Review - Hari Puttar: Farts and slaps!

Hari Puttar

wogma rating: Switch channels if it's on cable ^(?) - Even if kids don't want to!

quick review:

This one should be completely avoided. Shouldn't it take more than farts, slaps, abuse & barely clad women to entertain our kids?

Director: Lucky Kohli , Rajesh Bajaj

Cast: Jackie Shroff, Saurabh Shukhla, Sarika, Swini Khara, Zain Khan, Vijay Raaz

Running time: 90 minutes

Genres: Kids, Slapstick

More Movie Info

Hari Puttar - Preview

NOT A REVIEW - Just wondering what it is, if it is neither Harry Potter nor Home Alone.

There was some sms joke doing the rounds,

"What would Harry Potter be called if he was born in Punjab?" Answer: Hari Puttar

Ha ha ha ha... Not really, but anyways, no one can be blamed for thinking the name of the movie Hari Puttar is a spoof on Harry Potter. But, in an interview with rediff, director Lucky Kohli explains -

Hari is a very common name, and 'Puttar' is a word every other person uses to address their son, especially in Punjabi.

O-kay...and anyway doesn't matter much if there is no magic or wizardry involved. So, you go ahead and check out the official site which introduces you to the movie with -

A large empty house... 2 burglars with nasty plans... A smart kid with nastier ones...

Hey, I see that one almost once a month thanks to two mischevious kids of my own who love Home Alone to bits. But, I'm quickly corrected by a reminder from the same interview -

My film has 10 children, songs and graphics that Home Alone didn't have.

But then, doesn't Harry Potter have these elements? Never mind...

Then the interview takes an interesting turn -

What is the inspiration for the film? My children. The story was by Rajesh Bajaj and the pranks were adapted from a film called Carry On.

Aah...that stops me from wondering any more...

An encouraging note from Saurabh Shukla who plays one of the burglars, in an interview with Buzz18 -

What are your expectations from Hari Puttar? Oh tremendous. I truly believe that this is a film for the whole family. A parent may go for the film to indulge his child but when he comes out of the theatre he will realise he has done himself a favour.

Wow...let's see some of us agree...

- meeta, a part of the audience

Breakfast table conversation this morning - My 6 year old son - "Dad, mom is going to review Hari Puttar today, right?" His dad - "yes" Son - "It is like Home Alone, only." Me - "Why do you say so?" Son - "Because my brain told me when I watched the trailer. See, there's one boy in a big house, he asks koi hai (anyone there?), that means he's alone. And there are 2 chors (thieves)" Me - Hmmm... (thinking about this interview) Son - "I want to watch it, Home Alone was also good."

Like mother, like son - never loses hope...

But to no avail. This one can easily be declared a dud, since the efforts to both change the ambience and to tweak the concept are pretentious. As if they were made to satisfy some copyright law that the makers care about. Seriously, if you are not going to make even half an effort on the details, why bother? Might as well just copy it frame by frame and be done with it.

You have no clue how difficult it is to watch this one objectively, without comparison. Let's just say, it's a lousy-lousy copy - when not Home Alone, they take a scene from Kungfu Hustle and I'm sure it has bits of Carry On if one of the directors claims so.

Actually, there is a bit of originality and contextual alteration. We have one of the burglars using abusive language appropriately beeped off. Now, why one would do that in a kids' movie is beyond me. To top it off, they have a 10-year old being smothered by a skimpily clad Shamita Shetty and a sundry bunch of women. Hmph...

Many a time in remakes, if the story fails, other departments compensate. But here, most performances try to complement the loud character and slapsticky tone. Except Zain and Swini seem enthusiastic and look like they were having fun troubling the adults around. But everything else - the costumes of the two burglars, the sets and locations, the background music - are not appealing at all. If nothing else, just plain and simple continuity to make sense out of the mayhem? Na-ah!

I think I'm just going to get the entire Home Alone series on DVD/VCD for the kids. Much rather have them watch those. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how they react to Hari Puttar and see whether they think one of their favorites have been ruined. It's only 90 minutes after all. Oops! That'd mean I'll have to watch it again. No thanks, I think I'll pass.

- meeta, a part of the audience

21 reviewers^(?) - 2 yays 0 so-so 19 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs up, by Insiyah Vahanvaty, Rediff : ...The music, provided by Aadesh Shrivastava, is foot-tapping and catchy.... full review

Thumbs up, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ... A happy family is the antidote to all evils. Amen!... full review

Thumbs down, by Sanskriti Media, AOL INDIA : ...Music is an extremely weak point in the film. It ruins whatever intrigue the scene has in any way set up.... full review

Thumbs down, by Daliya Daspurkayastha, Bollywood Mantra : ...no one has been able to shine in their respective roles. Jackie and Sarika’s performances are horrible... full review

Thumbs down, by Sanjay Ram, Business of Cinema : ...the premise of the film is not the least bit faulty, however every bit of the execution is.... full review

Thumbs down, by Abhishek Mande, Buzz18 : ...some really brilliant actors have given what are probably their career-worst performances... full review

Thumbs down, by Yasser Usmaan, DearCinema : ...Please…please copy it properly.... full review

Thumbs down, by Angel Rani, Deccan Herald : ...Zain Khan is a good child artiste cast in a wrong movie.... full review

Thumbs down, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...a classic case of intellectual bankruptcy.... full review

Thumbs down, by Khalid Mohamed, Hindustan Times : ...This isn’t SO bad. Wait till you encounter (three or was it four?) Brit babes breaking into a very scary Bollywood number.... full review

Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...Ashamed as I am to admit it, I couldn't sit through this entire film, I walked out during intermission... full review

Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...in a kiddie film, you get to watch a sexy Shamita Shetty gyrating to a promotional track.... full review

Thumbs down, Indicine : ...Another Short Review as a movie like Hari Puttar doesnt deserve a detailed one... full review

Thumbs down, by Anupama Chopra, NDTV : ...Why, you might ask, does a kids' movie need sensuous dancing women. I don't know but believe me, the songs are the least of Hari Puttar's problems.... full review

Thumbs down, by Aparana, Now Running.com : ...Children, who have not seen "Home Alone", will have fun watching the movie.... full review

Thumbs down, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...why are the robbers dressed like buffoons?... full review

Thumbs down, by Goher Iqbal Punn, Radio Sargam : ...An amateurish and lifeless product all the way... full review

Thumbs down, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...Zain Khan and Swini Khara, despite their cheesy dialogues, are endearing.... full review

Thumbs down, by Janhvi Patel, StarBoxOffice : ...Why did they do this movie? Maybe for a free getaway to the UK.... full review

Thumbs down, by Nitesh Rohit, Upper Stall : ...nothing makes you laugh... full review

Thumbs down, by Spicezee Bureau, Zee News : ...What more can one even say about a flick whose title is also lifted from a western biggie, leave alone the story?... full review

Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.

3 readers - 0 yays 3 so-so 0 nays

Want to Watch, by modulmeb.ru

So-So, by Consumer Goods

So-So, by payday loans with no faxing required

So-So, by squidoo.com

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Plot Summary

Hari Puttar's (Zain Khan's) mom forgets him behind at their mansion when the rest of the family goes out for a weekend. Tuk-tuk (Swini Khara) is also left behind. Two comical burglars who haven't a clue reach the London mansion to get to a chip on Indian national security!

What Worked

Delivery of the "mausiji, baahar aao" dialogue by Zain Khan - priceless!

What did not

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here

The animated Harry and funtoon - what was their purpose? Other than advertising Britannia biscuits?
Indian national security research is on in London! I mean, seriously! Couldn't there be any other premise?!
Why have two dumbest people on earth get to something of such top priority? Aah...the main villain is dumb too!
Why is the Hari's older brother teaming with other 10-11 year olds!?
Hari is actually called Harry at more than a couple of places.
Why are teenage girls jumping on the bed like 4 year olds?
Did these people carry no luggage on their weekend trip?
If the weekend trip was a surprise from DK (Jackie Shroff), how did the burglars know that the mansion would be empty?
Where in the UK would you get asthama pumps without prescription?!
The neighbor's character was so superficially written. No development at all!
The dialogue in Mr. Natwarlal is 'ye jeena bhi koi jeena hai lallu' and not 'dar ke jeena bhi koi jeena hai lallu'!
That's a USB stick, not a chip!!
Which glue stays wet enough for a metal door-knock to get stuck to a human hand hours after it is applied?
How come the burglars fall precisely into traps that Hari lays out on such a huge lawn?
What kind of a vegetable seller carries vegetables on the dashboard of his truck?
Why does a house with a teenage son and a 10 year old son have toys that a 2 year old would play with? The tunnel and baby tent?
Why did that house stock so many mouse traps?
How did Diesel's (Saurabh Shukla's) shoe, that was full of some kind of filthy, stinky stuff, clean itself for the next shot?
When did the burglars separate from each other to appear from different corners of the house?
How did the burglars know Hari's name?
Why were the nasty cousins and brother suddenly hugging Hari when they didn’t even care about his well-being?

Parental Guidance:

Violence: There's a lot of Tom and Jerry type of violence.
Sexual content: the two songs with barely clad women.
Concept: The concept is kid friendly - kids can face things alone if they are smart enough, they should think for others, they should be careful of what they ask for, and how moms are important to kids.
General Look and Feel: It is light and peppy.