The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : All stars, no spark and some insensitivity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 26, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

All stars, no spark and some insensitivity

Deewane Huye Paagal (Hindi)

Cast: Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Shahid Kapoor, Rimii Sen

Director: Vikram Bhatt

Some day they will gather by the bonfire and have a good laugh. Some day, Sangeet Sivan, Anees Bazmi and Priyadarshan shall slap one another's back, and tell those tales successful men do when they shed inhibitions, and modesty becomes an obsolete virtue.

A glass in hand, salt and pepper beard in place... and that whiff of nostalgia. Some day, Vikram Bhatt would like to join them. But if they were to select a gallery of pranksters of 2005, the guys who gave us the laughs and smiled their way to the bank, he may just miss out on admission.

No, his "Deewane Huye Paagal" is not a bad bargain, not very bad in any case.

The film falls short. May be by an inch or two for some, more likely a yard or two.

Bhatt, though takes no chances. He gathers a galaxy of popular, mainstream comedians, the guys who are acknowledged masters of the gags department.

There is the good old Paresh Rawal, the ever-reliable Johnny Lever, the up and coming Vijay Raaz, and the duo of Akhay Kumar and Suniel Shetty who never seem to tire of each other. And nor do cinemagoers seem to lose patience with them. Add to them the youthful appeal of Shahid Kapoor, who a few summers down the line, shall prove to be a worthy son of a worthy father.

But disaster is not too far when the action gets intolerably loud as nearly half a dozen men turn up as suitors for a girl - Rimii Sen - who would be lucky to walk with one on a romantic evening.

We have Shetty limping his way and being called "lungda" by all. We have another man faking blindness, just to embrace the girl with curls and curves. Yes, all of them lose out in this uninvited swayamvar of sorts.

But by the time the director restores sanity and parity, too much damage has been done. And many in the audience are left cringing at the utter insensitivity to people with special ability.

ZIYA US SALAM

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