Go Goa Gone Reviews! (member reviews start pg 10) - Page 6

Director: Krishna DK, Raj Nidimoru Cast: Vir Das, Kunal Khemu, Anand Tiwari, Puja Gupta, Saif Ali Khan

Horror and humour are two diverse genres andBollywood has often confused one with the other, what with horror films turning out to be unintentionally funny and comedy films ending up being horrific experiences. So when a film attempts to bring together these two genres, it becomes tricky business. Moreover for Bollywood horror that has largely been infested with the archetypal aatmas, zombies are still a new species. Fortunately Go Goa Gone skillfully employs the zombieand is able to do proper justice to its horror-comedy genre.

Like most foreign zombie flicks, the plot is about a group stranded on an isolated island, liberally infested with blood-thirsty zombies. Hardik (Kunal Khemu) and Luv (Vir Das) tag along with their roommate, Bunny (Anand Tiwari) to a Goa trip. Luna (Puja Gupta) leads them to a rave party organized by Russian drug mafia on an abandoned island. A drug consumed by most of the partying crowd mutates them into a zombie overnight. As the quartet is attacked by these zombies on the island, Boris (Saif Ali Khan) comes to their rescue as the drug-lord cum zombie hunter.

Go Goa Gone opens with a 90s video footage of Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi replicating Michael Jackson's legendary Thriller dance and this incidentally was also India's first introduction to zombies. The spoofy video boasts of both horror and humour and thereby the film sets its tone and treatment correct. Writer-director Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru clearly know that entertaining audience is no funny business and take their jobs quite seriously. So all your primal fears are put to rest as the core component of the film, zombies, which they introduce in abundance, is thankfully neither corny nor tacky. Everything from their makeup, mannerisms to body language meets the international standards set by the already popular foreign films in the genre.

And while horror and humour go hand-in-hand in the film, the makers ensure they don't mix up the genres, which essentially is the biggest accomplishment of the storytelling. This means the zombies continue to be creepy creatures and don't add unintentional humour to the film. The comedy only evolves out of the zany human characters, their crazy camaraderie and the outlandish situations they fall into. The dialogues penned by Sita Menon and Raja Sen largely contribute to the humour quotient. The conversations are casual, coarse yet cool and so characteristic of contemporary youth, thereby making it more real and relatable. To its merit, the film is blessed with some of the most hilarious lines in a long, long time.

Thanks to its wholesome and incessant comedy value, you don't mind the zombies being inducted marginally late in the narrative. The screenplay attempts to invoke humour in almost every scene and fortunately the efforts are not forced. Also while both Hardik and Luv, exemplifying the distinctive and desperate male species, vie for Luna's (the only female on the island) attention, mercifully the narrative steers away from resorting to a full-blown romance track. Moreover the film also tries to kill cliches like sidelining the side-character Bunny, a trap that most films would tend to fall for.

Despite the setting being restricted within the island and the only objective of the humans there being to either escape or execute the zombies, the story doesn't get repetitive or monotonous. The zombies do contribute to thrills and chills but aren't of the variety that would spook you beyond the film. That's particularly because the film is not designed as a scare-fest and its primary aim is to make you laugh over frightening you. And after an overdose of drugs, booze and lust, the film rightfully tries to rinse off its sins by resetting the moral compass of its characters. While getting into the ethical zone might seem perilous for a lighthearted youth-centric film, this one manages to pass on the message without getting preachy.

Technically, the makeup deserves a special mention. The cinematography is decent and the racy background score perfectly complements the scenes. Sachin-Jigar's musical score is unusual, peppy and youthful.

The entire male cast is blessed with a flair for comedy and equally great comic timings. Vir Dasand Kunal Khemu are hilarious characters and share perfect comic chemistry. The underrated Anand Tiwari, as their tame companion, is as much funny, and thankfully never sidelined. Saif Ali Khan as the stylized Delhi-born Russian-accented zombie-hunter is an amusing character.Puja Gupta adds the glamour and hotness quotient as the only female in this film.

Watch Go Goa Gone and die of laughing!

Verdict: Very Good

B.O. update: 'Go Goa Gone', 'Gippi' dependent on evening/night shows