Jun 30, 2013 07:55 PM
4173 Views
A bad film is always a frustrating experience. But more frustrating are films that have the potential to be well-made entertainers but lose track mid-way. It happened last week with Raanjhanaa and Ghanchakkar, sadly, is no exception too. The plusses in the film somehow saved it from becoming an ultimate disaster!
The story of the movie: Sanjay Athray (Emraan Hashmi) is an ex-professional thief who is married to Neetu (Vidya Balan). He is pulled out of his ‘retirement’ by Pandit (Rajesh Sharma) and Idris (Namit Das) who offer him Rs 10 crore for helping them rob a bank. They successfully conduct the heist and then decide to split the share after three months. Sanjay is told to hide the entire booty. Soon after, Sanjay meets with an accident because of which he loses his memory. And hence, he forgets where he has hidden the money! And he told nobody about it, not even Neetu! Pandit and Idrees are compelled to move to his house in order to monitor his every move and also with the hope that Sanjay will regain his memory.
Ghanchakkar boasts of some interesting characters and extremely funny moments at places. The manner in which the trio robs the bank by wearing the Big B-Dharmendra-Utpal Dutt masks is hilarious and a world-class idea that hits bang on. Also, ‘ultra-modern’ and ‘fashionable’ Neetu’s conversations at the dinner table with Sanjay, Pandit and Idris bring the house down. Moreover, the suspense element is kept well-intact till the very end. One never can guess who is double crossing whom or whether Sanjay has really lost his memory. What doesn’t work is the pace of the film. It’s 140 minutes long and drags needlessly at places. Several crucial questions remain unanswered. What was the logic behind telling Sanjay to hide the entire booty, especially since Pandit and Idris don’t know him well? No attempt is made to show as to what was the accident that caused the amnesia in Sanjay. Then, there are in-your-face bloopers too. The bank is robbed on 10-11-2012 and three months later, a 2012 calendar is still hanging in Sanjay’s house. The Virar fast local is shown halting at Jogeshwari station. The manner in which Idris and Pandit start bashing Sanjay during the intermission point didn’t make an iota of sense. The film, which was funny and quirky suddenly turns violent, replete with bloodshed and gore, in the end which takes away the charm of the suspense that is revealed at this point. Sad!
Emraan Hashmi plays his part well. In fact, it was a challenging part and the actor plays it with ease. The bearded look and ponytail looks great on him, and also the polka-dotted night suit! Vidya Balan carries off the nightmarish costumes with élan and only an actor of her caliber could have managed to do so. However, the performance lacked the punch which was also the result of her character not being sketched properly. Hope to see her at her best in her next, Shaadi Ke Side Effects! Rajesh Sharma as always is rocking. Namit Das too puts his best foot forward. Prema Sakhardande (Sanjay’s mother), Parvin Dabas (Utpal), Vishwanath Chatterjee (real-estate broker Mohan Ahuja) and the mysterious guy on the phone were alright in their cameo roles. Sunil Sharad Vishrani is hilarious as the man in the train with vegetables!
Amit Trivedi’s music is okay. Music, anyways, doesn’t get much scope in this film. Lazy Lad appears in the animated opening credits which was damn impressive. The rest of the songs, except Allah Meherbaan, are missing from the film (Ghanchakkar Babu appears in bits and pieces). Trivedi’s background score, however, is in sync with the quirky mood of the film. Setu’s cinematography is perfect. Sets (Mayur Sharma and Helen Jones) are terrific, especially Sanjay-Neetu’s residence. Dialogues are genuinely witty. Parveez Shaikh-Raj Kumar Gupta’s story-screenplay could have been better. Story was alright but screenplay could have taken the film to great heights. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. Raj Kumar Gupta’s direction too fails to do justice. Few scenes, mentioned above, are terrific. But the sluggish pace and the violent climax along with the bloopers in the film spoils it all. This is really sad especially for a film that could had been a fantastic joyride and also because it came from a director who gave us memorable films like Aamir and No One Killed Jessica!
Few good scenes of the film:
Sanjay’s first meeting with Pandit and Idris
The trio rob the bank
Pandit-Idris-Sanjay at Fortis Hospital
Sanjay-Neetu-Pandit-Idris go on a late night drive (the ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ bit was hilarious!)
Neetu bashes Pandit and Idris
The song ‘Allah Meherbaan’ and ‘Lazy Lad’
On the whole, Ghanchakkar, with its quirky characters, humour and suspense element could have been a fantastic joyirde. But unfortunately, it is at best an average fare because of the sluggish pace and a climax riddled with bloodshed and gore. A loss of a golden opportunity!
My rating-** ½
