Golmaal Again
Year: 2017
Director: Rohit Shetty
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Khemu, Parineeti Chopra, Tabu

Without a doubt, Rohit Shetty is one director who has understood the ‘Mass entertainer’ genre better than anyone else in Bollywood. Shetty’s USP is his ability to create entertaining potboilers catering to popular tastes. Unlike the classier but much less prolific Rajkumar Hirani, Shetty does not bother about a social message or a balancing act to keep the intellectuals and the mindless, both happy.

Many critics and viewers may call Shetty’s fares mindless, senseless and artless but I see him as a film-maker who has almost perfected the art of making successful commercial cinema, especially the silly comedies. Where he scores over the likes of David Dhawan, Farah Khan, Sajid Khan and Anees Bazmi is his formula gets the comic equation right more often than not. His tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating (and often politically incorrect!) humour smoothly blends slapstick, farcical and absurd to tickle the funny bone. Shetty does the intelligent ‘silly humour’!

What’s the plot?

After coming to know about their benefactor’s death, five feuding petty criminals(Ajay Devgn and Shreyas Talpade in one group and Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor and Kunal Khemu in the opposing group!) decide to visit the orphanage in Ooty, where they had spent their childhood. There they meet a childhood friend (Tabu), who invites them over to stay in a nearby mansion. The five frenemies now have their work cut out to save their beloved orphanage from the clutches of the baddies. With ghosts, murders and villains in the vicinity, the air is thick with mystery!

What’s hot?

·        Rohit Shetty’s intelligent grasp on silly comedies comes to the fore in this Golmaal version 4.

·        Even while changing plots in every Golmaal, Shetty cleverly retains the famed central characters and their patent gags to keep the franchise connection on!

·        The film is laugh-a-minute riot! The gags keep coming thick and fast. The references to old Bollywood classics, especially the spoofs on ‘Yashoda Ka Nandlala’ and Nana Patekar’s dialogues, are hilarious. The horror-comedy elements work well.

·        Ajay Devgn as the ghost-fearing finger-bender, Shreyas Talpade as his lisping best friend, Arshad Warsi and Kunal Khemu as the smart-aleck adversaries and Tusshar Kapoor as the mute miming sidekick are likable fuzzy protagonists. Their chemistry and energy is fantastic.

·        From the supporting cast- Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, Mukesh Tiwari, Vrajesh Hirji and Murali Sharma continue their quirky acts from past Golmaal-s. Prakash Raj adds his own flavor to the villainish character.

·        The bright multi-colored comic-book color scheme and Ooty as the location, both add to the visual appeal.

·        The stunts and special effects are effectively used.

What’s not?

·        By cutting down on songs and action sequences, the film could have become shorter and crisper.

·        The leading ladies- Parineeti Chopra and Tabu have precious little to do.

·        Neil Nitin Mukesh as the main villain is ineffective.

Verdict

If you only accept a Hrishikesh Mukherji or a Basu Chatterji- kind of finesse and intelligence in the comedies, then Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal Again is a strict no-no. But if you don’t mind dumbing yourself down at times, then just let your hair down, leave your brain aside and have a heaty laugh-fest watching a multitude of goofy characters getting caught up in crazy situations and spoofing everything under the sun!

For whatever it means, Golmaal Again is the best among all Shetty’s comedies so far. With box-office giving a big nod, the film-maker is once again laughing all the way to the bank!

Rating

3.5 stars