Shetty was right in thinking that since Mukherjee’s Gol Maal is a classic, he would have the advantage of the audiences knowing of the film and therefore be able to relate to it. Throughout the film, he gives references to various scenes from the original Gol Maal and audiences to some extent know what’s going on.[break]
The plot is simple. Abbas Ali (Abhishek Bachchan) and his sister Sania (Asin) lose their home and whatever money they had to their evil uncle even after struggling for three years in legal battles.
Then enters Shashtri (Asrani) who is their father’s friend, and who takes them from Delhi to his village Ranakpur. He even manages to get Abbas a job at his boss’s place. His master Prithvi Raj (Ajay Devgn) is the uncrowned king of the village with a magnificent palace, a pretty sister Radhika (Prachi Desai), and an entire army of pehelwaans.
Now Prithivi Raj has two prominent aspects to his character. One is that he can’t stand lies, and the other is that he’s obsessed with English. As the plot develops, Prithvi is told one lie after another by Abbas and Shastri’s son Ravi (Krushna Abhishek) owing to various situations. Further on, there are more lies and more characters adding up, including a mujra star Zohra Bai (Archana Puran Singh) and another Abhishek Bachchan.
Zohra Bai is a wonderful thing to happen to Abbas and his friends and to the audience as well. Archana Puran Singh does her role with much ease. It’s a delight to see her on screen, and you can’t help but remember her in her role in the 1998 mega hit “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” where she was equally quirky.
The film isn’t exactly a remake of “Gol Maal” and Rohit Shetty hasn’t even come close to the 1979 classic. As director, Shetty seems to be happy with his previous ways and hasn’t bothered with trying anything innovative.
There isn’t a single part of the movie that reminds you of the man behind it all, let alone coming across an applauding moment for the director.
His actors, too, put up nothing splendid. Ajay Devgan seems to understand the fact that the film asks for nothing too somber, and therefore does only just enough.
Abhishek, on the other hand, has put in hard work but amazingly you don’t love him for what he does. How sensible was it on the makers’ and the actors’ part to make derogatory jokes and comments about someone’s sexual orientation?
The leading ladies have nothing leading to do, either. Asin and Prachi Desai both look extremely beautiful but when it comes to their contribution to the story line or the film as a whole, they can easily be ignored. But of course, the love songs, although unnecessary and untimely, wouldn’t look the same without them.
Also, Prachi Desai comes off a bit too experimental when it comes to her hairstyle, as she flaunts straight, wavy, and straight again hair all in a single scene of the film.
The movie in some parts is enjoyable with small sub-twists, like that of bringing in three different mothers.
The pacing of the film is fine. No scenes seem slow or too fast. Another mention must go to the art director. The art director needs to be commended for setting up a cost-effective set in the dance sequences of songs.
Although dancing and singing in Indian cinema have always been extravagant affairs, this film’s songs look very well put together, but excluding the title song which is horrendously loud.
As for music, Himesh Reshamiya has done better than usual. The film flaunts catchy numbers. The best part is that for this film, Reshamiya dropped his trademark, which is redundancy in lyrics.
The movie’s cinematography is a fine job, even beautiful at times. The rural village and its temples looks marvelous, and each time the shot goes wide, you can’t help but get mesmerized by the scenic beauty of the place.
The inevitable car chases are also shot well, a bit unrealistic but done well nonetheless. No complaints about Dudley’s job.
For those of us who aren’t big fans of Rohit Shetty’s kind of humor find all the three editions of Gol Maal stupid. Bol Bachchan will only add to our belief. As for those who enjoy Shetty’s sense of humor, they head straight to the theater.
Screening at QFX Cinemas.
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