The After hrs review: Bol Bachchan

Film: Bol Bachchan
Director: Rohit Shetty
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin, Prachi Desai, Neeraj Vora, Asrani, Krushna Abhishek, Archana Puran Singh
Rating: **
Verdict: Silly fun!

‘When two adults get cosy, younger don’t put nosey!’ booms Prithviraj (Ajay). Well, if you have the courage to stomach dialogues like these — of which there is no dearth — then Bol Bachchan might just make you laugh, albeit at the silliness of it all. No doubt that the film’s inspired by the classic Golmaal, but then Rohit’s lavishly added to it his own Singham-inspired heavy-duty action and his own Golmaal-inspired slapstick humour. All in all, making it a masala comedy!

So, Prithviraj is a pehelwan-type thakur in Ranakpur living with his siter Radhika (Prachi) in a huge palatial house. Impressed with Abbas (Abhishek) after he manages to save a drowning child in temple premises, Prithviraj hires him. But under the circumstances, Abbas is forced to introduce himself as Abhishek Bachchan, and then keep the truth hidden with one lie after another. Helping him out in this is good friend Ravi Shastri (Krushna), whose father (Asrani) is also employed with Prithviraj. Abbas’ sister Sania (Asin), who happens to look like Prithviraj’s dead lover, makes for the romantic angle here. The web of lies woven to protect that one lies from being exposed leads to one humourous situation after another with mothers, and even a look-alike brother Abbas Ali being faked.

While Ajay passes off easily despite his strange accent and hammy English dialogues, it is  Abhishek’s laidback herogiri as Abhishek and his ‘queer twist’ as Abbas which is notable, as he manges to pump in some more humour, especially in the introduction scene of the fake Abbas and his medley of dances that follows. Never mind that the lines between his two characters seem blurred in the rather thanda and unimpressive No Entry inspired climax, that anyways fails to interest on any count. By then you can’t wait for the end credits to roll which with the behind-the-scenes going-ons provides some laughs. Asin and Prachi are ornamental in the going-ons, while Krushna and Archana’s performances seem like extensions from their comedy shows on TV. The action seems forced and is stretched to the max, while the dialogues remain amateurish at their best. Rohit however, does show some restrain in letting it all go OTT, as there was more scope for it. The only redeeming factor that makes it a passable fare are the performances of the two heroes and a treat of an Amitabh Bachchan special song for Bachchan fans.

So, if you are in mood for some mindless massy entertainment, then this golmaal of stories might just work for you, for the rest, rent out the original!