Movie Review

Rating :

Verdict : Good subject, good performances but weak execution

Actors Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan, who earlier had given the critically acclaimed superhit ‘The Dirty Picture’, team up again to try their luck with comedy for the first time with Raj Kumar Gupta’s ‘Ghanchakkar’. After helming critically acclaimed thrillers like “Aamir” and “No One Killed Jessica”, Raj Kumar is back with this third film which is also his first comic venture. We brings you an exclusive review on ‘Ghanchakkar’ and so read on to know whether the movie manages to tickle the viewers’ funny bone!

Story :-

Sanjay Athray (Emraan Hashmi) is a Maharashtrian con-man who is married to a loud over-the-top Punjaban Neetu (Vidya Balan). Just when Sanjay and Neetu decide to quit a life of crime and focus on leading a respectable life, Sanjay gets an offer to carry out the last robbery of his life which in turn will guarantee his secure future.

After thinking seriously about this proposition, he along with two of his partners-in-crime robs a bank and the trio goes separate ways with an agreement to meet after three months and distribute the money.

This is where the twist in the tale comes in when Sanjay accidentally loses his memory and cannot remember where he has hidden the loot from the bank.

Has Sanjay really lost his memory or is he just lying to his partners in order to keep all the stolen money? What problems will he face while trying to search for the money? The answer to these questions forms the rest of ‘Ghanchakkar’…

Positive points :-

Director Raj Kumar Gupta has come up with a unique storyline that has never been seen before in Bollywood atleast. There are a lot of suspenseful scenes that keep coming in at regular intervals and this is one thing that keeps the viewers glued to their seats and longing for more.

Speaking of performances, Emraan and Vidya’s chemistry is the one to definitely watch out for. Emraan has once again proven his worth by giving one of his best performances while Vidya who is trying comedy for the first time gives it her best shot and has the audiences in splits. Infact, most of the comic sequences in the film involve Vidya. The other main supporting actors Namit Das and Rajesh have done commendably well as Emraan’s partners-in-crime.

Negative points :-

Rajkumar Gupta moves away from his comfort zone and tries his hand with a different genre, i.e. comedy for the first time and his inexperience with this genre is quite visible in his direction. While the story kicks starts with an interesting plot, it gets confusing over time.

Some of the sequences in the film are too vulgar to be funny and the sequence in which Namit Das talks to his girlfriend on the phone is crude. The comic scenes and dialogues that were showcased in the promos are the only comic scenes in the film while the audiences keep waiting for more of such sequences to laugh at.

The movie doesn’t reach the viewers’ expectations and the climax is quite disappointing.

Technical Points :-

The one good thing about the film is that there are not many songs to act as a hindrance in the narrative while the song ‘Lazy Lad’ fits in perfectly in the flow. The first half of the movie has some unique comic sequences but the second half just drags itself till the end.

Raj Kumar leaves a few scenes unexplained and the audience ends up waiting for the resolution that never happens leaving them disappointed. While the cinematography is up to the mark, the screenplay lacks substance. The editing and direction departments are below par.