Review: 'Picture Abhi Baaki Hai' is an assault on the senses

Film: Picture Abhi Baaki Hai
Director: Rajnish Thakur
Cast: Suniel Shetty, Udita Goswami, Rajpal Yadav, Om Puri
Rating: ½ a star

You are probably wondering what this movie is and why the title sound so familiar. It made sense when a drunk Shah Rukh Khan dreamily muttered “Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost” in Om Shanti Om, propagating the need for happy endings.

So what does it have to do as a title in this Suniel Shetty-starrer? Well, Shetty plays a small-town film buff that goes to a film school in London. Upon his return, he’s armed with a script based on a real story and dreams of making it into a film on his terms. He shacks up with friend and extra Rajpal Yadav, whose pearls of wisdom include asking Amar to compromise on his story and integrity.

What Amar encounters before and while the making of the film makes for a good excuse to torture audiences for over 2 and a half hours. Producers ranging from sleazy to superstitious to filthy, an expressionless Udita Goswami, a hyperactive Yadav and a foul-mouthed, crotch-grabbing Razzak Khan are enough reasons to avoid Picture Abhi Baaki Hai.

It is riddled with clichés, stereotypes, some very distasteful item numbers and repulsive acting. It employs many out-of-work actors, in seemingly unnecessary roles. Apart from the footage borrowed from cinema’s early days, only Shetty gives the most bearable performance but nothing he does can salvage the film.

A completely pointless exercise, Picture Abhi Baaki Hai is at best an assault on the senses.