Partner

I was really geared up to watch when two of best movie critics tagged this movie as a 'laugh riot'. But the movie turned out be disappointing.

You will be advised to watch this movie keeping your brains at home but you simply can't ignore the flaws and the shortcomings.

1. The missile scene was total stupidity.

2. Katrina Kaif and Govinda pair looked awful. (He's 49 and she's just 24... more than double of her age) 3. Salman's comedy is less of acting and more of overacting.

4. Songs are good but interrupts the pace of the movie.

5. Some scenes were deliberately attempted by the movie makers to be funny, and 6. Poor and flawed story.

However, there are few pluses- 1. Govinda. Great Individual Performance.

2. Some scenes are actually quite funny.

3. Kattrina Kaif. Looks and Acting keeps on improving with every film.

4. Rajpal Yadav's Don sequences. Though under-utilized but hilarious.

So 4 good points, 6 bad ones.. this one gets 4/10.

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.

As anyone can tell, Partner is just copied from Hitch. Some scenes were funny, but all I could think of was comparing "Hitch" with "Partner". Partner had all the scenes from "Hitch" and just extended it by adding some long songs. I'd say the movie is average, but "Hitch" is way above average. I like the originality in "Hitch", but I hated the plagiarism. Salman Khan/Love Guru is Will Smith/Hitch, Lara Dutta is Eva Mendez who both have the same job in the movies. Govinda is Kevin James/Albert Brennamin. Katrina Kaif is Amber Valetta/Allegra Cole. I definitely encourage people in India to see it only if they haven't seen Hitch. I encourage more for people to see Hicth. Hitch is 100% pure original and barely has any flaws.

David Dhawan never really stood for originality or high production values, but what he did stand for was entertainment both for the masses to an extent even the classes, and he always did it with loads of inspiration and simple film making techniques.

Lets analyse a typical David Dhavan checklist before and during the making of the movie.(Maybe hes an engineer like me).

1)Find a hit movie for the foundation of your film.(Hollywood preferred but Chinese and old Hindi films will do just as well).

CHECK. (need i mention Hitch).

Originality was sacrificed for a guaranteed funny film, and people were still laughing even when the inspiration was a Hindi movie (Bawarchi).

2)Find or formulate a good comic pair.(normally 2 stars but a star and comedian will do remember infamous Shakti/Govinda pair).

CHECK. (In this case free publicity as well being the comeback film of his favourite star).

The chemistry between the lead pair does wonders and is the only thing holding this movie together.

3)Watch DVDs of other hit films for other gags and sequences.

CHECK. (Jerry Mcguire the other big inspiration).

Again this guarantees some good jokes and till they showed a clip of the movie i killing myself to remember the inspiration behind Lara Datta.

4)Add a couple of good looking actresses who mostly just sing and dance.

CHECK. (Lara actually had a bigger role than Katrina).

Once again Katrina looked smoking and once again I profess my love for her, even if it means ill die by Salmans hand.

5)Add some emotional scenes.

CHECK.

Probably the worst part of this movie, these were handled so badly that the lesser said the better.

6)Add some cameos, comic tracks by the inform comic actors etc.

CHECK.

Rajpal Yadav whos way past Johnny Lever on the annoyance index when you cant spook DON YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.

SO WHAT WENT WRONG...

Although the jokes always were more important than the story, the story always flowed with the jokes, in this case 2 strong inspirations and SOME REALLY REALLY SHODDY SCRIPT WRITING AND EDITING ENSURE THAT THE MOVIE IS ACTUALLY JARRING THROWING US FROM ONE TRACK TO THE OTHER.

So many tracks are un -needed and left open, while others are added almost as an afterthought. THIS TECHNICALLY THE WORST David DHAWAN FILM THAT I've SEEN.

Katrinas ROLE WAS SACRIFICED FOR GOVINDAS AND almost no attention was paid to their romance, how and when she started liking him is still a mystery.

7)ADD SOME HIT SONGS (most that will last for years).

NOOOOOOO.

Songs were really OK save for one and were added at the worst times, there was a collective gasp when the last song played.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE..

This movie had the best spoof of Aamir Khan i have ever scene i was falling out my seat laughing at that particular scene and was the best scene in the movie for me.

This movie has some other good scenes as the end (which was to sexual to be in a family movie but I'm sure to be laughing when i see it alone on TV).

The jokes were funny and no-doubt will be even more funnier when watched alone on reruns on TV. (save for Deewane-Mastane which was brilliant this how I've enjoyed most of David Dhawans films, un -inhibited in the quite confines of my home).

David DHAWAN MOVIES WILL ALWAYS HAVE LOADS OF JOKES THAT WILL BE HATED, ENJOYED AT DIFFERENT LEVELS BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE at different times, I've always had a different reactions to his movies when i watch short spans of it on TV.

So we have a movie that was almost a typical David Dhawan masala film but fell well short thanks to lacklustre songs and THE WORST FILM TECHNICALLY I HAVE SEEN IN YEARS.

CAN even be avoided and watched later, definitely not the must watch despite the hype, fans like me will come out just about satisfied.

-s TECHNICAL DISASTER (to put it mildly),OK songs,Rajpal Yadav,THE END MAKES IT ALMOST UNSAFE FOR FAMILY VIEWING.

+/-s David Dhawan formula you may like it one day only to hate it the other, wild swings expected during the same movie.

+s formula works to some extent, couple of hilarious sequences, SUPERB CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE LEADS.

total 5/10 (did fall below my OK expectations (i expect to enjoy his movie much more at home alone on TV) didn't even match up to MUjhse Shaadi..)

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.