Movie Review : Dhol - Comedy that pains !!!

For the first time, the tag line of a movie - 'Kiska Bajega' , hits directly on the audiences'. Priyadarshans new offering Dhol is something that you should avoid watching in the theatres. To penalise the producers for making this, watch it only on a pirated CD. During one of the promos, Priyadarshan had mentioned that this is not a remake of a malayalam movie. He is right! This is the remake of two malayalam movies-the main plot from In Harihar Nagar and some of the comedy bits from Chandralekha. Both the movies are classics in terms of its presentation, though Chandralekha itself was an inspiration from a Hollywood movie While You Were Sleeping and was also remade in Bollywood as Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega. Why doesnt Priyadarshan stick to the original plot? Why does he include bits and pieces of other malayalam movies to the main plot? What puzzled me most was when the credits showed 'Story by Suresh Krishnan' . When the story of In Harihar Nagar and Chandralekha was by Siddique-Lal and Priyadarshan respectively, where did Suresh Krishnan come from? Or is Suresh Krishnan a fake name used by Priyadarshan to avoid charges of plagiarism.

The hindi version of In Harihar Nagar itself had a release way back in the 90's named Parda Hai Parda starring Chunkey Pandey and the movie sank without a trace at that time. That could be the reason why Priyadarshan added those extra elements from Chandralekha. The story revolves around four unemployed youngsters who would do just about anything to make money other than work( A characterisation which is similar to Dhamaal which released just two weeks before). Four of them decide to marry a rich girl to get settled and at this juncture, a girl comes and stays next to their house. They try all means to woo the girl and end up messing their lives with a gangster and also solving a mystery.

The four guys played by Tushar, Kunal, Sharman and Rajpal share good chemistry, but it is Sharman and Rajpal who steal the show. Kunal is good but has to improve a lot on his comedy timings. Tushar is a complete misfit for any role and it is time he entered the small screen with his 'K' sister. Tanushree as the girl next door has nothing to do. During one of her interviews , she had mentioned that she has attempted comedy for the first time, but, Tanushree, acting in a supposedly comedy movie doesnt make you a comedy actor. The rest of the cast including Om Puri and Tiku had been under utilised and surprisingly, there wasnt Paresh Rawal at all. Music by Pritam is horrible and just irritates you most of the time.

The movie, though funny only at parts, would definitely hit the top in the category of ''worst movies of 2007''. It has already been declared as a flop and it deserved this fate. Before releasing Partner, Heyy Baby and Dhamaal, the film makers said ''keep your brains at home and go to the theatres''. I mean, How often and how long are the audience supposed to do this?? Isnt there an end to all these kind of comedy a.k.a nonsense? However, my eyes are all set on the second week of October when there is another release from Priyadarshan. Again, a remake of a national award winning malayalam movie released in the 90's and this time if he ruins it, his Dhol tho zaroor bajega!!!