Movie Review: Bhagam Bhag

Govinda aala re!! the long awaited come back of the king of slap stick comedy, Govinda, hit the theatres today and what could have been better, than him pairing with the reigning kings of comedy - Priyadarshan, Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar. However to set the right expectations for those looking forward to our Hero No. 1 do another Raja Babu, this is not a Govinda - David Dhawan movie, but it is a Akki - Priyadarshan movie. What it means is that this is a different flavor of comedy with too many characters, twists and an equal number of laugh out loud situations rather than just relying on Govinda to carry the whole show on his shoulders (or rather pelvis).

Coming to the movie in hand, although I didn't laugh as much as I did in Hera Pheri, but I did enjoy the movie. People in the theatre were almost falling from their seats and my parents, who seldom go and watch a movie in a theatre, were going nuts laughing. With that disclaimer, let me give you the short review first - the movie is an all out fun ride. If you leave your brains behind, which is now a necessity with most Bollywood flicks, you'll enjoy it. After a slow 10-15 minutes the movie goes into high gear and doesn't stop until after all the bhagam bhag is over. 

The big question that is probably lingering in every one's mind  is who stole the show? Well as mentioned before it is Akki's movie so he has more footage and lines in the movie. He gets the girl, he's the shyana fellow and delivers a performance which was expected of him. He, just like SRK has mastered the Karan Johar cinema, has perfected the Priyadarshan genre of movies. But he can't do it alone, he needs a great supporting cast and this is where both Paresh Rawal and Govinda come in. After watching Paresh Rawal's overacting in Phir Hera Pheri I was a bit apprehensive about watching this movie, but the original director (Priyadarshan) knows how to handle his actors. 

The story is pretty complicated and let me give you the short version without spoiling much. This is the story of Bunty Aur Babli oops Babla played by Akshay Kumar and Govinda who work in a theatre company. Champak Chaturvedi urf Seth Ji (Paresh Rawal) runs that theatre company in India and after watching their first show, Taneja (Asrani) is so impressed (especially with the heroine, Tanushree Datta) that he invites them for a month to London to do shows there.

However due to some misunderstanding, she quits and they are left to look for an actress in London. To help Bunty aur Babla a taxi driver named Gullu (Rajpal Yadav) comes in the picture and after almost getting caught for peddling heroin (the drug not the actress) by Chief of Police Mehra (Jackie Shroff), they are finally able to locate a weird, suicidal Munni (Lara Dutta) as the lead actress. What happens after that is a real roller coaster ride involving several new characters, a murder, framing of innocents and a cat and mouse chase. Ultimately everything turns out fine and the wrong doers are punished, the real hero gets his heroin(e) and pretty much the entire cast ends up in hospital- don't ask why. 

Sounds very Priyadarshan like right? I told you so. But if you get past the bit stale formula, the one liners and the situations are pretty hilarious and will carry the movie beyond the "hit" mark.

In terms of performances Akki and Paresh Rawal are in their old form. I liked Govinda's role in this movie a lot. Sometimes when a big actor is making a comeback, directors tend to go over board and try to do too much with them. However Priyadarshan has crafted a great role for Chi Chi, who, being the master he is, delivers with ease. Hard core Govinda fans might find his role a bit subdued, but  I think it's good for him. He's been absent for a long time and this is a safe movie for him to return. Remember when Big B was making a comeback and he did a movie with Govinda, who dominated? that's exactly what I am talking about. 

Lara Dutta looks hot and I don't know why she gets passed over  for roles these days. She has a small yet important role in the movie which she does with ease. Jackie looks impressive as a cop, Rajpal Yadav as always plays the tormented soul and does well. Sharat Saxena and Manoj Joshi play dimwit gangsters and their act gets annoying after a while. The remainder of the cast including Shakti Kapoor, Arbaaz Khan and Asrani do not have too much footage, but they do fine with whatever they have. 

Apart from a few dull moments the movie has great pace. There are just three songs in the movie which is a good thing. One of our users reviewed the music sometime back, and I must say I like them more, now that I have seen the movie. Another pat on the back for Pritam.

Considering that Paresh Rawal had a rag tag theatre company his crew sure puts up some impressively choreographed performances!! Thanks to Rashmi Verma and Prasanna, although they did have two great dancers to work with. Neeraj Vohra joins hands with Priyadarshan again to come up with some great one liners and comedic sequences. In addition, Priyadarshan's movies are known for their art direction and cinematography and both Sabu Cyril (Art Director) and Jeeva (Cinematographer) do a great job for this movie.

Overall I will give the movie three and a half stars and these are better three and half stars than I gave to Dhoom 2 because the movie earns it without any sloppy kiss scenes. If you care about Priyadarshan's comedy, the pairing of Akki and Paresh or just a tour of London go watch it. Hell I just went to see a slimmer looking Govinda in action again and I am happy that he's back!!