Review: '4084' is bad arithmetic

Film: 4084 (Chaalis Chaurasi)
Director: Hriday Shetty
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni, Kay Kay Menon, Ravi Kissen
Rating: **

Going by the posters, one would assume 4084 was some sort of cop-road-trip movie which promises to be fun. As the film  starts, you assume you are looking at a bunch of corrupt cops out to have a good time and obviously you expect a twist. The twist, we know has arrived, when we see handycam shots of each of the protagonists introducing themselves in a  mundane fashion.

The narrative lurches forward aided by dialogue that is sometimes funny, but it doesn’t quite add up to an entertaining plot. As Sir (Shah), Shakti (Kissen), Bobby (Kulkarni) and Pinto (Menon) provide us their backstories, some of which seem quite irrelevant to the plot. We continue to wonder why the film is called 4084 in the first place.

At this point the director decides that it’s time to bring in a heist, and our protagonists get down to hatching a plot promptly. What brought them together? Gawdwonlyknows. The title becomes relevant when the foursome steal a van to pull off a robbery. Obviously, nothing goes as per their plan and the director makes feeble attempts to bring in humour and action. At this point I giggle at the gunfights on screen. They are quite reminiscent of GI Joe fights we cousins had as five year olds.

4084 gives you a heavy sense of deja vu and one wonders if Hriday Shetty is just making a version 2.0 of his directorial debut Plan. Not that it was a memorable film, but it ran along the same lines — four protagonists trying to make big bucks. Of course, the director has at his disposable some of the finest actors in the industry and one expects that at some point he will get his act together. But by the time thethe first half ends, it takes all your hopes down with it.

The actors, with the exception of Ravi Kissen, are delightful and work within the weak framework of this film to deliver enjoyable performances. It is indeed a shame that their half baked characters cripple them from delivering anything memorable. The film gets into a bhelpuri mode with a comical, action-packed, climax and you sense a faint headache and reach for your phone to check just how many more minutes until you can be free of this nonsensical, jarring film. You can’t help but wonder if Priyadarshan took over the direction for the climax sequence.

To sum up 4084 only adds up to be a forgettable experience and you feel cheated because the director has wasted a talented cast and missed a fantastic opportunity to create a film that would be paisa vasool. Give this one a miss for the sake of your sanity.