Film: Phata Poster Nikhla Hero
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Ileana, Padmini Kolhapure
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi
Producer: Ramesh S. Taurani
Let's get one thing straight. This isn't
what you want to see a super-gifted filmmaker like Rajkumar Santoshi do
when he gets together with a talented star-actor like Shahid Kapoor.
But what to do? Everyone wants a good
laugh! It makes us forget about the troubles outside. Never mind the
trouble that humour seems to encounter on screen each time someone makes
a comedy.
To his credit, Santoshi deftly delivers
the dynamics of drollery. No two ways about it. Unlike last week's lewd
laughter in "Grand Masti", "Phata Poster Nikla Hero" (PPNH) avoids
vulgarity like the plague.
Dirty word plague....sorry wordplay is
firmly eschewed. What we get is an earthy robust over-accentuated
tribute to Salman Khan's Chulbul Pandey act from "Dabangg", with Shahid
Kapoor stepping into the khaki uniform with the same wonky elan as our
dear Chulbul Khan.
Shahid has confessed it is easy to play a
Salman Khan fan. The young actor who has so far not revealed his comic
chops and has in fact shown dramatic synergy to be his forte, pulls out
all stops to play an imposter cop, a role that makes him a Chulbul
Pandey twice-over because Salman's cop-act was underlined as a spoof in
the first place.
So what we get in PPNH is a khaki-clad clown impersonating a cop who is actually impersonating Salman Khan in "Dabangg".
Does that make sense? Even if it
doesn't, it's just fine. Don't sweat over it. This is not one of
Santoshi's seriously-intended films. For that, please refer to this
wonderful director's "Lajja" or "Halla Bol". And if you are looking for
hardcore gut-spilling action, go to Santoshi's Deol-driven juggernauts
"Ghayal" and "Ghatak".
Come to think of it, PPNH is not even an
all-out zany comedy of errors like Santoshi's 'Andaz Apna Apna'. So
what is it? After painful pondering over the over-punctuated parodic
material in PPNH, I'd say it's a mongrelized mirth machine. A sort of
"Dabangg" mated with Santoshi's last very successful comedy "Ajab Prem
Ki Ghazab Kahani" which evidently taught Santoshi a lesson: farcical
frivolity and lengthy titles translate into big bucks.
"Phata Poster..." gives poster-boy
Shahid Kapoor a custom-built opportunity to get seriously comic. He digs
deep into the very slim plot, ferreting out meager meat from the skimpy
material. I must think that Shahid has a ball doing the droll act for
the doll Ileana d'Cruz who abandons her serious sari-clad audacious
wife's role in "Barfi!" to play the kind of "social worker" who brings a
bad name to all charity work.
Didn't Katrina play a similar busybee's
role in Santoshi's "Ajab Prem..."? Didn't Ranbir do the goofy
Chaplin-meets-Kondke act for the commodious camera in that film? Shahid
seems comfortable doing the irrepressible comic impresario. But he's far
more at home in the more sensible sober scenes he shares with his
screen-mom Padmini Kolhapure, who looks too young to play Shahid's mom.
But then at least her talent is being aired.
Come to think of it - everyone in this
over-the-top comedy seems to be in it for the sake of getting into a
massy mode. The art direction is kitschy. The camera wallows in the
carnival mood. In the endeavour to enroll enthusiasm into the rom-com,
the film succeeds. But be warned: the writing is repetitive. The scenes
all end in exclamation marks and italics... like an essay by a schoolboy
who is out to impress his favourite teacher. The humour jumps out of
the screen like an eager 5-year old brat which must get your attention
at any cost.
If you think Shahid is one of the more
interesting star-actor's of the current generation, then PPNH is a
frenetically fashioned farce fest with excessive energy oozing out of
every saturated pore. Shahid's songs and dances, especially the zanily
unpredictable "Agal bagal" number are the highlight of the
humour-hamper. And that's not such a good thing. Shahid gets to share
camera space with some accomplished actors like Saurabh Shukla, Mukesh
Tiwari, Darshan Jariwala and Sanjay Mishra. And that's a good thing.
At least we are ensured that the slender pretext for laughter is bolstered by hefty actors.
Banner: Tips Music Films
Music: Pritam Chakraborty