Go Goa Gone

I went in for the opening show expecting just as much as everyone else did from a film which built the hype calling itself the first ZomCom (Zombie Comedy) of Indian cinema, and I felt the movie delivered.

The storyline itself is pretty simple with two stoner guys taking a trip to Goa with their socially inept friend where the effects of a new breakout drug go horribly wrong for the partying vacationers. The rest is just classic zombie-killing fun with guns, knives, whatever-comes-handy and more guns! The fun elements come from the rough language used throughout which doesn't try too hard and admirable visual effects. The ending might be predictable for those who have watched a fair share of Apocalypse movies but the film itself was quite fresh for me since it didn't try to shove another love story down the throats of the viewers.

The acting was decent and the characters themselves were well-designed for this kind of film. Since it's a ZomCom, you might not get the gore scare you might be looking for. But if you enjoy youth-oriented comedies and are in for the Indian "Shawn of the Dead", this is the movie for you! Go watch it, before it's Gone.

Reviewed by Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I must admit that I'm a hardcore fan of the zombie sub-genre in the pantheon horror movies. So it was exhilarating to watch "Go Goa Gone" in which directors Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru have taken major strides in introducing zombies to the mainstream Indian audience. While baptizing this all important and long overdue initiation, they have also succeeded in hemming an impeccable, gut-busting horror comedy a well.

The film crackles with hilarious dialogs, nail-biting sequences, a fluid plot, a coherent yet energizing narrative arc, zany and madcap encounters ranging from the unpredictable to the completely outrageous, brilliant cinematography, and finally spot-on direction from the first frame to the last. The praiseworthy performances, especially from Saif Ali Khan (surprise, surprise) and Kunal Khemmu, only add to the overall viewing pleasure. Puja Gupta's role definition and her enactment are the perhaps the only minor letdowns in this otherwise brilliantly energizing film, but then again, she does provide great eye-candy. So, perhaps that was how her role was meant to be, so who's complaining.

Thank God, that the producers set out to make an adult oriented film and were contended with the 'A' certificate, cause the expletive words, gore, wicked jokes, sexual references, and mild exposure (still nothing compared to those tasteless item numbers), are vital for a film of this ilk to work.

"Go Goa Gone" will go down in the annals of Indian Cinema as a pioneering film that shall hopefully, allow other filmmakers to explore zanier sub-genres that are already popular in other international film circuits. Not only one of the best Indian horror ever, but one of the best horror comedies ever made, even when compared to its western counterparts. Am absolute delight and complete entertainment for a cognizant adult audience. If you want real entertainment, and want a much-needed break from those myriad nonsensical masala films masquerading in the guise of entertainment, then dash to your nearest movie theater and catch the next show of this delectably wicked gore- fest.

Long back (actually 2 years back) there was a rumor that Bollywood was on its way to make movies on Zombies. Two unnamed films were heard to be in making. Two years after one movie is already released "Rise of the Zombie" (released and flopped) another released today "GoGoa Gone". The name is wacky and trailers are not that interesting but the songs...the songs were its USP. Remember "Delhi Belly", how its wacky songs created the curiosity around it and turned it into a smash hit?....I hope the same thing clicks for it. Now the main business, the review.

Theme: Three friends goes Goa for different reason. Two guys to just chill out and one for office presentation. They join a rave party and things turn bad there. People suddenly start turning into zombies. What now? (Well Zombie movies were always about two things either its a horror or its a comedy. Its a comedy and that's the maximum you need to know about it)

Character Development: There is hardly any chance of any character development. And this being a "piece-of-life" movie its unjust to ask any from it too. So, leaving this topic.

Direction: Was going through the filmography of both the directors. A very impressive catalog : "Shor in the city", "99" to be mentionable. In case of "Go Goa Gone" I would say they have nailed it. The big hit that everyone waits for is here, they can enjoy the success. Its not easy to make offbeat movies in India specially if you want to make profits too from ticket sales. But I guess this is gonna be hit among young viewers. The direction is very much to the point, gives very less focus to individual characters so less time to commit mistakes. You would get almost 100% dialogs rather any monologue. This ensures a creative input of comic timing and surprise element to audience. Just imagine you won't be seeing Saif doing overacting! That's an achievement on its own! On second thought, actually Saif actually did over the top acting. And that blends to the tone of the movie. Crazy characters! Every single one was created with utmost care and then was given some intelligent lines. The chemistry between Vir Das and Kunal Khemu to be mentioned here for this. Then the intelligent film-making by including inspired scenes from "Zombieland" and "Shaun of the dead". Well, you know what is intelligent here? They not only copied scenes but took a dig on it! Bollywood making fun of Hollywood movies is a remarkable scene for sure. Another intelligent aspect is how they handled Clichés. They touched every Cliché that is related to such zombie flicks and made fun of those. Then they made fun of themselves too. Too many things in a movie?! Yeah and you would enjoy it for these things. Hats off to the director duo. Hope they bring a sequel too.

Cinematography: Though the movie takes place in Goa they have cautiously escaped showing the scenery of Goa. That was unnecessary for his movie and it was avoided. Rather collage of a rented room of bachelors, office room and a zombie infested island is well crafted. No special mention here. You get to see just what is there, no artsy-fartsy bullsh1t.

Songs and background score: The songs are already popular. Specially "Slowly slowly" and "Khoon choos le". Whacky lyrics along with party themed music. Apt to the mood with movie. Two of the songs are used as title credit scene and end credit scene and others are as background score. The dedicated background score is average though.

Editing: The editing is superb till intermission but the movie slows down its pace in the second half and this happens mostly due to lack of ideas in screenplay. Still a very good job.

Entertainment value: After a long time laughed out loud in theatre. Full entertainment (provided profanity does not bother you!). Kunal Khemu and Vir Das runs havoc and Saif's crazy Russian accent is fun...trust me!

Verdict: Since "Delhi Belly" this is the only movie which can shake the former's stature of intelligent. tongue-in-cheek comedy movie. Beware of profanity though. IF you have problem with profanity, this movie is not for you. Rest all assured you would enjoy for sure.

I've been a zombie movie follower for some time (sometimes unwillingly). This movie obviously breaks ground as far as Bollywood goes - it is a respectable (?) zombie movie.

Any respectable camp zombie movie should have the following, IMHO - an unconvincing social message (e.g. Romero's "Dawn of the dead" was a backhanded critique of consumer capitalism and mall crawls, Danny Boyle's "28 days later" against irresponsible experimentation), references to other movies of the same genre (e.g. Shaun of the dead), and some innovative twist or variation.

Go Goa Gone scores on all three - it has a (tacked-on) message against drug culture, references to other zombie movies including Shaun of the dead (whose solutions are quickly discarded, since it should be obvious to the gentle viewer that desi/pardesi zombies in Goa are different from desi/British zombies in England), and an enjoyably terrible "solution". Also, good music, which Danny Boyle would concur with.

All in all, a respectable attempt!! As a camp horror addict, I am satisfied!! Also, a memorable quote that does not quite reach the heights of "When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth" - it goes: "What do we know? What have we learned?"

If Illuminati had any reservations while producing this risky film they should be laid to rest.The movie has the right pace and gels well with the youth.The movie is teeming with witty one-liners and comedy sequences.The songs are quite peppy and keep going on in your mind for a long time after watching the movie.The best role is of Kunal Khemu who just steals the show a bit from Vir Das(loved him in Delhi Belly).Pooja Gupta looks hot all the time.Saif's cameo is awesome as pseudo Russian 'BAREES'(Boris).Their antics keep the audience rolling with laughter in major part of the movie.Some of the dialogues are just awesome"Haan Dilli Se Hun Bhainchod","Jungle Ke Beech Main Dumbcharades Thode Na Khelunga"and "I Keeel Ded People".A bit loose ending but isn't ending movies like this the hardest part?.Hint of a sequel? We'll have to wait and see the fate of this one.