Improvements --: Though movie is a good entertainer but still it has some drawbacks. Screenplay is the major fault in the movie. I don't think copying from Hollywood is wrong idea but it needs some additional work to make it perfect Bollywood filmy story. Lara Dutta acted well but somehow she doesn't add glamour to the role at the moment as per requirement. So she would have been replaced with other actress. The whole episode of child artist is boring and so it would have been changed with some other story line.

(5) Summary --: Movie is good to watch for Govinda's comic timing, for chemistry between Salman-Govinda and for very good songs. Just don't look for logic and leave your brain at home as per always said for David Dhawan movie. The entire movie is good to watch for entertainment and to have some laughter. Don't forget to get bonus (laughter) in the end.I would give it 6/10.

Very Funny Movie. The funniest character I liked most Choute Don. The director is really intelligent. We also liked Salman & Govinda. As usual, Govinda is always funny as usual....hahahaha...

If you look at all of David Dhawan's best entertainers that also worked at the box office - Aankhen, Coolie No.1, Biwi No.1, Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and now Partner to name a few - the pacing of the films is very crisp. This could also be attributed to the fact that Dhawan was an editor before he became a director. His most entertaining films have the right surface elements - gloss, production values, catchy music and star value. But invariably, they are a good marriage of editing and screenplay. And then the x factor - chemistry of the protagonists on screen and their chemistry with Dhawan during the making. In Partner it is Govinda and Salman Khan who light up the screen.

Including Partner, Dhawan has made 38 films as a director - 20 of them have worked at the box office. 17 of those 20 have featured Govinda or Salman Khan. Except for Karisma Kapoor or Sushmita Sen in a few of them, the ladies are mere eye candy in most of them. Partner is a through and through entertainer - start to finish - as a Dhawan film is always meant to be.

Yes, the premise of Partner is a straight lift from Hitch and so are a few of the scenes in the film. I have seen both and thoroughly enjoyed both. But you cannot compare the two. The sensibilities, the arc of the individual stories are like apples and oranges. 9 Dhawan films released between 2000 and 2003 - only Jodi No.1 worked. Since then Partner is only his 4th release and his third hit. The one film a year thing is really working for him.

Govinda has had a second birth courtesy Salaam-e-Ishq and now Partner. It is surprising that Salman and Govinda have not worked opposite each other earlier. It is so funny that I would conclude this from a frivolous masala entertainer like Parter, but something tells me that David Dhawan will be making some amazing dramas, thrillers and black comedies some years down the road and Govinda and Salman will become phenomenal and iconic character actors 10-15 years from now.

One can expect a lot from David Dhawan's films. He has directed some of the funniest movies of bollywood. Here comes his another comedy flick.

This film is based on movie Hitch. But you won't find much similarity, since Partner is very bollywood type movie.

Some of the scenes are direct copy from Hitch. Salman Khan is the love guru and Govida comes to love guru to seek his advice to win the girl of his dreams. Partner has its moments. Some are stupid but some are rather funny.

Overall if you are looking for some good laugh and don't like to think much about what's going on in the film then go and watch this movie.

I would give this 6/10. Would have given more if some of the annoying scenes weren't in the movie.