Review : Hello

Rating : Poor (2.5/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hours 17 minutes
Director : Atul Agnihotri
Cast : Sharman Joshi, Eesha Koppikar, Sohail Khan, Gul Panag, Amrita Arora, Dalip Tahil
Kid rating : PG-13

HELLO : WRONG NUMBER, ANYONE ?

“Hello” is said to be based on Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller “One night at the call center”. And if this is a fair adaptation of the book, I’m not sure I want to read it. The characters in the film are a little juvenile, much too clichéd, and lack depth. I haven’t read the book, but have heard that the charcaters are better sketched out in the book. In the film however they get “shallow-ized” and made palatable for a light, fluffy, doesn’t-mean-too-much desi film with a too-pat ending.

OK, the film is basically about a bunch of call-center employees, with a myriad of problems. There’s Shyam (Sharman) who’s in love with Priyanka (Gul). Priyanka is also in love with him, but in the face of parental pressure and differences with Shyam (whom her mother doesn’t approve of) has consented to a marriage with an NRI “boy”.There’s Radhika (Amrita Arora), stuck with mean in-laws, while the husband is perpetually out of town and up to no good. And there’s Isha (Koppikar), who in her race to become a model, is losing her integrity. There’s also Vroom (Sohail), a type A personality in love with Isha. Rounding off the bunch is the lone oldie “Military Uncle” (Sharad Saxena), who’s US-settled son is apparently a heartless wretch. Dalip Tahil plays their wanna-be American boss. The resolution to all their problems, comes via a single phone call, from God.

First off, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif have only guest appearances and the stars of the film are the above insipid bunch (save Sharman). Secondly, the much-touted humor (a funny move, you say ?) is quite absent. Thirdly, the direction, the screenplay and the pace of the film are abysmal. Note that I’m not in awe of the (weak) story or the (juvenile) dialogues either. The characters are card-boardish, and the director is too busy too create a “frothy” film to care.

The film takes quite a few pot-shots at the Americans, equating a 35 year old American’s intelligence to a 10 year old Indian‘s. Yes there are dumb Americans, but the director should remember that stupidity is not the sole domain of the Americans; he himself, doesn’t appear to be the sharpest tool in the shed.

Hello appears to be the work of an amateur. It has zero finesse (the love-making scene between Gul and Sharma seemed C-grade), very little depth, and very little to care about. It’s uninteresting and quite a mess.

Kid-wise – this does have some mature content, and might only be OK for older kids.