Monday, August 18, 2008

God Tussi Great Ho - Bollywood Movie Review


Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Sohail Khan and others
Director: Rumy Jafry
Rating: *


Director Rumy Jafry’s directorial debut pretends to say something deep and indelible, but ends up being as profound as a bowl of soggy noodles staring at you for edible nirvana.

Arguably one of the most botched-up comedies in recent times, “God Tussi Great Ho” takes us into territory that the Khan brothers - Salman and Soahil - have been together in David Dhawan’s “Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya”.

The cartoon-like cat-and-mouse game between Salman and Sohail to get the perky Priyanka Chopra’s attention is completely devoid of zing despite the familiar ring. Though admittedly Sohail, who’s rapidly emerged as one of our most delightful comic actors with films like “Salaam-E-Ishq”, “Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya” and now this where he gives big brother a run for his money, takes the lead.

The in-house channel war between the two Khans is reminiscent of Shah Rukh Khan-Juhi Chawla’s comic competitiveness in Aziz Mirza’s hugely underrated “Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani”. In fact, Sohail is wickedly inventive in a plot that pulls the characters down with each creaking push of the writer’s pathetic pen.

Who wrote this garbage? You wonder. And why must Amitabh Bachchan be subjected to this sort of tripe trip at this juncture of his career?

After Rishi Kapoor in Kunal Kohli’s “Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic”, it’s the Big B’s turn to play god on a set that has a cascading waterfall, cotton-candy clouds and Salman suitably dressed in a formal suit.

What’s missing is the fizz in this askew cocktail. As a writer Rumy Jafry is on shockingly shaky grounds. Just like Salman’s Volkswagon, which changes colours from drab pink to bright red in the second-half when Salman gets godly powers from the ‘real’ god.

Never mind. Because Priyanka’s nose-ring changes from left nostril to right.

That’s about all that the narrative gets right in the trite second-half.

The second half of the film is so crummy and scattered that you wonder what happened to the director. Was he on leave while god ghost-directed the second-half?

Appalling in structure and abysmal in content, “God, Tussi Great Ho” is somewhat bearable for Sohail’s comic aptitudes. And yes, Priyanka is easy on the eyes.

Wish our directors would know where to stop before comedy becomes a travesty.

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