Khosla ka Ghosla poster

Khosla ka Ghosla

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)

Director: Dibakar Banerjee
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An average middle class family has to bend rules and give-up on its ideologies to achieve a very simple goal. And there is always the generation gap to deal with. That’s serious stuff. The name of the movie is hilarious. The posters and the one promotional song that I had seen made it look like a slapstick comedy. Hardly…it is not even borderline-comedy! Not surprising, considering the movie is produced by an advertising agency. They really cannot exist without misleading marketing!

Overall, the movie is a quite dull. There is something right about the execution, though. It is admirable that Dibakar Banerjee kept the characters simple and carefully avoided the glitter and glamour, the song and dance. Some parts are handled pretty well. For example, the way a dream is used to show a facet of a character; the way different characters react to an announcement that a member of their family is going to the US; the way props are used to intimidate characters; the way IIT-Delhi T-shirts are used instead of GAP. But then, ordinary characters that you can identify with…get boring! It lacks the intensity, the crispness, needed to make a movie out of the subject.

The plot does not help too much either, nothing exciting happens through the movie. If the story had a couple twists, it could have kept the interest alive. Thankfully, the songs that play in the background, help break the monotony. Watch out for some good performances though. Anupam Kher makes your heart go out for Mr. Khosla. I especially liked Navin Nischol’s role and the way he has played it. Parveen Dabbas, Tara Sharma, and Ranvir Shorey show how they are learning with experience.

Boman Irani plays a creepy property dealer. Now, the way this character is presented is irritating. For one, it is the character inconsistency. In the first half he had this street-smart personality and in the second half the simplest person pulled wool over his eyes. Then there is the acting itself. Boman Irani does this thing with his left nostril and smirks, to make him look his character. It worked for the first minute of screen time, but that’s how his nostril and half-lip stayed through the movie. In his opening shot, he has this cool lighting on the lower half of his face and bottom-up camera angle that makes him look sinister. But then the same effect is used on other characters and it loses its significance.

While we are on photography, the wide angle is over-used. Also, it is annoying when the expressions of a character change between the close-up shot and a zoom-out in the same shot but from a different angle. Maybe, it is all deliberate and had a purpose in the larger scheme of things. But if while watching the movie, I have time to think about what the cameraman is doing, then, either the cameraman is not doing his job right or the director.

- meeta, a part of the audience

8 reviewers(?) - 6 yays 2 so-so 0 nays

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

Thumbs up, by Neha Kewal, Apun Ka Choice : ...‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ doesn’t disappoint and will be Paisa Vasool for the audience.... full review

Thumbs up, by Prema K., Bollyvista.com : ...This film is an ensemble of talented actors and is a sheer pleasure to watch,... full review

Thumbs up, by Subhash K Jha, Glamsham.com : ...On the journey to Khosla's happy ending we encounter characters who seem like our next-door neighbours…... full review

Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM, indiainfo.com : ...Khosla Ka Ghosla is eminently watchable for various reasons.... full review

Thumbs up, by Gaurav Malani, J.A.M : ...Khosla Ka Ghosla is an appetizing pure vegetarian thali in the age of non-veg junkies.... full review

Thumbs up, by Vijay Venkataramanan, Planet Bollywood : ...Imperfect and flawed, but crafted with a lot heart, this one is recommended viewing for a lazy Sunday afternoon.... full review

So-So, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...a small, unpretentious venture with some real funny performances.... full review

Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.

3 readers - 2 yays 1 so-so 0 nays

Yay! Thumbs Up, by Nikhil : If you like simple comedies, this is yours to watch.

Yay! Thumbs Up, by Siddharth Daniel

So-So, by Consumer Goods

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

Khosla ka Ghosla - Cast, crew, links

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Comments (11)

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a

great movie

w C, If I change the angle and the formula won't I be inconsistent? And that's one thing I don't want to be.

meetu if u like criticizing moviez...
so y dont u make ur own movie then see wat'll gonna happen wid u...
i think so u r an oversmart n dejected woman...

Thanks again, for pitching in, Mayur!

Thanks for stopping by fellow-Indian, Manish! And putting in your critical comments here...

Just out of curiosity...Do you cook? If yes, do you cook all varieties really well? If yes, great!

If no to either, I hope you never criticize the food you eat.

The point Manish is I am an audience for whom the movie is made. I want to let them know what kind I'd like to watch. That's all.

that's the idea, mayur!

[...] strong memory I have from watching director Dibakar Bannerjees first movie Khosla Ka Ghosla is me feeling completely…Continue reading this [...]

Nikhil

Really Meetu..This movie was not suposed to be slapstick comedy. The sheer simplicity with which it was shown was what made it special. I guess you take pleasure in criticizing good things as a way to be talked about..

@Nikhil not really. I had a genuine problem with Boman Irani's character being fooled so easily.

Siddharth Daniel

I have been an avid reader of your reviews and have usually had identical thoughts on most of the movies reviewed here but this one's pretty shocking. It is indeed a great movie and now considered a classic. Maybe you'll like it once you watch it again :) Keep writing.

Hey Siddharth, I have actually seen the film again. Found Boman Irani's character even more gullible the second time. So the story didn't quite click with me. Doesn't mean it is not allowed to click with others :D

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