Arjun Patiala
Starring: Diljit Dosanjh,Kriti Sanon,Varun Sharma
Directed by Rohit Jugraj
Rating: ***(3 stars)
There is plenty that is wrong with this ostensible comedy. But somehow Diljit Dosanjh playing a goofy cop determined to rid his ilaaka of all crime and criminals, makes it all seem right even when the script(provided it ever existed) goes horribly askew.
Director Rohit Jugraj has had considerable experience in Punjabi films with Dosanjh. In Hindi, the Punjabi flavour gets tediously diluted rendering many of the jokes not only feeble but also fatuous.
What works is Dosanjh’s equation with his co-star Sanon. She plays a brassy bossy loud-mouthed teevee anchor, the kind we do know of and roll our eyes about .And she enjoys jabbering into the void that’s created by this film’s hairline plot. Whenever the lead pair comes together there is some kind of a crackling chemistry(at least that’s what I thought it was, unless it’s flatulence) ill-defined and unsupported by the too-clever-for-its-own-good script which takes potshots at the very conventions of a rom-com that it embraces .
By the time Sunny Leone(yes , she’s in it too! ) shows up at Diljit’s thana speaking breathlessly in her own voice(yes, her OWN voice and not dubbed!) about her beauty parlour which she wants our khaki-clad hero to rescue from goons, we are placed in a state of giggly trance, the kind that occurs when you drink too much bhangduring Holi and you are laughing at the stupid jokes being cracked, not because they are funny but because they’re trying to be funny.
Varun Sharma too has some funny moments with Diljit. But then the babyface always works in any situation, no matter how desperate.
Speaking of being funny, that actor par excellence Mohabbat Zeeshan Ayyub has for once forsaken his serious politically motivated image to play an out-and-out childlike psychopath called Sakool who is ruthless and risible at the same time.But the usually-ediying Ronit Roy playing a zonked-out senior cop is wasted by a script that seems to rely almost wholly on the actors’ ability to improvise.
What was the need to format the screenplay as film-within-a-film? I mean, isn’t that sort of conceit a bit too much for a feather-light comedy to carry, unless the director wanted to bring in Pankaj Tripathy anyhow as a prospective producer who freaks out with joy on hearing the story that we see unfold.Alas, we are unable to share Pankaj’s excitement.
I think the actors got the point. That there is no point. If it wasn’t for Diljit Dosanjh Arjun Patiala wouldn’t be worth a mention.
Ram Gopal Varma refuses to take back his words regarding singer Sukhwinder’s hand in the composing … Read More
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta and actor Pratik Gandhi have so far collaborated for the game-changing OTT-defining… Read More
It’s like a dream come true.Like Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore’s progenies coming together. Once… Read More
Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies was never meant to be a blockbuster. The film has completed 50… Read More
The new version of the Ramayan directed by Nitesh Tiwari, stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama,… Read More
There is no one quite like Aamir Khan. Anything he does makes news even without… Read More
Leave a Comment