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A decent project talking about Zombies (for the first time ever) in an enjoyable comic manner clearly represents the appreciable welcome change sprouting in our Hindi film industry at the present. The new, fresh young minds are here to try something novel, defying all those over-used or corroded subjects and its now the turn of the viewers to express their visible consent for this change through their fair acceptance of such innovations at the box office.
Having said that its not that GO GOA GONE is a flawless movie with everything falling in the right places throughout like a perfect entertainer. The film does has its big drawbacks and is sure not a masterpiece in any cinematic terms or otherwise. But at the same time, it is a project which largely manages to entertain you despite of having “a completely foreign plot”, with no history or mention of its premise in our country’s literature or tradition. In other words, yes we have seen dead people or evil spirits killing many in our horror films, in the form of walking dead bodies in the past. Yet the word ZOMBIE (representing the similar concept) was never used here earlier till date and that’s the reason the attempt falls into the category of being an inventive and courageous one, quite evidently.
Further, GO GOA GONE can also be easily placed among all those inspired films which are more or less modeled on a western source such as SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) or ZOMBIELAND (2009), particularly aiming at the multiplex audience. But still I am not willing to criticize the movie on the above grounds because it at least breaks the ice and is daring enough to give us something never tried before in Hindi Films, representing the much desired change and an awaited make-over.
The film begins on an entertaining note as a funny young project and then fairly manages to keep you engaged in its first half mainly through its humorous, raunchy dialogues (mostly) written around sexual references. The concept of zombies (or the comic horror element in it) enters only after a good 40 minutes (in a 110 minutes film), which clearly indicates the apprehensions in the minds of its makers too. Post interval, since the thin plot has nothing else to reveal, the grip is lost and we only have the chase sequences here shot fittingly. The easily predictable climax becomes a spoils sport once again but still the funny expressions & many well written youthful conversations don’t let you write it off so easily and the film positively turns out to be an entertaining one time watch in the end.
In exact words, what actually works in GO GOA GONE is not the zombies or the ongoing chase game played with the horrifying faces. On the contrary it’s the fabulous dialogues and the amusing comic timing of Kunal Khemu, which becomes the unexpected winner here right from the word ‘Go’. Plus it’s the intelligence with which director duo Raj & DK, amalgamate the two conflicting emotions of fear and humour together on the screen with a brilliant ease and conviction. Particularly I really loved the way they introduce or educate the Indian viewers with the concept of Zombies in just 2 minutes without any confusion.
Interestingly, only a few weeks back another film on ‘the zombie factor’ was released titled RISE OF THE ZOMBIE touted as the first ever Indian Zombie movie. But since it was quite a weak film comparatively, so GO GOA GONE is sure going to be remembered as ‘the pioneer one’ forgetting the former in the coming years. Apart from its terrific dialogues, GGG also has few appealing songs (including the hugely likable ‘Khoon Choos Le’ & ‘Babaji Ki Booty’), an exciting background score and an eye catching cinematography which together take you on to that lonely beach of Goa right away, without getting tensed or distressed.
However since the film is only focused on this one plot only, it does become monotonous and seems to be walking on the same path (sequences) repeatedly towards the end. Also the big name of Saif Ali Khan associated with the project is not there with any worth praising performance as such and his part is more like a lengthy cameo only in his own co-production. Saif is good, but I frankly didn’t find him that impressive at all as was being projected in the promos. Out of the three lead performances, Vir Das is great in his underplayed character & Anand Tiwari is a delight to watch as the innocent one. But without any second thoughts, the film entirely belongs to Kunal Khemu and the dialogue writer alone. Especially, Kunal’s performance becomes the backbone of the project here and he is sure going to get many more similar offers post GO GOA GONE as it seems. Puja looks beautiful and does fine whereas the rest of the supporting cast has nothing significant to do in the film as they are all mostly playing the walking dead bodies.
So in totality, along with all its visible drawbacks, GO GOA GONE is based on a novel theme, has got performances and many hilarious moments too to enjoy in its less than 2 hours of duration. So you should indeed give it a try as such path breaking attempts need to be encouraged & praised in order to get more (& better) quality products in the future.
Rating : 3 / 5
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There have been few good movies made on the subject of a common man being caught in the ugly vicious circle of the corrupt system prevailing in our country. Shyam Benegal gave us “Well Done Abba” on the same theme in 2010 and last year we had “Chala Musaddi Office Office” based on the famous TV series revolving around the same common man, who always becomes the victim in this corrupt bureaucratic system.
GALI GALI CHOR HAI is also another project made on the similar lines which revolves around a middle class family of Bhopal with only 4 members. There is a retired father (Satish Kaushik), a son who works in a bank (Akshay Khanna), his wife who is teacher (Shreya Saran) and a young modern girl (Mughda Godse) who is a paying guest living with them like a family. Their difficult time starts from the moment they refuse to give one room of their house for the Election Campaign Office of a reputed contestant. But the matter even gets worst when the elderly father (after his refusal to the leader), gives the same room to the opposition’s contestant instead. In frustration, the first party starts creating complex situations for the family with the help of local police which further leads to a much serious allegation towards the climax.
Interestingly there was no ANNA MOVEMENT when the two movies mentioned above released in the past years. But now after ANNA being known to every single person of the nation, the subject certainly has its own reach and relevance in the present context. So in that way director Rumy Jafry chose the right plot and star-cast too, to impress the common man watching the film. However once again it is the execution which somehow is not able to make the desired impact on the audience. And for this I would like to blame its childish second half and a very strange or unintelligent conclusion which takes the film to simply no-where in the end with an abrupt finish.
GGCH starts off pleasantly with many light sequences and some well written one liners too. But as the common man gets into trouble, it prolongs the things without any solid base and then later goes on to add many silly sequences in its second half diluting the good impact made by its first hour. Particularly the scenes related with the bag and two funny terrorists following Akshay should have been treated in a better way with at least a little logic. Still the film didn’t seem to be that bad until the climax when it suddenly finishes off just with a few slaps, without giving any entertaining or interesting solution for the situation. In other words, it all ends in only a few seconds as if the director was told on one fine day that we have to finish the shooting today itself and they did it as instructed on the spot.
Making a simple film is a difficult job and Rumy Jafry tries to do the same successfully only in bits and parts in GGCH. The initial sequences of how Police can easily be used to tease a common man are well enacted and directed. But in its later reels, the film loses the grip and keeps hanging between a comedy, drama and a satire.
Many sub-plots remain deliberate and under-used, like the tension between Akshay-Shreya, scenes at the Ramlila stage and the plot in which the hero acts as Hanuman in the local Ramlila after his job hours. Particularly the Hanuman angle which was also promoted in the promos remains completely ineffective and useless. Nevertheless in the soundtrack it does have one well written title song sung by Kailash Kher (who is also there in the song) and a catchy item number “Channo” featuring Veena Malik of Big Boss fame.
In the performance section, Akshay delivers a fine act but I still couldn’t find anything new in his common man. Both Shreya Saran and Mughda Godse are simply there as the representatives of the opposite sex with nothing great to do in the entire film. Satish Kaushik is entertaining along with Annu Kapoor who comes up with the best performance in the film as the corrupt police officer. Amit Mistry impresses once again and Vijay Raaz remains the same in a brief role.
In the end, I would like to say that Yes, we all hate corruption and want to get rid of it as soon as possible. But what’s the use of making such unimpressive and directionless films which try to encash the burning topic in the name of comedy. Frankly I could only enjoy a few sequences (in its first hour) and some dialogues in the entire film and the rest was just like another lifeless movie made around the common man which you might enjoy watching only on DVD after its home video release.
Ratings : 2 / 5
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Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Guzaarish” featuring Hrithik and Aishwarya was not a box office success as it got mixed responses from the audiences wherein most of them couldn’t enjoy the film based on a dependent character.
Though undeniably the film was shot aesthetically and was a real visual treat to watch as a well known feature of a Bhansali movie. But still as usual it was not at all an original attempt by the over-famous director and was a mixed inspired film taking it from more than one sources of World Cinema.
The major part of the film talking about a man suffering from a complete Paralysis of the body other than his face, asking for merci death and many of its sequences were all taken from the Spanish Award Winning movieMAR ADENTRO or THE SEA INSIDE (2004) directed by Alejandro Amenabar, along with references of WHOSE LIFE IS IT ANYWAY (1981).The idea of magic and the plot of rivalry between two famous magicians leading to a serious conspiracy was taken fromTHE PRESTIGE (2006).
But here the most interesting finding is that the very first scene with which the film was introduced in the media showcasing Hrithik Roshan trying to get rid of a Bee sitting on his nose was also all inspired from a French film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly or Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon (2007), directed by Julian Schnabel. Interestingly both these World Cinema movies were based on two different original Life Inspiring Stories and their Real Heroes.
Here I would like to admit that yes, no doubt Bhansali did put in his own creative visualization in this scene, making it many times better than the original but yet the fact remains that it was not an original idea of his own and was all borrowed from an undisclosed or hidden source from his side. The director never admitted this proved inspiration in his interviews and that’s where I think a creative person fails completely, when he starts enjoying all the praises for something which was not at all created or thought of by himself in the first place.
In short, inspiration is acceptable if used in a fine way, giving due credits to its original creator where ever applicable. But copying entire sequences from a movie and then trying to present it as your own without any kind of acknowledgement or courtesy, is not what I call as Film-making or Cinema.
Cheers!
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With GUZAARISH, Bhansali returns with his own colourful world painted on the celluloid which sadly never rises above mere being a beautiful painting throughout. Though supported by some earnest performances by the cast, it’s once again an all inspired show from the famous & reputed director who continues with his more than a decade old habit of making movies on all borrowed concepts. Yes, there are few appreciable scenes in GUZAARISH in the name of originality, but as a film it fails to move you emotionally and leaves a very feeble kind of impact in the end with a very gutless climax.
Firstly I would like to discuss it as an inspired movie, which doesn’t allow me to write about its director with a great amount of praise. Right from the year 1996 each and every film of Sanjay Leela Bhansali (from KHAMOSHI to SAAWARIYA) has been based on inspired subjects. But still the reason why the director has been able to achieve such cult status in Bollywood undoubtedly remains his unique style of treatment, artistic sense of colours and his keen musical ear. Evidently GUZAARISH also has got all the above mentioned qualities as expected from Bhansali. It is well shot, beautifully designed and brilliantly crafted. But somehow it doesn’t have a lovable and soothing soul which can make you feel the things happening on the screen (as you can feel in its ORIGINAL Source movies)
This time the gifted director makes up a story mixing more than one movie from the West. A man suffering from a complete Paralysis of the body other than his face, asking for merci death is taken from two movies. One is the Spanish Award Winning movie MAR ADENTRO or THE SEA INSIDE (2004) and the other is WHOSE LIFE IS IT ANYWAY (1981). The idea of magic and the plot of rivalry between two famous magicians leading to a serious conspiracy is taken from THE PRESTIGE (2006). Here I would like to add that inspiration is acceptable if used in a fine way putting many things of your own in the end product. But what’s the use of copying entire sequences from a movie and then trying to present it as your own without any kind of acknowledgement or courtesy.
For instance the accident scene of Hrithik leading to the life changing injury is striking similar to the one in THE SEA INSIDE. The only difference is that in the Original the person unknowingly jumps into a less deep river and in GUZAARISH, Hrithik falls in a water pit while displaying his magic act. And they both severely break their neck on their fall. Further, the whistling act done by Hrithik to call a help, a female lawyer friend of the deceased, the scene where the court verdict is announced on the TV and Aishwarya’s final offer to help Hrihtik in the end………everything is as it is taken from the same film.
Moreover, moving on a completely different path from the ORIGINALS, Bhansali very unacceptably tries to glamorize the subject of MERCI DEATH with all that magic and love angles thrown in which fail miserably running along the emotional subject of the film. It’s in fact very funny to see Hrithik giving a Big book to the kid with all the secrets in it and teaching his magic trick to him (just like that), without any kind of detailed scene and explanation. It was a clear indication that Bhansali had used this topic of Magic in his script only to add some fun element in the otherwise serious plot and nothing else.
In addition to the above, very amateurishly, the director shies away from showing the real death of the main character in the end and just decides to fade away into the dark with his smiling face on the screen. In my opinion, if you have decided to make a film on the subject of Wishful DEATH, then you should at least have the guts to depict the ACTUAL DEATH of the character on the wide screen. But Bhansali decides not to show a dying Hrithik in the end and tries to give a happy ending to his viewers, which is not all effective as it should have been. So, as an inspired movie it is not upto the mark since it keeps deviating from its main topic and is not able to generate any similar kind of impact like its Original Sources.
Now secondly I would like to discuss it as an audience, who is not aware of its inspirational angles at all. Unfortunately from this viewpoint too, I didn’t find GUZAARISH a very emotional or touching movie not to be missed. You may watch it as a piece of art with very fine colourful sets made with complete detailing, good costume designing or for a soothing background score. You may watch it for some well directed sequences dealing with a leaking roof or caressing nurse. And you may watch it if you are die-hard fan of Hrithik Roshan. But don’t expect anything great which will make you think about DEATH or about the people who wish to die willfully against the law.
As I see it, the movie is not an exceptional thought provoking venture from Bhansali since it lacks the much required emotional depth and feel. It starts off brilliantly but is not able to impress a lot till its intermission. In the second half too, the characters never sinks deep inside your soul and make you cry. In other words, you keep watching their sufferings and pain but still don’t feel moved enough to cry along with them. There are several sub plots in the script which are not utilized to their full potential and remain questionable. For example, the Radio Jockey angle (inspired from LAGEY RAHO MUNNABHAI) had great potential in it but falls flat, the people protest against the court is very poorly directed, looking childish and Rajit Kapoor as the public prosecutor is made to overact in his few scenes.
Besides this I really couldn’t understand the MOTHER angle in the script which was completely unbelievable. Even if the son strongly insists, still how can a mother live far away from her young son suffering from an almost full body paralysis being looked after by a paid nurse for 12 long years. In fact this motherly expression of the director raised many questions in my mind since I simply couldn’t accept that a mother can ever think of living away from his deceased son in the given circumstances.
Musically, GUZAARISH has few good numbers with some meaningful lyrics. But the tracks are not catchy enough to bowl you over in only one listening as you may have felt previously in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie. The best one is the title track which is melodiously composed and sung. But considering the fact that Bhansali has himself given the music for this film, I would only like to say that having a keen sense of music and musical ear is quite different to being a music director having immense knowledge of music and musical arrangements. Shot beautifully GUZAARISH is as usual a visual treat for the audience. But the director seems to be pretty confident in the indoors more than the outdoors. Apart from its brilliant cinematography, the other winners in the film are its soothing background score and sensitive dialogues, which keep you engrossed in an otherwise offbeat kind of subject revolving around merci killing.
Performance wise, I may have a different opinion than many. Hrithik no doubt has worked hard with his utmost sincerity. But frankly I was not moved emotionally by his pure act. He surely looked and behaved like the painful character on the screen but I didn’t feel his pain as I did along with him in KOI MIL GAYA. At times I even felt his smile, laugh and dialogue delivery style as seen before somewhere (may be in KOI MIL GAYA only). Aishwarya too for me was just fine with a far better performance in the second half than the first. Particularly I found her doing a little overacting in the air drumming scene before the song sequence in the club. But both Hrithik and Aishwarya are at their best towards the climax. Here Hrithik indeed deserves a praise to accept such kind of role which had nothing for his millions of children fans. His KITES had nothing for them either so he really needs to seriously think about that while choosing his future projects. Aditya Roy Kapur is even better than his previous films and has got a great talent to look for. Shernaz Patel impresses as always in a Bhansali movie. Suhel Seth and Nafisa Ali are fine in their small roles. But Moni Kangana Dutta shows no sparks as publicized in the press before the release of the movie.
In all, for me GUZAARISH is just an above average movie with some good performances but weak treatment of a serious subject. It may work for many but truly speaking I have seen much better movies from this so am not impressed.
Rating : 2.5 / 5
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In exact words, what actually works in GO GOA GONE is not the zombies or the ongoing chase game played with the horrifying faces. On the contrary it’s the fabulous dialogues and the amusing comic timing of Kunal Khemu, which becomes the unexpected winner here right from the word ‘Go’. Plus it’s the intelligence with which director duo Raj & DK, amalgamate the two conflicting emotions of fear and humour together on the screen with a brilliant ease and conviction. Particularly I really loved the way they introduce or educate the Indian viewers with the concept of Zombies in just 2 minutes without any confusion. 
