NEERAJ VORA SUCCEEDS IN 'HERA PHERI' SEQUEL By Pankaj Shukla - Eye TV India Bureau
Critic's I-view
It happens rarely that a mentor and his protg are pitted against each other at the box office. But the destiny has it and dialogue writer of many hit films like 'Rangeela', 'Hera Pheri', 'Garam Masala' and 'Chup Chup Ke' faces his toughest battle at box office against none other than director of the last three mentioned films. Meet Neeraj Vora, an erstwhile scriptwriter of films like 'Ajnabee', 'Josh', 'Kuchh Na Kaho' and storywriter of 'Badshah', 'Chori Chori Chup Ke Chup Ke ' and 'Hulchul' who made his debut as a director six years back with 'Khiladi 420'.
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And, now he strikes back at box office with a film that was originally meant to be directed by Priyadarshan (director of the other film 'Chup Ke Chup Ke') released this Friday. But, three cheers for Neeraj Vora who has not only faced the big challenge to meet with his mentor in comedy but also emerge a winner prima facie with his second outing as director. 'Phir Hera Pheri' is sequel to Priyan's 'Hera Pheri' that actually gave new lease of life to situational comedies and almost put a full stop on the slapstick comedies that were favor of the film industry at a time when Govinda ruled the box office.
Priyan established a trend where stars were just part of the story and it was the story that was the super star. Neeraj Vora is an honest follower of the trend in 'Phir Hera Pheri', and it is only because of these formulae that it gets a wholehearted applause from the audience on the first day's first show. Neeraj Vora sticks honestly to the characters of its prequel and that makes the film work; Bipasha Basu's presence is an added glamour for the sequel though.
'Phir Hera Pheri' starts from where characters of its prequel had left us. Voice over in none other than Nana Patekar's sets the mood in the beginning and works as a recap. This also tells the story of the past in brief. 'Hera Pheri' ends with its three main characters -- Raju (Akshay Kumar), Babu Rao (Paresh Rawal) and Shyam (Suniel Shetty) getting huge money to start life afresh. Now, in 'Phir Hera Pheri' we meet Raju, Babu Rao and Shyam again with this money who are trying to revive thier fortune. While Babu Rao and Shyam have their own plans to use this money, Raju has a shortcut to become richer.
He bumped in with a chit fund company whose caretaker (Bipasha Basu) promises him to turn a billionaire overnight. But for this he needs a minimum of ten million rupees. Raju succeeds in influencing Babu Rao and Shyam and take their money. He takes some money from a small time goon (Rajpal Yadav) and the rest he collects by mortgaging their (joint) bungalow with a rich man. But soon the three come to know that there is no good fortune waiting for them and they have been cheated. The street goon is being chased by the gangster (Sharat Saxena) who has lent money to him and now this chap is after their lives. The chaos keep on building up until the climax turns out to be the most hilarious portion of the film.
Taking off from a pre-decided crux and still maintaining the flight is not an easy task to attain. Neeraj Vora needs to be commended for this effort. Next, he proves his worth by assembling a good gang of film stars to act in a movie that is a sequel to a super hit film. Besides, maintaining the tempo of a film in its sequel is not an easy task. Sequels are soon going to be the fashion after 'Phir Hera Pheri' breaking the jinx and Neeraj Vora gets all the support from his cast and crew for this difficult task.
The common factor in 'Phir Hera Pheri' and 'Chup Chup Ke' is its music composer apart from two lead actors (Paresh Rawal and Suniel Shetty and some others). Himesh Reshammiya proves his versatility by keeping away from repeating himself. Song picturised on Akshay and Rimi Sen may not have been woven well in the script, but it remains with you even after leaving the cinema hall. Neeraj also gets good support from his cinematographer Velraj, choreographer Ganesh Acharya and editor Diwakar Bhosle. Abbas Ali Moghul needs separate mention for creating interesting duals and fights that boost the spirit of the film.
Among actors, once again Akshay, Paresh and Suniel do their best to match the timing. Neeraj Vora has stayed away from changing anything of their characters from the prequel and it helps in getting in the groove of the film for those who have seen 'Hera Pheri'. The happening may seem losing post-interval because of lots of characters thrown in one after the other, but the film manages to keep afloat till the end and the climax makes people forget the discrepancies. Rajpal Yadav once again proves as a helping tool for uplifting the tempo of the story.
After a long time, Sharat Saxena manages to get a substantial role. Johny Lever looks repetitive whereas Suresh Menon and Sunil Pal need to work a lot for thier big screen ventures. Ladies of the lot -- Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen -- don't have much to do in this comic fare but their presence serves as a breather. On the whole, this masala flick has the guts to survive at the box office and will prove beneficial for its makers and exhibitors.
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