Aug 06, 2006 06:13 PM
2219 Views
There are such rare glimpses of originality in Hindi cinema that it hurts me to see them not being realized to their full potential. Some comedies that have had a genuinely original story and have been dealt with amazingly deft direction are Hera Pheri and Munnabhai MBBS. But sadly, there are few movies made today that can even compare to them. And anyone mentioning Phir Hera Pheri or Chup Chup Ke (incidentally, two of the highest grossers this year) is seriously demented. I can only hope that Lage Raho Munnabhai comes somewhere close.
Anyways, back to Darwaza Band Rakho.
The story/plotline has seriously good potential. That alone deserves a two star rating.
Aftab and his gang of cronies kidnap Isha Sharwani. To hide her they take residence in a down-on-its-luck gujju family’s house. What follows is a range of people knocking on their door which includes a salesgirl (Manisha Koirala in a cameo), a pizza delivery boy and even a vet wherein ‘the incoming is free but the outgoing is cut’. Eventually there are some 20 other people kidnapped along with the main girl. However, one of the cronies decides to take a bigger share and mayhem ensues.
The movie has its moments. Certain scenes between the family and the interaction between the hostages and the gang are quite funny. But it is not a laugh-a-minute riot.
Thankfully, the movie doesn’t have any songs but racy background music. The camerawork is shoddy in parts. The acting can’t really be commented on as there are too many actors and eventually all of them have small roles. One thing, however, that I really liked was its publicity design. The way the whole advertising was done actually made me go watch the movie. Good photography and some thought had actually gone into making it. The third star is for this one.
I wonder what the movie would have been in Rajkumar Hirani’s hands. Sheer hilarity is my guess.
