Ghanchakkar
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?)
Ghanchakkar gets you interested and leaves you there. It doesn't move forward and soon enough, gets repetitive and thus predictable.
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Ghanchakkar - Preview
From the guy who made Aamir and No One Killed Jessica? Certainly looking forward to it. Oh and there's Vidya Balan's crazy do! Who am I kidding? Rajkumar Gupta or not, I wanted to watch every Vidya Balan film after The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, if not Lage Raho Munnabhai..
In fact, I'm so much in awe of her personality and the roles she picks that I worry about Ghanchakkar. I hope she doesn't go over-the-top. It just looks like that kind of a character where it'd be so easy to get carried away. This is when Rajkumar Gupta's name and even Emraan Hashmi's presence is comforting.
Interestingly, that we don't know much about the story doesn't seem to matter. From the antics in the trailer, you somehow know that 'entertainment' will be taken care of. No wonder I have had both Salman Khan fan and Anurag Kashyap fans tell me that they are looking foward to Ghanchakkar
Of course, there is almost always something to bring expectations to balance. This time unfortunately it seems to be Amit Trivedi's music. It is almost disheartening that his music hasn't been relished as usual. Here's hoping the film will be a different story.
Music Reviews:
Bollyspice - "1.5/5"
dunkdaft - "Definitely, we want more of such, keep them coming AT."
FirstPost - "Short, crisp, crazy and entertaining"
koimoi - "3/5"
Milliblog - "2 of 4 is hardly Amit’s standard!"
Music Aloud - "7.5/10"
- meeta, a part of the audience
The last thing you'd expect from a movie that had such an interesting trailer is that it wouldn't move ahead from there. You rejoice at 20 minutes when almost everything you knew about the story beforehand is covered and now there is two hours of fun to look forward to. And then nothing happens. If it weren't for some one-liners sprinkled through and a couple of decent performances, Ghanchakkar would've been a complete disappointment.
The movie lingers too much. It stays with situations a little too long after the peak of the situation; the dialogue repeats itself a little more after it has made its impact; at many points the lines come a second or two too late. By then you are done and dusted with your prediction of what is going to happen and pretty much always you hit bull's eye. Including, the final twist. For the content it has, Ghanchakkar is a good 30-45 minutes too long.
The only thing that keeps you going are a couple of the performances. Vidya Balan carries off her weight and ridiculous outfits with ease, as only she can. It is hilarious when her character, Neetu's sense of dressing is mocked at and she defends it with all pride. Even her weight is commented upon. However, her timing does go off in a couple of comic scenes and towards the end she is mostly shrieking. Her accent too inconsistent. Yet, every time she goes "Hain?" you just have to laugh.
Namit Das as Idris has perfect timing for is one-liners. Unfortunately, he is handed some slapsticky sexual humor which doesn't quite work. Emraan Hashmi and Rajesh Sharma's roles don't need too much variation in their expressions and they stick to what is required of them. Also, the characters stay a good arm's distance away and you aren't really given a chance to get involved with the them.
It gets insufferable after a while. There is only so much of Rajesh Sharma and Namit Das' shrugged-shoulder-laughter that you can find funny. There is only so much of - "Where's the money?" "I don't remember. I've lost my memory." "Liar! I'll kill you/your wife." - that you can take. The basic premise, where three guys loot a bank, and the one who is supposed to keep the money safe has supposedly lost his memory, is really interesting. But nothing is done with that.
To spice it up they've added a few quirks like the goons using a local train compartment as rendezvous or a commuter carrying vegetables. But that's what they come across as - quirks that are forced in. They do not go with the flow of the film. The Aamir-esque threatening caller on phone too doesn't add much fear. There was a possibility for a look into how the husband-wife relationship falls apart because of an illness and/or money, but that is dealt with rather superficially.
This purported comic thriller never thrills and is funny only intermittently. Even if you don't compare it to the expectations that the promo material sets up, you'd end up disappointed with Ghanchakkar.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Swati Deogire, In.com : ...less hysterical than expected... full review
Thumbs up, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...Delicious humour and great suspense... full review
Thumbs up, by Meena Iyer, Times of India : ...The constant sparring between Emraan and Vidya and the bickering between the three thieves is funny.... full review
So-So, by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice : ...wacky but eminently forgettable... full review
So-So, by Suparna Thombare, Bollywood Life : ...The intention was good, the recipe was right and Gupta had all the tools to make a memorable comedy, but in the end, he forgot to add the seasoning, just like Vidya’s character does in the film.... full review
So-So, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...For one, Namit Das' act is overdone. As the gun wielding psycho, he moves beyond his act, to get annoying. ... full review
So-So, by Saurabh Dwivedi, india today : ...But you do end up not caring about home-cooked food.... full review
So-So, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ...The writing by Parvez Sheikh and Raj Kumar Gupta is often fickle and unpersuasive and, perhaps, of the kind that might sound good on paper but doesn't have the same impact onscreen.... full review
So-So, Indicine : ...Emraan Hashmi delivers a stirring performance in the film as the lazy, always tired Sanju who struggles with his own memory. ... full review
So-So, by Jaidev Hemmady, Movie Talkies : ...Though the film has its funny moments, the overall product is not as impressive as was expected.... full review
So-So, by Roshmila Bhattacharya, Star Blockbuster : ...Ghanchakkar is worth a watch for her alone.... full review
Thumbs down, by Anna Vetticad, annavetticadgoes2themovies : ...What is it with so many Hindi film makers that compels them to make 2-to-3-hour films out of concepts that demand brevity?... full review
Thumbs down, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...But at some point, I just threw up my hands and tuned out.... full review
Thumbs down, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ... its advised to watch another engaging crime thriller on DVD instead of GHANCHAKKAR... full review
Thumbs down, by Shalu Dhyani, Bolly Spice : ...If only director Rajkumar Gupta had followed through with the wonderful build-up in the first 45 minutes, this could have been a path breaking film.... full review
Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ... Namit Das has grown tremendously as an actor, since WAKE UP SID. He's another talent to look forward to.... full review
Thumbs down, by Deepa Gahlot, cinemaah : ...The actors rise way above the careless, half-baked script, and Ghanchakkar is at best a ‘timepass’ film which dithers between caper comedy and noir thriller... full review
Thumbs down, Daily Bhaskar : ...There are some bold and funny dialogues in the film that will tickle your funny bone.... full review
Thumbs down, by Khalid Mohamed, Deccan Chronicle : ...And when it’s not sex, the humour banks on stuff like a railway commuter carrying raw vegetables, cornball allusions to Amitabh Bachchan, the Khans, Dharmendra and don’t gasp again, the late Utpal Dutt.... full review
Thumbs down, by Tushar Joshi, DNA : ...The soundtrack isn't memorable, but the background score gives the film the right mood. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Devesh Sharma, Filmfare : ...Thriller told at a crippling pace... full review
Thumbs down, by Deepanjana Pal, FirstPost : ...lazy script that rechurns the same jokes... full review
Thumbs down, by Ravi Kandala, fullhyd.com : ...They showed us some juicy bits - it certainly seemed like there was more, until we saw the movie and realized that all the juicy bits had already been shown in the trailer.... full review
Thumbs down, by Sarit Ray, Hindustan Times : ...Why would such a stupid arrangement exist? Raj Kumar Gupta’s Ghanchakkar steers clear of such logical questions.... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...A lazily scripted film that leaves you bored and searching for the exit... full review
Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...This is where the film could have quickened, but it slackens instead, leaving Balan to provide a chuckle or two in her hatti katti Punjaban avatar, her accent slipping more than her deeply cut negligees... full review
Thumbs down, by Nandini Ramnath, Live Mint : ...A deadpan and occasionally dead caper... full review
Thumbs down, by Shubha Shetty-Saha, MiD DAY : ...If nothing, this gives us another instance of how a good script is the most important factor for a watchable film.... full review
Thumbs down, by Divya Solgama, MoviezADDA : ...The exceptional subject becomes exceptionally repetitive and dragging after a given point leading to a weak and bland climax.... full review
Thumbs down, by Karan Anshuman, Mumbai Mirror : ...After this third film, one can only surmise that Gupta gets enthused with some terrific ideas and heads straight for the shooting floor without thinking them through entirely.... full review
Thumbs down, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...The fundamental concept of Ghanchakkar is intriguing all right, but it simply isn’t sturdy enough to bear the weight of an entire two hour-plus film. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Mansha Rastogi, Now Running.com : ...In a bid to make a comedy on memory loss, the filmmaker himself forgets his script. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Raja Sen, Rediff : ...And somewhere through the second half, it stops being funny and becomes inane precisely at the time when it should have showed off its intelligence. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters : ...Not crazy enough... full review
Thumbs down, by K N Gupta, SmasHits.com : ...Her lingo aptly fits her character. She pronounces 'minute' as 'mint', 'bharosa' as 'bhrosa' and 'galat' as 'galt'. She emotes well both in confusion and resentment.... full review
Thumbs down, by Swati Rohatgi, STARDUST : ...While Emraan, despite being his first comedy film, only broods and mulls over his lost memory in the entire film, Vidya too in her first comedy film comes across as a huge disappointment.... full review
Thumbs down, by Gayatri Sankar, Zee News : ... a film that has such heavyweights as the cast, could have been a lot better.... full review
JYOTIKAPOORNYC: #Ghanchakkar - hilarious... Vidya balan is fantastic.... So is everyone else..Laughed our hearts out
saurabh_bhowal: #Ghanchakkar is one of those rare movies you don't know what to say about. Definitely not pathetic. But far from being good.
beckhameya: Ghanchakkar is funny in bits nd pieces...Vidya n Emraan hav done a good job...but story is poor
LungFakeer: I saw Ghanchakkar yesterday and I lost my soul somewhere. Now I am a soul less zombie walking the earth. Such is the effect of crass maximus
kotian_pranav: #Ghanchakar ending fuckd it up ..:/
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Beating up, Gunshots, murders.
- Language: A lot of abusive language silenced out.
- Nudity & Sexual content: Talk of condoms, etc. A couple of liplocks and short love-making scenes. One scene with phone sex.
- Concept: A man robs a bank and loses his memory before telling his co-workers where he kept the money.
- General Look and Feel: Quirky environment.
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Comments (6)
Note: the "Rajkumar Gupta" mentioned in this article doesn't link back to the "Raj Kumar Gupta" linked in the No One Killed Jessica article
premise seems similar to Trance by Danny Boyle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ-qYX9Oz1c
@Prasanth Really? Other than the lost memory related to something precious, nothing else seems similar. In either case, the treatments are nowhere close to each other. Anyway, we'll find out soon enough :D
i am just waiting for this movie now finally tomorrow i will go to watch movies after log time vida come back
Movie has some moments which fall flat but as a package its good for me,,,,offcorse I havnt exoected [comment edited because it gives a part of the climax away.] in the climax,,,,it could have easily be done in a clean manner....that dissappoints
Although the movie plot has been semi-stolen from Danny Boyle's Trance, everybody in the movie acted superbly making it a good to watch movie.
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