It’s raining remakes! RANGREZZ. HIMMATWALA. Now CHASHME BADDOOR. I’ve often been asked, is there a paucity of ideas in Bollywood? Why do dream merchants opt for remakes? Why not inventive concepts? Additionally, a lot of cineastes strongly feel classics should not be tampered with. For, rarely has a remake surpassed the original, in terms of content. In the process, those opting for remakes have lost credibility when comparisons are made…
Now David Dhawan steps into the revered territory with CHASHME BADDOOR, a film attempted by Sai Paranjpye more than three decades ago. CHASHME BADDOOR is loved for its simplistic plot, wittiness and slice of life realism. A story of three friends who fall in love with the same girl and the confusion that ensues… Sure, David borrows from the original, but the humor in his version is in your face, over the top, flamboyant… it’s simply wild, when you compare it with Sai’s version. Does it mean it’s more entertaining or a hodgepodge of the cult classic? Let’s analyse…
CHASHME BADDOOR narrates the story of three friends [Ali Zafar, Siddharth, Divyendu Sharma], who attempt to woo the same girl [Taapsee Pannu]. While the girl sets her sights on one of the guys, the remaining two go on an overdrive to tear the love birds apart.
At the very outset, let me make it clear that David’s adaptation is shades different from Sai’s version. As different as chalk and cheese. As different as Rohit Shetty’s BOL BACHCHAN was from its original source, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s GOL MAAL. Like I stated at the outset, this one’s over the top, loud and very ‘David Dhawanish’, if one can use this terminology. But to give the credit where it’s due, it’s thoroughly engaging and entertaining.
David has made a career out of comedies and at a point of time, was referred to as the successor to Manmohan Desai thanks to the dollops of entertainment he offered in his movies. With CHASHME BADDOOR, David steps into the comfort zone yet again. There’s no denying that the humour he injects in this one is not aimed at the purists, but the spectator of today, who may not be as complaining purely because of the laughs and entertainment it has to offer.
Besides, David ensures that there’s hardly any dull moment in the present-day adaptation. He executes the film with a certain ease, opting for amusing punch lines, wild situations and mad and crazy episodes. The game of one-upmanship that was evident in his earlier works, namely DEEWANA MASTANA [Anil Kapoor, Govinda fighting for Juhi Chawla’s attention] and MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGE [Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar’s attempts to impress Priyanka Chopra] is very evident in CHASHME BADDOOR as well. The battle of wits is enjoyable for sure.
But there are times when certain episodes appear prolonged and the jokes fall flat. The intent of making you laugh does not come across as strongly in few portions. Besides, the soundtrack is absolutely in sync with the content, but the placement of songs could be more appropriate. However, the usage of popular songs in the flashback portions is refreshingly different.
Sajid-Farhad’s dialogue are aimed at evoking laughs and they serve the purpose. The one-liners, especially those delivered by Siddharth and Divyendu, are hilarious. Cinematography [Sanjay F. Gupta] captures the colourful setting well.
Now to the performances! Ali Zafar gives a wonderful account of himself as he lights up every sequence he features in. Siddharth does a complete turnaround from the roles he has portrayed in Hindi films [RANG DE BASANTI, STRIKER], handling his part with gusto. Divyendu Sharma, who debuted in PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA, too does an about-turn this time. He slips into his part most effortlessly. Taapsee Pannu, who makes her debut in Hindi movies after acting in South Indian language movies, is vivacious and confident.
Rishi Kapoor gets a complete makeover in CHASHME BADDOOR and he’s damn adorable in sequences with Lillete. Anupam Kher lets himself go completely and is absolutely wild in dual roles. Lillete Dubey is super, while Bharti Achrekar [as Taapsee’s grand-mom] is loveable. Ayaz Khan has nothing much to do.
On the whole, CHASHME BADDOOR encompasses the spirit of the original, but has been customised to entice the present-day spectators. An entertainer with dollops of humour and wild situations thrown in, this one’s a laugh-riot that should not be missed!
Tags: Ali Zafar Chashme Baddoor David Dhawan Divyendu Sharma Reviews Siddharth Taapsee Pannu Taran Adarsh
Review by Sukanya Verma
David Dhawan’s Chashme Baddoor is an unnecessary remake,
What’s the point of a remake?
Either a) a filmmaker wants to recreate the success of the original or b) wants to better it so that it gets the due it never did or c) because he wants to remind the audience its forgotten virtues.
But after watching David Dhawan’s remake of Sai Paranjpye’s 1981 classic, I have come up with a few more alternatives, which certainly apply on Chashme Baddoor — Bollywood is lazy, out of ideas and so darn cocky. So while filmmakers have no qualms about ripping or remaking verified hits, they cannot resist this urge to improvise and show their true calibre in the process.
Only last week, Sajid Khan [ Images ] came out with Himmatwala, also a remake, where the source is unapologetically pedestrian and so it’s hardly surprising if its reproduction is even shoddier. Moreover, its exaggerated tone resonates with Khan’s sensibilities.
Dhawan has no excuse. Paranjpye’s film is a master class in deft writing, the manner in which she seamlessly combines buddy humour and young romance while noting the minute but colourful details that add zing to day-to-day life and casual conversations. Her artistry lies in making all those extensive inputs appear so deceptively simple.
When a director has access to this much imagination, he ought to show a lot more responsibility than Dhawan does. Loud in sight, sound and sense, this Chashme Battering is an assault to the original with its line-up of gaudy aesthetics (think Rohit Shetty’s All The Best), actors hamming to the hilt in boxers and ghastly, GHASTLY writing.
The beating begins from the word go. In the first scene itself, one gets a fair idea of the level of competence to expect after Omi (Divyendu Sharma) recites this poem: Kashmir [ Images ] na koi le sakta hai. Kashmir na koi de sakta hai. Kashmir mein sirf teen din, do raat ka package ho sakta hai. Joke? Erm.
Cut to Siddharth’s Jai nearly molesting a woman at an audition. Joke? He’s method acting.
And then there’s Seema (Taapsee Pannu), thank god they renamed Deepti Naval [ Images ]’s character, an annoying Bollywood stereotype who throws needless tantrums, smiles vacuously and dresses up like Tennis Barbie.
The setting has shifted from Delhi [ Images ] to Goa [ Images ] and the boys are jobless as ever and find a common ‘shikaar’ in Seema but expectedly get thrashed — her beagle bites Omi’s butt, her grandmother (Bharti Achrekar) whips the life out of Jai.
Then there’s Mr Nice Guy (wearing a different set of glasses in every few scenes) Siddharth (Ali Zafar [ Images ]) who’s, frankly, no better than his chums. When not dancing about Goa with his cronies to bombastic songs (Sajid-Wajid), this unemployed bloke meets prospective brides on his mother’s insistence.
Somewhere in this wishy-washy scheme of things, Dhawan finds the space (and gall) to fit in a forced romance between a certain Joseph (Rishi Kapoor [ Images ]) and Josephine (Lilette Dubey) — yes, the done-to-death gag that aspires to tickle over the lovey-dovey interactions of an elderly duo. Love sees no age ‘only courage, bondage, cleavage and marriage,’ we are told.
It’s a sad day at the movies when the iconic Chamko scene is butchered while these two fine actors embarrass themselves. I never thought I’d say this but Rishi Kapoor, what were you thinking? And Lilette Dubey, she is now officially the brand ambassador of the single, sexy, sophisticated spinster club with her umpteenth portrayal of the same.
If the outcome of a remake is to affront everything the original represents then WHY ON EARTH call it Chashme Baddoor? Why not simply write your own story about three random friends, name it something like Teen Tigada Kaam Bigada and then include every Tom, Dick, Joseph, Josephine, Beagle, Fattu, Gattu as you please?
To be fair, even though I was not too kicked about the remake, I tried not to be prejudiced reminding myself of one of Dhawan’s cleanest films — Hero No 1. The latter too, took unabashed inspiration from another beloved classic (Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi) and the final product was pretty decent. Guess Govinda [ Images ] isn’t given enough credit for making it work.
Neither of the young guys in Chashme Baddoor have his timing or verve. Siddharth plays Ravi Baswani like Shakti Kapoor [ Images ]. His enthusiasm oscillates between funny and phony. Like those badly written shers he mouths, Sharma, too, never takes off. Zafar is notches down from his over-the-top act in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan but a goofy smile and an on-screen chemistry with the heroine that screams ‘phoos’ does nothing for him.
Besides that one pre-interval scene, most of their antics and brotherhood looks as genuine as Bharti Achrekar’s more salt, less pepper wig. Achrekar, god bless her shrieking lungs, is caricatured after Salman Khan [ Images ]’s slap-launching mom in Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya.
Dhawan, in fact, references a whole lot of his films here. From a framed photo of Anupam Kher [ Images ] in his armyman getup in Shola Aur Shabnam, to the cast romping about What is mobile number (Haseena Maan Jayegi) and Tu tu tu tara (Bol Radha Bol).
Also, be prepared to witness one of the most yawn-inducing parodies of Saajan’s Dekha hai pehli baar. The original’s director Lawrence D’Souza did a far superior job of spoofing old Hindi songs picturised on Anupam Kher and Madhuri Dixit [ Images ] in Dil Tera Aashiq [ Images ].
Quoting the late film critic Roger Ebert from his review of the Total Recall remake, ‘It never touched me emotionally, though, the way the 1990 (1981 in this case) film did, and strictly speaking, isn’t necessary.’
Unnecessary is right. During one of the songs, I saw a board that reads, ‘Please don’t touch artefacts.’ I rest my case.
Rating: 1 and Half.
https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-the-new-chashme-baddoor-is-awful/20130405.htm