In all possibilities this is going to be a review which might not find many takers basically due to the new-age lifestyle we are now used to live in, keeping the heart at the last and many other things before that, ………..unfortunately.
Plus it might not be a great review for the viewers who are now habitual of watching a movie taking it as an X, Y, Z Star’s film above than anything else, with an already prepared mindset irrespective of its content matter or presentation.
Also many might think that I liked the movie more being a silly emotional man, willing to laugh & cry whole heartedly simply forgetting any kind of logic, social status or the growing age factor proving my passionate madness.
So accepting the criticism well in advance I would like to begin that though the film doesn’t feature the animal friend as intensely as they did it in HAATHI MERE SAATHI (1971), TERI MEHARBANIYA (1985), MAA (1976/1992) or most importantly in HACHI (2009 – It will be a SIN to miss it). Still ENTERTAINMENT does offer few brilliantly shot emotional moments making you feel the value of this four legged best friend in your personal life, which many would readily agree to.
Hence first of all it rightly deserves some brownie points both for its 10 minutes before the intermission as well as the climax giving you that emotional high as expected from a film talking about our animal friends. Particularly its well shot, pre interval ‘under water’ sequence deserves a special mention here which straight away reminded me of a similar one (not with the water) earlier seen in the Spanish masterpiece AMORES PERROS (2000). And honestly that was one of those scary, disturbing sequences I had ever seen, which didn’t let me sleep well for a few days and kept haunting me repeatedly.
Secondly other than the adorable dog, what really works in the film is its dialogue writing, which has enough comic punches to keep you in splits both in the first and second half consistently. Specifically the ones written for Krishna alone, incorporating the names of all famous film personalities in an innovative hilarious style, which frankly plays the major trick for the film most of the times.
Thirdly the songs are not thrown every 10 minutes just like that and you don’t mind watching the few with all that positive energy moving. Moreover ‘Johny Johny’ and ‘Veerey Di Wedding’ surely have that catchy compositions & beats required to play in the party sessions loudly. Plus the DOP captures it all beautifully and the background score doesn’t overlap the sequences as mostly seen in such comic films.
Now apart from the above, yes there is much absurd slapstick comedy in the film too which always has many distinctive reactions coming from the viewers. But thankfully this time the absurdity isn’t completely flat and remains enjoyable at regular intervals basically due to the few leading good performances by the cast and their dialogues.
In the flipside, the second half of the film drops majorly as the villain track doesn’t work at all with an all forced in and clichéd plot having nothing much to offer. The two shady characters and their avoidable melodrama poses as a big negative for the film which luckily gets saved by the clever and witty dialogues keeping the spirit up as required. But adding to the minuses, I really wish there were more inspiring, energetic sequences featuring the wonderful Golden Retriever named Junior, wherein the viewer could feel the urge to clap spiritedly calling him the Hero.
Rating the individual acts, Akshay Kumar once again proves that he still has got much comedy left in his funny acts & incomparable timing as seen before. But what actually makes his performance look so bright are two superb supporting acts from Johny Lever and Krishna. In fact I enjoyed watching Johny Bhai after a long time and truly feel that the actor deserves much more than he is offered by the industry people. Krishna in reality becomes the lifeline of ENERTAINMENT in the first half and its indeed a treat to watch him together with Akshay & Johny saying those skillfully written one-liners naming many key actors. As the leading lady Tamanna certainly does much better than her previous films and Mithun Da is fine as her father. In the supporting act, Dalip Tahil, Darshan Jariwala and Vrajesh Hirjee are just okay, whereas Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade and Remo D’Souza entertain well in their respective cameos right in the beginning. Sadly Prakash Raj or Sonu Sood fail to make any kind of impact on the viewer with nothing exceptional and the wonderful JUNIOR lovingly proves to be the real hero of ENTERTAINMENT in the finale song sequence.
Talking about the highly criticized illogical and silly plot of a dog becoming the owner of 3000 crores as per the will of an Indian millionaire living abroad, I would like to add (addressing many reputed reviewers here) that it seems to be the same ages old inferiority complex surfacing again somehow. Because if in a Hollywood film a cat can become the legal heir of a rich man and animals can talk with their doctor too without caring about any so called logic. Then why our Hindi films are laughed upon when they try to incorporate the same things with their hearts fitted in the right place.
Anyway leaving them all alone to think upon the question, I would like to admit that before going for ENTERTAINMENT I was really expecting something similar to a Sajid Khan movie reading the names of debut directors Sajid-Farhad in the credits, who earlier were associated with Rohit Shetty in many of his famous films. But the director duo really surprised me, especially with their enjoyable writing and fine handling of a risky subject, without falling down to anything vulgar or objectionable. The duo mostly keeps the humour all clean and entertaining throughout, which is sure going to be a major merit for the project keeping in mind its family audiences.
Yet I would like to end with a clear conclusion that ENTERTAINMENT is certainly going to appeal more to the kids and the viewers who have experienced a life of several years lived with their beloved pets. And it might not be liked by many who don’t like animals and cannot enter the house with the pets roaming around freely.
Hence, though I would love to see every individual watching the film, getting inspired to have a dog in his or her home, giving it a good, respected life with all that deserving love and care. Still I will have to accept the fact that the film is probably not going to please the ones,
who haven’t had a pet living along with them for many years,
haven’t spent time with them day and night,
haven’t talked to them when alone sharing many hidden secrets,
haven’t cried in front of them calling them with open arms,
haven’t given them the food first before everyone waiting on the dining table,
haven’t celebrated their birthdays exactly like any other being around,
haven’t seen them losing it all in their conclusive years and
haven’t lived that final day when those two loving eyes say goodbye to every single member of the house with an equal affection and blessings forever…….!
Now in case the above few lines did move you a bit emotionally, then just leave your thinking brains at home but take your hearts along and watch ENTERTAINMENT, HACHI and HAATHI MERE SAATHI too with all your young ones in the family in order to make them a better human being in the future with HIS BLESSINGS.
Leaving you with an inspiring personal quote,
“The moment I came to know what it means to be with a three letter word DOG, I actually also understood why the word in reverse becomes GOD” – Bobby Sing
Rating : 3 / 5
(with an additional 0.5 for having the courage to make a film with DOG as the hero in this questionable present scenario, when its really difficult to cast animals in a project with all the restrictions laid upon by the Censor Boards and other organizations. Moreover its certainly not easy to make them act as you wish to.)
