'Hulchul'

Article Updated 27 November, 2004 01:46:18 AM IST

'Hulchul'

This is a thorough entertainer that will have the viewers saying, 'Paisa Vasool' while coming out of the theatres, especially after the major disappointments in the Diwali week. 'Hulchul' once again proves Priyan's brilliant sense of humour and even races past his earlier hits, 'Hera Pheri' and 'Hungama'. He has thrown logic to the winds and set sail. So a word of caution for the viewers - leave your brains behind at home while watching it. Treat it like you would a Bollywood masala film and you will not be disappointed at all!

'Hulchul' is about two warring families. Don't worry it bears no resemblance to Priyan's earlier 'Doli Sajake Rakhna'. Angaarchand (Amrish Puri) and his four sons (Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Arbaaz Khan, and Akshaye Khanna) have vowed to stay away from women. Later it is divulged that it has to do with a past family tragedy. It is also revealed that the reason for the feud between Angaarchand and Lakshmidevi's (Lakshmi of 'Julie' fame) family is a woman (Lakshmidevi's daughter). Lakshmidevi is looking for revenge on Angaarchand and his family. As luck would have it, Angaarchand's youngest son, Jai (Akshaye Khanna), and Lakshmidevi's grand-daughter, Anjali (Kareena Kapoor), are studying in the same college. Thankfully there is no campus romping around a la Karan Johar style.

For obvious reasons, Jai and Anjali pretend to fall in love with each other after their initial rivalry. Lucky (Arshad Warsi) , who is Jai's best friend acts as a mediator. It wouldn't be a Hindi film if Jai and Anjali didn't actually fall in love. But they are aware of their family feud proving to be a major hurdle in the way of their love. How they overcome this forms the crux of the film. If this sounds like just another love story then it isn't! Here comes the director's expertise. He has given it a different twist altogether making it not just a love story but also a family feud and war within families. Love triumphs in the end but in a very non-cliched manner.

Although the film is loud in the climax, like it was in 'Hungama', and has a clear influence of a South entertainer, it will go well with the masses. The mangalsutra scene when everyone is trying to get their hands on it is hilarious. There are so many other scenes that are truly funny but it's not possible to mention them all. The initial scenes between Kareena and Akshaye before they actually fall in love, scenes between Akshaye and Arshad Warsi, and also the duo's interactions with Akshaye's brothers bring forth peals of laughter from the audience. Arshad dominates the comedy track in the first half while Paresh Rawal takes over in the second half. This reminds us of the scene in which Akshaye and Arshad unearth Paresh Rawal's wife of seven years, a well-guarded secret. The entire track in which Rawal tries to convince his other two brothers and his father that he is single is hilarious too. One can keep citing the various funny scenes in the film.

But this is not to say that the film does not have its down side. The pace slackens a bit in the last half hour before the climax when Jai and Anjali's love story is out in the open. Even the last song could have been down away with. But the film again picks up and there are more funny moments. Now for the performances. Paresh Rawal is brilliant as usual although he shares the comedy track with Arshad Warsi and Akshaye Khanna. Akshaye displays a superb comic timing. He emotes well as usual, whether it is being funny or getting emotional. His body movements while dancing are really good. Arshad Warsi is awesome. He even steals a march over Paresh Rawal. Kareena Kapoor looks lovely and delivers a competent performance although she doesn't have much to do in the second half. Amrish Puri is good as usual. Lakshmi and Farha's comeback to the silver screen is impressive. Of the supporting cast, Suniel Shetty and Manoj Joshi stand out. The rest are adequate. The music is just about okay. The two songs that stand out are 'Dekho Zara Dekho' and 'Rafta Rafta'. Jeeva's cinematography is excellent. Action is okay.

Rating: ****

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