 Is it me conjuring things up again or did the house really come down? My thoughts exactly, though the latter should be the rationale behind my figurative statement. Behold! It is the epitome of the Hindi cinematic events 2010. Celebrate all you comedy starved, melancholic and distressed souls (unfortunately a major consequence of the prevailing depression), Rohit Shetty (umm, who?) is back with his Golmaal franchise and the business he does best: comedy. The man has previously produced some of his rather undistinguished works, remember All The Best (2009) and Sunday (2008, hands up, all who haven’t heard about this one).
Golmaal has been reincarnated with its third installment after its predecessor’s not-so roaring success and has triumphantly emerged as the secondhighest grossing film of 2010 (yes, that’s right, its official now). Released worldwide during the Diwali festival, usually considered a profitable time of the year for Bolly films to hit the jackpot worldwide, it is a pure slapstick comedy. The plot initially floats on a poor boy (Mithun), rich girl (Ratna Pathak Shah) spoof, the two long lost lovebirds in their hey days, who after living years of separation enter into a wedlock by the earnest help of a matchmaker played magnificently by Kareena. What follows then are the multiple births (don’t take me seriously here) of already brought and bred (add tamed) step-brothers (Ajay, Arshad, Tusshar, Shreyas and Kunal, phew); and the brawl and scuffle between them to overpower one another. Golmaal 3 is more about the clash of Titans, who actually are adopted step brothers. The story comes to rest when they all come together following a series of gags and deliberate desperate attempts to appear comic.
The word is, Golmaal 3 is ALL about (a) gags, (b) second rate gags( “Jab Harsha hai tou Bhogle hai, Jab Asha hai tou Bhosle hai, if you can make sense of that line) and (c) exaggerated extreme efforts’ of buffoonery and clowning. The film doesn’t boast of a splendid storyline and falls prey to a much weaker plot as compared to its prequel Golmaal Returns. However, not all is bad in the world of obnoxious car flying, the director does deliver pleasant surprises (that of Mithun) and power performances (Kareena and Ajay). Mithun is back, as the ‘70’s cult disco dancer shaking a leg to while crooning away “I am a disco dancer, zindagi mera gaana, main kissika deewana”
 Surprise zero; no-more a size zero now, Kareena ( there’s also a gag about her) is exceptional as the gallant, bold and audacious tomboy, and apparently makes quite a sensation with those harem pants she’s seen sporting througout the movie. Johnny Lever disappoints big-time as the notorious thick headed villain who emphasizes on forgetting the basics of his criminal acts. I have serious concerns about him making those retarded and gawky expressions which are the least bit satiric and appealing.
What’s with the media’s obsession with social networking? Fine, there’s a reasonable movie earning big moolah projecting the rise of the biggest inventions (let’s call it that) in the blogging arena but surprise, surprise (or not); however hilarious it may sound but there’s a dog named Facebook (what next? his step brother, Twitter?)
Tusshar Kapoor has indeed done it again. He deserves a round of applause for enacting Lucky the dumb naive brother with absolute gusto and aplomb, with special mention to the emotional scene amongst the brothers.
Albeit, the comic acts get repetitive and stretched out, laughs still await you. Golmaal 3 is an ideal fun ride with definitely thrice the enjoyment and gratification, thrice the magic and thrice the hilarity. It lives up to its undertaking of amusing you from the word go till the very end.
An out-an-out entertainer; it may not go down in history as the best side-splitting comedy ever made but being the first trilogy in Hindi cinema (Bollywood please rise and take a bow) that passes the audience’s test with flying colours. Watch this one for its over-the-top action sequences (picture men flying in all sorts of directions when Ajay, as the overprotective son, rather macho, busts them all), a bulging star cast and lots of funny moments. For me, its paisa vasool!
– Fahmida Mashaal Ahmad
*CINEMATIC SUICIDE
**FORGETTABLE
***WATCHABLE
****COLLECTIBLE
*****AWARD-WORTHY |
