Partner
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)
David Dhawan comedies are beyond me. At first, it felt good to get away from the daily drudgery that life is and submit myself to the histrionics. But, a few very good laughs in exchange for an arbitrary bunch of stories thrown around a Hollywood chick-flick are not good enough. It is difficult to retain interest when you can mouth out the punch line for more than half the jokes. And even more difficult when the attempts at wise-cracks stop too.
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An open mind helps. I laughed out loud a few times in the first half - playing along, humoring the makers, taking silliness at face value, generally taking a chill pill. Really, otherwise I wouldn't have "liked" the movie even this much. But, the jokes took a sudden dip in the second half and the last half hour literally wore me out. I will make my peace with being labeled a stuck-up.
I don’t care much for the David Dhawan style of escapism and I certainly don't think we were missing much while Govinda was away pulling faces in the parliament. So, obviously, by transitivity I am certainly not big on the David Dhawan-Govinda combination. (Ok, no need to get all geeky on me and bring up the nitty-gritty of the theory.) The point is that if you fall in any of the above categories, you are at the wrong place.
Having offended 64% of the Hindi cinema-goers, I must reassure the rest of you that I am in no way trying to infuse any intellect into a David Dhawan presentation. Lest my intellect be questioned. Still searching my heart and soul desperately - looking for something more than a few jokes to like the movie.
Unfortunately, I am also not into Salman Khan, his biceps (or his jokes on showing them off), or his very intentional melodramatic dialogue delivery. Oh well...might as well go ahead and say that Katrina Kaif looks more and more like a plastic doll with heavy make-up on. The good thing is the director was smart enough not to give her too many lines. Oops! I just lost another 34 (31 + 3)% of the Hindi cinema goers. Lara Dutta on the other hand, is looking prettier by the day. And somehow that has also improved her acting.
When ideas are copied from some other movies, obviously making a frame-by-frame copy adds no creative value. But, when you see the additions made to Andy Tennant's Hitch in Partner you begin to rethink your unwarranted and utterly ridiculous demands for creativity.
When there were no songs for the first 20 odd minutes, I thought I had dozed off at some point and missed a whole load of fun. Though I must say that they were making up for it with the extra background score and loudly delivered lines. And when calamities come they come in battalions. I was shown song after song with music that you could tap your feet to but was missing the extra something that makes a song memorable. And well, the lyrics lack soul. But, the good thing about Salman and Govinda is that they never disappoint as dancers. Though I could have survived even without their pelvises being thrust here, there and everywhere (sitting in second row from screen did not help!). But, then can't really complain, can I? It is a David Dhawan movie, after all.
I must admit that this is more than the regular slapstick that has people chasing people and throwing stuff at each other. There is the regular slapstick (Govinda with pants down, et al) + a missile chasing Salman in a scuba suit (Oh come on girls, wipe that drool!!) + a choTa Don with the Don theme music in the background + etc. Sounds like fun to you? Go for it! May be the last 2% of us should form a self-help group so we can begin to understand the rest of our race.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice : ...The ladies don’t have much to do in this film.... full review
Thumbs up, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...The funniest bits are those that reflect the kind of rambling, free-association madness this director is so good at (and these portions have nothing to do with Hitch)... full review
Thumbs up, by Sanjay Ram, Business of Cinema : ...The camerawork, cinematography and editing all come together to make one helluva film that holds your attention.... full review
Thumbs up, by Oz, Desi Train : ...I laughed, I cried out laughing, because what Hitch failed to deliver, Partner was spot on - the amazing comedy and the fantastic chemistry between Govinda and Salman Khan... full review
Thumbs up, by Indu Mirani, DNA : ...if only he could let go of his toilet humour.... full review
Thumbs up, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...t’s not exactly a no-brainer as the script runs through the film holding the scenes together... full review
Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...it's not for certain critics [looking for art cinema in a masala entertainer] whose star ratings are a much bigger joke than the one David Dhawan pulls off with élan... full review
Thumbs up, by Gautam Buragohain, indiatimes : ...He has used his tried and tested formula from his past movies...we are more than willing to interrupt our disbelief and defy the logic... full review
Thumbs up, by Vaibhav Wankhede, M TV : ...Govinda with his legendary comic timing is back in terrific form, reminding you of his good ol' RAJA BABU days... full review
Thumbs up, Movie Talkies : ...What really makes this film work is the onscreen chemistry between Salman and Govinda... full review
Thumbs up, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...Lara Dutta paired opposite Salman Khan is confident and dazzling.... full review
Thumbs up, by Patro, Now Running.com : ...The way the movie has been adapted to the Indian context is remarkable.... full review
Thumbs up, by Hanumant Bhansali, Radio Sargam : ...Katrina shows her dentist’s efforts in showering a bunch of smiles spread all over the film. Nevertheless, she is gorgeous as always.... full review
Thumbs up, by Syed Firdaus Ashraf, Rediff : ...The one-liners are hilarious, and very original.... full review
Thumbs up, by Pankaj Shukla, SmasHits.com : ...it takes a lot of guts to make two people of such a stature bring under one roof and treat both of them as the first lead of the film... full review
Thumbs up, by Saakshi Juneja, To Each Its Own : ...You will be outrageously entertained ONLY if you worship masala films.... full review
So-So, Bollyvista.com : ...Salman Khan performs like he is expected to... like a star!... full review
So-So, by Subhash K Jha, Now Running.com : ...The actresses are surprisingly spirited and upfront.... full review
Thumbs down, by Amodini, Amodini's Movie Reviews : ...even for the master of the absurd, the illogical, the non-sensical this one is a new low.... full review
Thumbs down, by Angel Rani, Deccan Herald : ...Govinda is his high-decible self... full review
Thumbs down, by Naomi Datta, DNA : ...This is a disjointed, sluggish effort with unnecessary tracks... full review
Thumbs down, by Khalid Mohamed, Hindustan Times : ...Sajid-Wajid’s music is bouncy, cinematography is of falooda colours, the ladies are decorative lamps... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...But truth is the director's been slipping up lately...Look at some of his most successful films - Coolie No 1, Hero No 1, Judwaa - even if they were madcap movies, each had a very distinct plot and the actors performed within the framework of the plot.... full review
Thumbs down, by Kaushik Chatterji, J.A.M : ...To say that the soundtrack was annoying would be the understatement of the year... full review
Thumbs down, by Sunil Chaudhary, MovieWalah : ...I walked out during the intermission...third time in my life that I've done that.... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ... Partner tries to find humour in silly rhymes, lowbrow gay gigs and unnecessary songs and jigs... full review
Thumbs down, Upper Stall : ...at least the film should entertain and have a style of its own and flow along smoothly taking you with the ride... 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
Bhaskar (Govinda) wants love guru, Prem (Salman Khan) to help him woo his (Bhaskar's) lady-love, Priya (Katrina Kaif). All this while Prem is trying to do some wooing of his own with Naina (Lara Dutta).
What Worked
- Some of the dialogues in the first half of the movie.
What did not
- The "chota Don" side-plot. It might have been okay if it had some relevance to the main plot.
- The single mother side-plot. What purpose did it server other than increasing the duration of the movie?
- The gay character side-plot. Absolutely unnecessary.
- The Lara Dutta's father side-plot. Why bother, if his character had to transform so suddenly?
- Naming Govinda's character "Bhaskar", just so they could mention the dialogue "Bhaskar, bas kar" from Anand
- Go Air's animated advertisement!
- Was Naina both a crime journalist as well as a Page 3 reporter?
Nitty-Gritty
- Was it at a bar or a TV studio that Prem met his clients? Why were there girls dressed as bar servers in a room where television sets were relaying the conversations live?
- Agreed Katrina Kaif might not be familiar with the Hindi language. But did the dialogue writer understand Hindi or not? Isn't it hard to believe that Katrina Kaif's character had not found a "chaahne waala" (someone who loves her)? I think she meant she hadn't found anyone "jise woh chaahti ho" (someone she loves).
- India's score in a match that was being shown on TV was 39 for no loss. Why was the restaurant counter guy complaining about missing Sehwag's century?
- I gave up...in the scene where Lara Dutta's character, Naina is introduced, I just gave up on trying to notice the details. I concede that in such movies "the details" is not the point!
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Comments (12)
Review - Partner...
David Dhawan comedies are beyond me. At first, it felt good to get away from the daily drudgery that life is and submit myself to the histrionics. But, a few very good laughs in exchange for an arbitrary bunch of stories thrown around a Hollywood chick...
If having an opinion is being biased, "haan judge-saahab, main mujrim hun" (Yes, My Lord, I plead guilty).
But Ashish, if you are talking about my attitude towards the cast and crew as being biased, I think I deserve more credit there. As I mentioned, I went with an intention to submit to whatever it is they had to offer.
Believe me, I was not looking for rationality. But is some kind of connection, however irrational, too much to ask for between different sub-plots. Is acting/comic timing from the lead cast not a requirement either? As far as, music, I guess you liked it, I did not, there is nothing much we can do about it.
It is really sad when you have 4-5 ideas that you think are cool and just throw them together thinking that the audience is there only for timepass, anyways.
Thanks, girish!
Hey RAHUL, it's great that you liked the movie. But, calling Munnabhai jokes old is ,"in my opinion", taking it a bit too far! Anyway, as I always say...to each his own...
Keep visiting!
Great review guys. Here is our attempt at reviewing the movie on our blog. Partner Bollywood movie
Thanks Hetal and Anuja! Interesting site you have out there.
hey guys..... this movie is damn good.... just amazing .......
special thanks to GOVINDA,SALMAN KHAN,KATRINA KAIF,LARA DUTTA....... THEY WERE
JUST OUTSTANDING ...... i almost saw the movie 5 times...... it's really really good...
and it's a good example for the teenagers... because it can help us in flirting .......
ha! ha! ha! we almost felt like flirting in the theater.... and in fact we did..........
watch it guys its fun and specially with your girls.......
At first when I heard that this movie was a remake or Hitch, I was pretty pissed, but Oh My God!! This was just AWESOME!!! I mean watching someone with Govinda's physique dance away and be able to minister such impressive choreography and manage to look amazing even though he was standing along side Salman Khan..well it was just great, and I have never really even seen Salman perform so well, the dance moves for ur my love" and "do u wana partner" were just amazing and not 2 mention the other songs as well..i mean we have our own tastes, but really, it would take someone really "numb" to not enjoy this movie..yes scenes were copied but what our indian actors were able to offer, haha, Mr Smith and Eva Mendes were'nt able to show... I have been watching this movie from last week and becoz i love dancing and music, I have been watching the dance sequences nearly every nite!!!!Hail Govinda and Salman Jodi!!!
Manish, that's the point I was trying to make. Even though, I kept my intellect at bay, I did not enjoy the movie.
oh-no, don't abuse me by calling me "bollywood-illiterate" and highly at that! Like in food, the masala in a masala movie needs to be of the right quality to make the dish enjoyable.
great music and movie
Very nice movie :)
I have seen the original Hollywood film (Hitch) that inspired Partner. And I have watched Partner. For whatever reason I enjoyed Partner more. No, no: it is not for whatever reason, it is for Govinda's act that I enjoyed Partner more than Hitch. This was a comeback attempt by Govinda and what a gift from David Dhawan!!!
Of course the film is stupid logicless. Wonder how did they manage to turn a decent Hitch into a logicless film even though they retained the same identical plot??? Hmmmm ....
But the truth remains, it is a mindless film. You will find more water on the Sun than logic in Partner. So watch it only if you are prepared for silly one liners and jokes. But once you are ready for that, trust me you will have a rollicking time.
Govinda is in top form. Well supported by Salman. All the rest are just necessary evils to make the film work.
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