Rating : Above average (3.8/5)
Genre : Comedy
Year : 2007
Director : Sagar Ballary
Cast : Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shourie, Rajat Kapoor, Sarika, Milind Soman, Tom Alter, Bhairavi Goswami
BHEJA FRY : FUNNY IN PARTS – GOOD FUN OVERALL
Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shourie of the “Great Indian comedy Show” fame, appear in this off-the-wall comedy as Income tax officers with penchants for music and cricket. Both are excellent actors and while Vinay holds good as the main character, Ranvir adds his own special quirks in his short screen time. The film’s story is of music industry businessman Thadani (Kapoor) who along with his friends recruit talent to entertain them on their Friday night get-togethers. When Thadani comes across voluble IT clerk Bharat Bhushan (Pathak) who dreams of making it big with his music compositions, he decides to invite him as the “talent”. Of course Bhushan has no idea that he is an object of ridicule.
However as it happens Bhushan lands up at Thadani’s house, when Thadani has hurt his back and his wife (Sarika) has left him over a dis-agreement. In their efforts to bring back the wife, Bhushan proves himself a helpful, but bumbling fool and invites over Thadani’s nymphomaniac ex-girlfriend (Goswami) (and her dog), Thadani’s wife’s ex-lover (Soman) and honest Income Tax officer (Shourie) among others, thus creating the proverbial mountain out of the molehill. Thadani may never be able to get out of this one . . .
While not absolutely engrossing, this is a new genre of comedy for Hindi films, since it actually relies on situations and some intelligence. The characters are decently fleshed out; I especially liked the small touches – Bhushan’s carrying around the photo-album neatly wrapped in a plastic bag, and tied with a string, which he undoes EVERY time. Add to that his slicked back hair and the safari suit, and you had a perfect mascot for desi babu-dom.
Rajat Kapoor is quite an effective actor, but seems to lose his edge here. Shourie’s caricature-ish portrayal of a Muslim IT officer, if intentional, was beautifully done. Sarika is very good as Thadani’s singer wife. Milind Soman looks quite the music director with his overgrown beard, and has improved on his acting skills too. Tom Alter and Bhairavi Goswami have small roles with little impact.
This film is not in the same league as say, a “Khosla ka ghosla” but is a good effort nevertheless. Besides some laugh-out-loud lines, the film has you enjoying the discomfiture of the characters, and amused at the comedy of errors that can unfold from simple mistakes in life. This might be a remake of the French film “The Dinner Game” but it’s a good one. Truly avant-garde for a desi film, this is the kind of cinema I look forward to.
