Review: Hello Charlie Is an Hour and More of Incomprehensible Mess

Aadar Jain plays Chirag Rastogi aka 'Charlie' and Jackie Shroff is a man in a gorilla suit

'Hello Charlie' poster

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

Every once in a while comes along a film that is described as a “mindless comedy”, and it’s a term that never fails to intrigue. Does that mean that those who made the film did so without giving it adequate thought or the ones supposed to consume it are expected to switch off their thinking faculty? And how does one do that anyway? How does one sit through an hour and more of incomprehensible mess and tell their brain to not protest? It’s an enviable quality to possess but something yours truly can genuinely never do. My brain was alive and kicking and angry in protest.

For one can find no satisfactory reason to watch the ever-so-charming Jackie Shroff in a Gorilla suit screaming “khujli ho rahi hai” (It's itching). Why subject ourselves to seeing his tight close ups as he rolls his eyes in frustration for a major part of the film? How does everyone get fooled into believing that a man wearing a gorilla costume is the real deal?

The film starts with a voice over telling us about the two types of businessmen- the rich playboys like MD Makwana (Jackie Shroff), who after defaulting on loans worth billions is running away from Mumbai, and then the other type- a small town simpleton Chirag Rastogi, who is in Mumbai to pay off loans by doing odd jobs.

A still from 'Hello Charlie'

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube)

Chirag Rastogi aka Charlie manages to mess up every job ever assigned to him. From burning down a pizza restaurant to helping a criminal flee he, without actively intending to, can really cause a ruckus everywhere he goes. Sporting a genial smile throughout, is Aadar Jain. We last saw him a couple of yours back in Qaidi Band, a film about under-trials performing as a music band. With this latest release, he is hell bent on proving his comic prowess .

A still from 'Hello Charlie'

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube)

Charlie must transport a gorilla named Toto from Mumbai to Diu and the entire time we know that it’s our beloved Jackie Shroff, being wasted in an ape‘s dress while the hero merrily lives in oblivion. The plot is teeming with chases and hide-and-seek, and even a case of mistaken gorilla identity, till it all culminates into a high-pitched confusing denouement involving a banana! Rajpal Yadav, Girish Kulkarni, Darshan Jariwala are all relegated to over the top tiny roles. Shhloka Pandit and Elnaaz Norouzi mark their attendance as well.

Bumbling fools and ridiculous twists keep us company till the very end! If you can truly suspend your disbelief and shut your brain then Hello Charlie could probably be your pick but for the rest, it’s 'Good bye Charlie' for good. It can at best be described as an attempt at comedy.

Review: 1 Quint out of 5