Govinda Naam Mera Is A Lot Of Fun

Govinda Naam Mera (Disney+Hotstar)

Rating:*** ½

 Just for the  pleasure of watching Vicky Kaushal and Kiara Advani play a couple  of  losers, Govinda Naam Mera  is worth a dekko.Writer-director  Shashank Khaitan displays a funnybone even when the writing gets overly zonked-out. There is  an  inherent sense  of fun intended in the  naggingly crazy goings-on that make us  laugh out loud  even when we don’t want to.

Kaushal and Advani are a  riot as  a couple  of  struggling choreographers . One  of  the  high points in  the  comedy  is the trashy song  Pappi jhappi where Kaushal and Kiara just let themselves  go. It is  meant to be an  awful  song, sung by a doped out zero-talent son  of  a politician . Hats  off to the Meet  Bros for composing an appropriately awful song . Most artistes when asked to project mediocrity can’t get it  right.They don’t know how to  stop being mediocre long enough  to  portray it.

As a  film about born losers  Govinda Naam Mera gets it right most of the  time except when  the plot seems over-stuffed  with  incidents. There  was  no need to  pull  out  all the  over-the-top  buoyancy  all at once just to keep the  proceedings non-stop perky.

Relax. It’s okay to breathe once in a  while. We aren’t going anywhere, although  the characters  are  constantly  in a hurry.There are  no  “normal” characters here. Everyone shrieks to be heard. Bhumi Pednekar the hardest.She seems to have optimum fun playing the abusive  wife, bullying Vicky Kaushal, laughing at his dancing.Can’t blame  her.Kaushal’s dancing is  really funny. And  I  don’t think it’s intentional.  Every actor  gets the point.

Renuka Shahane as  an  imposter on a wheelchair  lets herself go as  never before. I am not sure  if that’s a good thing or not.

Writing  a film as zany as this cannot be easy. Shashank  Khaitan  decided to have fun with his  actors who in turn decided to have  fun with their characters. Whether we plunge into this relentless  raga  of revelry or not depends entirely on how willing we are to surrender  to the  madness.

  Those  who are in it for  unquestioning fun, this  film delivers. For those who  watch films for  serious mayhem, wait for  the  next Anurag Kashyap  film.