Posted:
Boodunnit
36 China Town * *
Dir: Abbas-Mustan
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor
What's it about: The thriller specialists, Abbas-Mustan, return with what they're best at — a murder mystery. Sonia (Isha) lives in a place called China Town, in Goa, and runs a casino called Hollywood.
When her son goes missing, she puts out an advertisement offering a cash reward of Rs 25 lakh to anyone who can locate her son. Raj (Shahid), a struggling actor, and runaway bride, Priya (Kareena) meet the kid by chance and agree to become partners in the booty.
But when they finally reach Sonia's mansion late at night, they find her dead. Enter the suave police inspector (Akshaye) who's hell bent on solving the case.
Nobody is spared; everyone's a suspect in this whodunnit including other characters like Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Tanaaz Curim, Payal Rohatgi and Upen Patel. And as the film unravels, the needle of suspicion keeps shifting from one to the other.
What's hot: The film has been shot excellently; it's got a crisp and clean look. Some of the songs are catchy (Himesh Reshmmiya in form again) and though most of them are appealing, they act as roadblocks to the script.
The other two couples, Paresh-Payal (look out for the scene where Paresh and Upen come out of the bathroom) and Johnny-Tanaaz (the train sequence when they're trying to get rid of the body) — bring some comic relief. Akshaye Khanna is excellent as the cop. The Shahid-Kareena pair looks fresh and they are both in their elements.
The performances are excellent all around, but the cast is bogged down by a predictable story.
Upen Patel as Rocky looks good but needs some fine-tuning.
What's not: Here's a genre that Abbas-Mustan usually excel in but this time they don't quite get it right. For one, the film should've had fewer songs. Just when the audience gets eager for the suspense to be unraveled, there's a song.
At that point you don't really want to see a couple cavorting on some beach. This was supposed to an edge-of-the-seat thriller but it sadly lacks all the thrills.
The dialogues range from cheesy to flaky — hear this one, "Rocky ke paas mardon ke liye time nahin." Also the climax is a huge letdown and just not what you would expect from Abbas-Mustan.
What's that: "Is your father a terrorist? Why? Because you are a sex bomb." Now this PJ wasn't funny even in Subhash Ghai's just-released film Shaadi Se Pehle. So what was the point in repeating it in this one as well?
And what's behind shooting the film abroad and labelling it Mumbai and Goa? Why not just call it what it is? The screen reads Mumbai and then shows deserts, lush mountains and lakes… Which part of Mumbai is this?
What to do: A few stirring moments and a handful of jokes — watch this at your own risk.
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| A still from 36 China Town |
Dir: Abbas-Mustan
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor
What's it about: The thriller specialists, Abbas-Mustan, return with what they're best at — a murder mystery. Sonia (Isha) lives in a place called China Town, in Goa, and runs a casino called Hollywood.
When her son goes missing, she puts out an advertisement offering a cash reward of Rs 25 lakh to anyone who can locate her son. Raj (Shahid), a struggling actor, and runaway bride, Priya (Kareena) meet the kid by chance and agree to become partners in the booty.
But when they finally reach Sonia's mansion late at night, they find her dead. Enter the suave police inspector (Akshaye) who's hell bent on solving the case.
Nobody is spared; everyone's a suspect in this whodunnit including other characters like Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Tanaaz Curim, Payal Rohatgi and Upen Patel. And as the film unravels, the needle of suspicion keeps shifting from one to the other.
What's hot: The film has been shot excellently; it's got a crisp and clean look. Some of the songs are catchy (Himesh Reshmmiya in form again) and though most of them are appealing, they act as roadblocks to the script.
The other two couples, Paresh-Payal (look out for the scene where Paresh and Upen come out of the bathroom) and Johnny-Tanaaz (the train sequence when they're trying to get rid of the body) — bring some comic relief. Akshaye Khanna is excellent as the cop. The Shahid-Kareena pair looks fresh and they are both in their elements.
The performances are excellent all around, but the cast is bogged down by a predictable story.
Upen Patel as Rocky looks good but needs some fine-tuning.
What's not: Here's a genre that Abbas-Mustan usually excel in but this time they don't quite get it right. For one, the film should've had fewer songs. Just when the audience gets eager for the suspense to be unraveled, there's a song.
At that point you don't really want to see a couple cavorting on some beach. This was supposed to an edge-of-the-seat thriller but it sadly lacks all the thrills.
The dialogues range from cheesy to flaky — hear this one, "Rocky ke paas mardon ke liye time nahin." Also the climax is a huge letdown and just not what you would expect from Abbas-Mustan.
What's that: "Is your father a terrorist? Why? Because you are a sex bomb." Now this PJ wasn't funny even in Subhash Ghai's just-released film Shaadi Se Pehle. So what was the point in repeating it in this one as well?
And what's behind shooting the film abroad and labelling it Mumbai and Goa? Why not just call it what it is? The screen reads Mumbai and then shows deserts, lush mountains and lakes… Which part of Mumbai is this?
What to do: A few stirring moments and a handful of jokes — watch this at your own risk.
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