Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)
A plot with huge potential to be howlarious quits after a few clever quips.
Read more
Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge - Preview
NOT A REVIEW - just wondering whether this one will tone my funny bone with some good laughter...
Writer turned director, Umesh Shukla. Haven't seen any of the movies he's written. But is this Umesh Shukla the same as this one? It'll be really interesting if they are one and the same person because one of them shows Titanic, Dante's Peak and Shark Tale in his filmography. And there is one common film between them. Can we really look forward to some good visual effects?
Also interesting is the combination of actors. Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu and Sonu Sood. I could never have that kind of imagination. Also Sonu Sood doing comedy will be well...different. True, we did see him try to make us laugh by playing a sort-of mannequin in Singh is Kinng, but that didn't involve much comic timing. There seems ample scope since the premise has fun written all over it - a producer hell-bent upon making a flop movie.
But it also has full potential of having more Hindi cinema references. And sure enough, a quick search gets you to this article that says exactly that. The usual suspects are all there - Sholay, DDLJ, etc.
Dhoondte Reh Jaoge is a film within a film. The film is a spoof on Bollywood's cult films.
We've seen quite a few of these lately. It has to be exceptionally funny and hit a different spot to make us laugh, right?
The songs don't look like they are anywhere above the average slapstick movie's songs. Don't miss the quick music review at milliblog.
And the promos are not too promising. I get the feel of non-stars behaving like wannabe stars. So, doesn't work. But we shall reserve judgment. Only a few hours to go...
- meeta, a part of the audience
A wise man (Leon Trotsky?) once said, "Everything is relative". So if you compare Dhoondte Reh Jaoge to the regular "three men get together to earn some easy money" plot, you'll feel like a rag collector in the backyard of a 5-star hotel. Because it doesn't once loose focus. Other masala comedies start with mayhem, keep it going with chaos and end with utter pandemonium. The commotion created by this one though works towards the ultimate goal. But commotion there is, I guess it maybe called inevitable for this genre.
This goal is a hilarious one. A producer (Paresh Rawal) gangs up with a smart Chartered Accountant (Kunal Khemu) to make a flop film. Why? When? What? You have to see the movie to find out. But what starts off with a decent sense of humor turns into one random poor joke stringed after another random poor joke. The smartness of the basic idea doesn't run through the film. And by the way, bring me a Chartered Accountant who wears anything other than blue, gray and white...and ok black.
The individually funny elements are ultimately forced together, the flow ignored. The major concern of movies like this one must be - "How do we end this madness?" If you give it a mellow end, it'd feel like an anti-climax. If you give it a realistic end, it contradicts the tone of the rest of the film. If you end it on a happy note, it is predictable and cliché. So let's just make it obvious that we weren't interested in the climax and be done with it quick and easy.
And fairly quick and easy it must have been for Paresh Rawal (Raj Chopra) to play the conniving conman. A couple of his scenes had me in splits. Sonu Sood (Aryan Kapoor) wears a sullen look almost through the movie. However, I enjoyed watching him go all starry-eyed when his girl is around. Kunal Khemu (Anand Pawar) seems to have done everything alright but yet he's not convincing as a geek or a guy who's in love or a schemer or a guy with confidence issues. Maybe it was the way his character was written. Soha Ali Khan (Neha) actually looks too smart to play such a dumb character. There seems to be no connection whatsoever between Anand and Neha. Both the actors and the way the romantic sub-plot is put together can share the blame for that one.
It would be sheer stupidity if there are characters in a movie who are producers and film actors and it didn't have mention of other Hindi movies, right? And stupid they aren't. So there is an attempt to collect all the references they wanted on one page. Thread them together in a reasonably funny sequence with witty one-liners evenly spaced out. And go berserk. Then slowly deteriorate into a predictable pun-mode. There are a few additional bits they spoof well though. Like the comment on the role of women in Hindi movies. But that again was a good excuse for not giving the women characters any attention. Another comment is on the audience's capacity to lap up one irrational movie after another. And how there's no formula to make a successful film. Also it alludes to the fact that the makers have no judgment of the viewers' expectations.
Actually, Dhoondte Reh Jaoge is in a win-win situation. If it goes down well with the audience - Yay! Hurray!! Chak De!!! If it doesn't the makers can say - "Duh! It was intentional!!"
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Prathna Tiwari, Bolly Spice : ...There is not a single dull moment in this hilarious comedy flick... full review
Thumbs up, by Goher Iqbal Punn, Radio Sargam : ...Although there is a story in this film, but be warned – don’t use your mind to watch this rib-tickling comedy... full review
So-So, bigoye.com : ...Writer-director Umesh Shukla triggers a laugh-a-thon with his concept of spoofing bollywood’s blockbusters... full review
So-So, by Shweta Parande, Buzz18 : ...If you were a fan of Govinda-like funny flicks and can put your brain aside for a few laughs irrespective of the production values et al, the film won't disappoint you.... full review
So-So, by Martin D'souza, Glamsham.com : ...Call it creative bankruptcy or just another take on creativity.... full review
So-So, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...DHOONDTE REH JAOGE is also non-stop nonsense, but, thankfully, with a story.... full review
So-So, Movie Talkies : ...One did not expect much out of out of this film and it lived up to expectations... full review
So-So, SmasHits.com : ...This comedy has failed though its theme was good but it lacked adequate screenplay... full review
So-So, by Janhvi Patel, StarBoxOffice : ...It is the feel-good film we have all been waiting for.... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice : ...The film is a heap of silly slapstick that fails to stick for someone searching for two-plus hours of pure fun, even on a paid-for ticket.... full review
Thumbs down, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...The kind of film that assumes it’s automatically amusing when the name Dhurandhar Bhatavadekar is invoked... full review
Thumbs down, by Shashi Baliga, Hindustan Times : ...It’s a bit like one of those MTV spoofs,... full review
Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ... Dhoondte Reh Jaoge is the perfect planned recipe for a flop.... full review
Thumbs down, by Meena Iyer, Mumbai Mirror : ...It’s a good plot line even if it is borrowed; but the fun ends there.... full review
Thumbs down, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...Director Umesh Shukla tries hard to make you laugh in this over the top comedy, he succeeds at times... full review
Thumbs down, by Subhash K Jha, Now Running.com : ...No effort is made to understand the workings of the industry with satirical sensitivity.... full review
Thumbs down, by Patcy N, Rediff : ...Director Umesh Shukla -- a theatre actor and director -- should perhaps re-learn the skill before he decides to inflict us with another film.... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...All the actors try hard but the juvenile script terribly lets them down.... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Plot Summary
Raj Chopra (Paresh Rawal) is looking for someone to finance his film. The financers want a star to be a part of the project. Raj then schemes with Anand Pawar (Kunal Khemu) to earn some money by playing a trick on the financers.
What Worked
- The implication that there's no room for an honest Chartered Accountant in this big, bad world.
What did not
- What's with the cheap title cards? Is there no creativity left in that department?
- Neha's mama (maternal uncle) with lipstick instead of paan stains.
- The set of the chawl that Anand and Neha lived in. Looked too made-up.
- Why was Raj Chopra calling it his film when he hadn't written it or even narrated it to a writer to write it for him? Does a producer just want to produce? Without a script or financers in hand?
- Why give Anand the stutter?
- Sonu Sood's dubbing was way off - very distracting!
- Like Anand, I couldn't handle Paresh Rawal dancing with the bikini-clad women.
- The whole Muslim angle.
- Parvez's (Johnny Lever's) wife! God was she loud!?!
- The Bangla-Maratha stereotyping.
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Goons beating up someone while the screen is blacked out.
- Language: No profanity.
- Nudity & Sexual content: A couple of scenes where seduction is hinted at. And the standard couple songs with bikini-clad women in the background.
- Concept: Conmen scheming to make easy money.
- General Look and Feel: It is bright and light.
![[Facebook page of Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge]](/static/images/icons/facebook_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Wikipedia page of Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
![[UTV Motion Pictures twitter account]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (1)
Meetu, the half-strength (mostly guys, mostly into comedy) American Bollywood Movie Fan Club - kind of liked this one, even if it was basically Mel Brooks's THE PRODUCERS with a few more (not so great) songs. Maybe all the music A.R. Rahman, Pritam and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have done for the movies we've seen have spoiled us - but the songs were okay at best, rather than catchy and hummable.
Still, we were entertained - though that could be as much due to our recognizing Indian versions of scenes we'd seen in THE PRODUCERS, and laughing at how the movie handled them.
Leave a Comment