Cast – Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Tabu, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Parineeti Chopra, Prakash Raj, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Kunal Kemmu, Mukesh Tiwari, Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra
- Directed by – Rohit Shetty
- Produced by – Rohit Shetty, Sangeeta Ahir
- Screenplay by – Yunus Sajawal
- Dialogues by – Sajid Samji, Farhad Samji
- Music by – S. Thaman, Amaal Mallik, Lijo George, Dj Chetas
- Cinematography – Jomon T John
- Edited by – Bunty Nagi
- Production House – Rohit Shetty Productions, Reliance Entertainment, Mangal Murti Films
- Genre – Comedy
- Duration – 2 hours 31 minutes
Golmaal is one of the few Indian movie franchises to come up with a fourth installment. Let us, however, take a moment to remember the 1979 classic comedy starring Utpal Dutt and Amol Palekar. This Hrishikesh Mukherjee film never goes out of style and avid film buffs like us keep coming back to it. If Rohit Shetty named his films after the cult comedy, he has deeply disappointed us. The first film in the series was tolerably funny and watchable and the other two only served to give us bad headaches. The fourth edition, Golmaal Again, is another attempt to repackage a poor attempt at comedy in a fresh new setting giving it the semblance of a plot.
Plot –
The Go L Ma L are back. Confused? We’re referring to Gopal (Ajay), Lucky (Tusshar), Madhav (Arshad), and Laxman (both Kunal and Shreyas) – the whacky, loud gang is back and this time they have chosen the breathtaking beauty of Ooty and Cunoor to play out their jumping-jack-style humour. The five grow up in an orphanage but go their own ways. The macho Devgn bashes up the goons but is also a closet coward who is scared of ghosts. The five reunite as adults. Just as they manage to come together to stay in a sprawling, pretentiously done up bunglow that turns out to be haunted. Also living there are Ana (Tabu) and Khushi (Parineeti). The rest of the plot is one huge mess with the five protagonists and librarian-ghostbuster Tabu trying all possible antics to save the orphanage from the bad guys (Neil Nitin Mukesh and Prakash Raj) and mollify the ghostly presence as well. And Nana, of course!
Did we mention that the plot (if at all this can be called one) is wafer thin?
Review –
The first thing that Rohit Shetty needs to learn about filmmaking is this – “Too many chefs spoil the broth; too many comedians kill the humour”. Add to the 5 leading men are versatile comedians Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, and Mukesh Tiwari. It is high time Tushaar Kapoor consider retirement. The serene Tabu is the only elevating factor. Parineeti and her one costume role too are all too predictable, all too trite. Prakash Raj and Neil Nitin Mukesh fail to scare us and the film descends into one large confusing mess. The hackneyed, oft-repeated plot makes us wish we could rush the climax.
The only redeeming factor of Golmaal Again is the beauty of Ooty. And that too stings our eyes with the colour corrected cinematography. Bright neons replace the greens and pinks and we end up wondering how the director managed to replace natural beauty with garish paint jobs. But perhaps Shetty decided to take a long nap during the making of the film. Save a few lines aptly delivered, Golmaal Again fails to elicit too many laughs. The editor too seems to have forgotten all about this project thanks to the long time spent in production.
There is not much to say about the music either. Except for Golmaal Title Track (by Shekhar Ravjiani and Vishal Dadlani) the rest are forgettable numbers. The rehashed 90s songs too fail to impress.
To paraphrase Tabu’s favourite line from the film Golmaal Again is “No Logic, No Magic Either”.
What’s Good, What’s Bad?
Tabu is eminently watchable, Devgn’s physique is admirable, and Johnny Lever is funny. The only other reason you may want to watch Golmaal Again is for the stunning locations the film has been shot at. Just about everything else is a letdown.
Our Verdict –
There is a lot to do over the Diwali weekend. Visit friends and family; go for a long drive away from the city smog; indulge in a start-of-winter picnic. Do not waste your time and money on Golmaal. Unless you have kids that will laugh at inane ghost jokes and a mass of swirling books. Or perhaps, you could us a long snooze.
Rating – 2 ½ *
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