Chashme Baddoor

Sir, is this your idea of remaking a film that you admire? Sir, you cannot just discard the film's soul, which had made it into a coveted entry in the library of Indian cinema, and just process the skin. Sai Pranjpe's Chashme Buddoor wasn't just a comedy, it was an ode to the vagaries of the city's lifestyle. It was a brilliant character study filled with memorable moments. Making your film "badder" (the cue in the title) to match the modern bad world, without backing it up with anything substantial, hardly counts.

The new Omi's rhymes fall flat compared to Rakesh Bedi's poetry. As stand-alone movie too, it fails to impress. Ram Gopal Varma made the same mistake with Aag, though your effort isn't horrendous like RGV's, it still comes across empty. Why attempt something if cannot raise or at least match the bar? Some shoes are hard to fill.

A remake of the 1981 cult-classic by the same name, 'Chashme Baddor' Directed by David Dhawan, is a Funny Film! It has several sequences that bring the house down along-with superb one-liners & fine performances working on its advantage.

'Chashme Baddoor' Synopsis: Three friends fall for the same girl. Complications follow!

The Original was a delightful clean-comedy, The Remake is loud & completely zany. David Dhawan creates a new world all together. Luckily, he succeeds by making you laugh at regular intervals. Renuka Kunzru's Screenplay is mad-cap but entertaining & humorous nonetheless. Sajid-Farhad's Dialogue offer some superb one-liners. Music by Sajid-Wajid is fabulous.

Performance-Wise: Ali Zafar is controlled, but Siddharth & Divyendu Sharma are loud & extremely funny. Taapsee Pannu looks super cute & has performed nicely. Rishi Kapoor & Lilette Dubey's Track has some sweet moments. Both the actors are first-rate. Anupam Kher, in 2 roles, is in his element. Ayaz Khan is adequate.

On the whole, 'Chashme Baddoor' has the humor & the craziness one expected from it.

Score 7/10 Director Mr. David Dhavan's work and approach towards an old story is good. There is nothing new in story but screenplay and dialogues make it entertaining. Screenplay by Renuka Kunzru is good. Dialogues by Farhad-Sajid is very good. Film slows down just after interval but very soon, it again picks up the pace. Punches in dialogues and the chemistry between all three male characters are enjoyable. Performance wise Siddharth as Jai is very good. Ali Zafer as Sid and Divyendu Sharma as Omi are fine. Tapsse Pannu as Seema is also good. Anupam Kher is fantastic as usual. Rishi Kapoor as Jhoseph is impressive. Lillete Dubey as Jhoshphine is good. Music by Sajid-Wajid is good and supports the film very well.

With Bollywood not showing little mercy since 2013 beginning, I took extra courage and hopped in to watch David Dhawan's latest. Well, I am not impressed, but neither am I complaining.

Having read Karan Anshuman's review in Mumbai Mirror, I risked it. And whoa, the first half made me laugh. Well, isn't that a shocker nowadays? Siddharth acts buffoonish all over the film with his equivocal character. So is the character of Divyendu Sharma (PKPunchnama was appreciable), but his wit, sarcasm & shayris (short balladry) in short intervals puts him in the limelight. Together, they take a dig on many David Dhawan films, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan & various other Bollywood related strong-points; they are both funny & clichéd. Ali Zafar is total let-down with his character emerging in the second half and still failing to take-off. Newcomer Tapsee Pannu follows every other newcomer and does quite well... what was told to her. But, she will need to put more dumm (power) into her chutzpah if she wishes to stay.

Supporting cast is elegant with Rishi K, Lillete D & Anupam K doing great enough to keep the movie going. Songs are powerful but the dialogs are not so happening. Editing is average while the screenplay just pushes it. The plot is simple but the edification is illogical. What could've been done rather easily, Chashme Baddoor lengthens it, but with panache to some extent. The second half is a juxtaposition of many hackneyed thoughts and compared to the first half (more of adult comedy lies here), is too boring & predictable.

BOTTOM LINE: You can risk it and have a couple of laughs to lounge this weekend because this year very few movies have come out which are worth watching, but I should remind you that this is tad adult and you may not want to take your family along. Overall, Dumm thoda kum hai boss! 5/10

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? Make a thought!

Language: Mediocre | Sex, Nudity: No | Mouth-Kiss: Very Mild | Violence: Mild | Gore: No | Smoking: Mediocre | Alcohol or Drugs: No

With memories of Deepti Naval and Farooq Shaikh, one enters the cinema all ready to be entertained with the modern version of Chashme Baddoor but surprisingly thats not the case… even with big names like David Dhawan and Ali Zafar, the film turns out to be just time-pass.

"Classics cannot be recreated", says Rakesh Bedi, from the cast of the classic Chashme Baddoor, but that was the challenge that David Dhawan took up and he knew what he was getting into…

Remaking a 1981 classic and that too thirty-two years later is an extremely difficult task. David Dhawan has directed this remake with a youthful touch and casted some amazing comic actors, the all-rounder and charming Ali Zafar, who plays the main lead while the side-kicks are funny man Divyendu Sharma and the talented Siddharth Narayan, while the female lead is played by a new actress Taapsee Pannu. The supporting cast boasts of big names like Rishi Kapoor and Lilette Dubey. Not to forget the special appearances by Juhi Chawla and Varun Dhawan.

The film starts with a good pace and is fun to watch with a punch here and there. Half an hour into the film and Taapsee Pannu's ordinary looks and average acting start boring you. Although one tries to satisfy himself/herself by concentrating on the exotic locations, the fine sets, the comic element and of course the naughty Ali Zafar, yet every time you see the female lead, your heart starts sinking.

The film's story is very much like the original except for a new love-angle created between Rishi Kapoor and Lilette Dubey, which is fun to watch and is rather cute. On the other hand, the editing is pacey but the screenplay does not has much to offer. The predictable story line steals the fun of the events and the only saviour is the music. Sonu Nigam's Har Ek Friend Kameena Hota Hai and Early Morning stand out while Ali Zafar's Dhichkyaaon Doom Doom is a fun song that one might hum even after the film ends.

David Dhawan's direction is good, overall the actors do a decent job, except for Taapsee Pannu, who is extremely unattractive and ordinary. One wishes throughout the film that the female lead was anybody else but Taapsee.

Therefore, beyond doubt, it is Rishi Kapoor and Ali Zafar's performance that saves the film and makes it watchable. A must watch for Ali Zafar fans.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5.