Indian movies

Certain films worked in the 1980s. In fact, Manmohan Desai and much later, David Dhawan made a career making such films. Ajay Chandok follows their footsteps in his directorial debut NEHLLE PE DEHLLA. Unfortunately, NEHLLE PE DEHLLA comes too late in the day!

The archetypal, humdrum, unexciting masala of two crooks wanting to upstage each other to lay their hands on a booty [Rs. 30 crores] have been cycled and recycled time and again over the decades. Padding the narrative with illogical situations and mindless humor, NEHLLE PE DEHLLA has nothing novel to offer.

To state that the script is outright predictable would be putting it mildly. In fact, it doesn’t take an Einstein to guess what’s in store next, once you’re 15 minutes into the film.

Johny [Sanjay Dutt] and Jimmy [Saif Ali Khan] are petty thieves. Johny has a fetish for robbing expensive watches from showrooms during the day, while Jimmy robs mansions in the wee hours of the morning. Both land up behind bars often, but detest each other’s sight.

Outside a bar one night, they encounter Guptaji [Avtar Gill], who has been killed by the villains [Shakti Kapoor, Mukesh Rishi, Aasif Sheikh and Shiva]. Before dying, he blurts out the words ‘Roxy Hotel, accounts department’ to Johny and Jimmy.

Both Johny and Jimmy land up at the hotel giving false stories to Balram [Shakti Kapoor] and get employed as stewards. In the meanwhile, Balram’s niece Pooja [Bipasha Basu] and her friend Kim [Kim Sharma] plan to start a hotel in Mauritius and instruct Balram to dispose off the Goa property.

But the scheming and corrupt Balram has usurped all the money [Rs. 30 crores] with the help of three crooks [Mukesh Rishi, Aasif Sheikh and Shiva] and hidden it in Mauritius. Johny and Jimmy get to know Balram’s game plan and demand a share in the booty. Balram calls them to Mauritius. In the meanwhile, the three crooks also hatch a plan to eliminate Balram and usurp the booty themselves.

The action shifts to Mauritius. Balram is murdered. Johny and Jimmy are in a fix since only Balram knows where he had hidden the booty. In the meanwhile, the three crooks rob the body and take it to a tantrik [Supriya Karnik], who says that the dead body of Balram will only react to a Mauritian song.

How everyone gets to the treasure with the help of the dead body, forms the crux of the film.

NEHLLE PE DEHLLA defies logic. And the writer of the film deserves a Razzie for cooking up a story that centers around a dead body. The corpse of Shakti Kapoor dances to music, drives a car, completes the formalities in the bank, reaches the place where the booty [Rs. 30 crores] is hidden and even fights the goons in the end. Wait, there’s more… The dead body falls off from the hotel, is thrown in the sea but returns to the shore, it meets with an accident but the body shows no bruises, is even hidden in a refrigerator but it remains normal… Waah, mazaa aa gaya!

Director Ajay Chandok seems to be stuck in the 1980s. No problem if you’re inspired by the masala potboilers of yore, but times have changed, Mr. Director. Any redeeming aspect? A few funny moments. Sure, it’s juvenile stuff, but the humor does bring a smile on your face at places. Music is strictly okay, although the filming of the two romantic songs between Saif-Kim are visually striking. Cinematography is up to the mark.

Everyone hams to the hilt here! While Sanju has attempted similar roles in the past, it’s Saif’s first attempt at non-stop nonsense. Both are loud. Bipasha has a set of three expressions all through, while Kim Sharma has one. Shakti Kapoor is his usual self. The three crooks -- Mukesh Rishi, Aasif Sheikh and Shiva -- are mere gap fillers.

On the whole, NEHLLE PE DEHLLA is a poor show all the way.