Buddha Mar Gaya - Review
Rahul Rawail goes all out this time. His new endeavor touches almost every topic under the sun -- from extra-marital affairs to gay relationships to incest to 'corpse selling'... Most importantly, it mirrors a sad reality: Money is the be-all and end-all.
BUDDHA MAR GAYA is aimed at the masses, those who swear by nonsensical entertainers. It's not for the faint-hearted. You ought to have a strong stomach to absorb a film like BUDDHA MAR GAYA since it shocks you at regular intervals. It's not for those with an appetite for meaningful cinema or for critics, who run down masala/mass appealing films since it's fashionable to do so.
Be forewarned, if you're ready for shocks, BUDDHA MAR GAYA is just for you!
Laxmikant Kabadiya aka LK [Anupam Kher] is one of India's richest industrialists, a self-made man. His conglomerate is on the verge of a 5000 crore IPO that should make them one of the largest companies in the country. LK's family comprising of his spinster twin sister [Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal], his two sons Ranjeet [Bobby Parvez] and Sameer [Mukesh Tiwari], their wives Shruti [Mannat Kaur] and Anju [Mona Ambegaonkar], respectively, Ranjeet's daughters Sanjana [Heenaa Biswas] and Namrata [Madhvi Singh] and Sameer's son Pawan [Jay Soni] can't stop salivating at the thought of all that money.
Hiding the death of a man as famous as LK is a Herculean task. To make matters worse, every time they're ready to announce LK's death, fate intervenes, forcing them to keep his death hidden for another couple of days. Which results in them having to announce the death of a fictitious friend or relative of LK's. And stage fake funerals. Which, of course, means generating dead bodies and worse, getting the dead LK to make appearances at these funerals.
Complicating matters further are an inquisitive and greedy servant [Paresh Rawal], the Minister's fixer [Murli Sharma], a procurer of dead bodies [Ranveer Shorey], the paparazzi and for good measure a couple of cops. And of course internal jealousies, greed, rivalries within the family only add spice to the goings on.
Director Rahul Rawail steps into a new territory with BUDDHA MAR GAYA and as a storyteller, narrates an interesting plot successfully. Agreed, a film like BUDDHA MAR GAYA is not everybody's idea of entertainment, but Rawail knows his fundas right. He uses everything on the shelf to make a black comedy. Yet, it must be mentioned that the writing could've been tighter. The screenplay isn't too convincing at times, like the Murli Sharma track or the Manoj Joshi episode in the climax. The writing goes awry on these occasions.
Rawail's idea of using popular tracks in the background, like 'Beedi' [OMKARA], 'Cheeni Kum' [CHEENI KUM] and 'Chak De Phatte' [KHOSLA KA GHOSLA] add to the enjoyment. Dialogues [Anand Sivakumaran] are dipped in sarcasm at times and are saucy at places. However, a film like BUDDHA MAR GAYA signifies that the censors have become quite lenient these days, which is a welcome sign.
Anupam Kher, the narrator and also the corpse, is very good. Paresh Rawal deserved better lines and situations. Rakhi Sawant is in top form. Ranveer Shorey is okay. Murli Sharma is efficient. Prem Chopra is perfect.
On the whole, BUDDHA MAR GAYA has terrific title-value, abundant shock-value and strong entertainment-value as factors going in its favor. At the box-office, this one's for the masses completely!
Bombay To Goa - Review
JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA could've been a howlarious ride that starts off in Mumbai and concludes in Goa, but all you carry home are a few amusing sequences and the well-penned, laced-with-wit dialogues.
Problem kya hain? The screenplay. There are points in the narrative that prompt guffaws, chuckles, giggles and chortles, but the narrative is stretched to a point that you get restive and fidgety. Woh isliye, because monotony seeps in after a point. Another area that should've been controlled is its length. The climax especially is reminiscent of the chase in HERA PHERI and PHIR HERA PHERI. Interesting concept, but why go on and on?
In short, JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA is aimed at the hoi polloi, the masses, the aam junta and for them, the journey to laughterland may be worth it.
JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA is the story is of Lal [Sunil Pal] and Das [Vijay Raaz]. Lal is a dreamer who wants to become big in life and start his own business. Das is a driver, who used to work for a rich businessman, but an irritating boss' nagging habits force him to quit his job.
Lal finally manages to get 15-16 passengers by offering them a discount. But the bus is so tacky that the passengers demand their money back. Das comes up with an idea and states that this is merely a pick-up bus. The journey begins!
One of the passengers [Mac Mohan], who had been abducted but has now escaped, meets with an accident and dies midway. But before he breathes his last, he tells the fellow passengers about the hidden treasure…
With so many comedians around, the writing focuses on hilarious situations and one-liners. The motive is to make you laugh. A few sequences do succeed, a few don't. In an effort to pack just about everything on the shelf, the writer seems to have overlooked the fact that you need to tell your story in the shortest possible time. Sure, a few scenes are well penned, by why stretch the film unnecessarily? It dilutes the impact!
Comedy is serious business and not all storytellers can pull it off. In that respect, director Raj Pendurkar shows a flair for comedy. In fact, he has the potential to make aimed-at-masses entertainers in the future, but a tight script is all he needs to concentrate on. On the music front, there's just one song that stays in your memory -- the title track. Cinematography is okay.
On the whole, JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA is a fair attempt that may appeal to those with an appetite for comic capers. At the box-office, the extra-ordinary promotion [quality as well as quantity], especially on television, should attract footfalls at mass-dominated screens and centres.
Watch the Trailer