The Golmaal franchise is a vicious circle and the bad news is that it only keeps getting worse. The usual suspects Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Talpade, Tushar Kapoor and Kunal Khemu have been joined this time by Tabu, Parineeti Chopra, Prakash Raj, Sanjay Mishra and Neil Nitin Mukesh. However, the more the merrier doesn't somehow fit this deal.
Now let me get one thing straight – we all know that if Rohit Shetty is helming a project, our grey matter is only for decorative purposes. Frankly no one expects that to change. In fact we are quite on board and ready to play pretence. There is also an oft-repeated line in the movie to remind us to not raise an eyebrow at the proceedings on screen – "Jab god ki marzi ho toh cheezon mein logic nahi magic hota hai.”
But for this 151-minute long ordeal, it looks like even God was mighty upset because this isn't magic, it is tragic.
Let me begin by stating what Golmaal Again really set out to be – a horror comedy! Which means what? Dara dara ke hasaayenge ya hasaa hasaa ke darayenge?
Oh the horror! Wish they had done at least one thing right.
Even to help us suspend our disbelief and play along we need some moments where we can let our guard down and laugh at the silly punches. But Golmaal Again leaves us bored out of our wits!
There are the trademark Shetty frames where mediocrity is projected in lavish bright colours. The movie opens with a nice 12-minute-long narration in Tabu's voice about an anaath ashram where Gopal, Madhav, Lucky and the two Laxmans stay. They eventually go their separate ways but end up doing similar things – getting plots cleared as musclemen for builders !
Also what remains the same are the idiosyncrasies. Gopal still goes nuts if someone points a finger at him. Laxman lisps and Lucky is still supposed to be funny because of his speech defects. Tabu nonchalantly sees ghosts and one such ghost brings the whole gang together.
The jokes are all lame and repetitive. So much time is spent just filling us in on the details that the unabashedly loony moments never come our way. Rohit Shetty definitely isn't on top of his game.
Golmaal Again is still a very self-aware film where Gopal (Devgn) is made fun of for falling for a girl half his age. Khushi (his love interest played blandly by Parineeti Chopra) is constantly referred to as "bachhi" but one still wonders why Tabu who is in fact a couple of years younger than Devgn is portrayed in a drab asexual manner.
Is it too much for a Bollywood hero to romance an actress his age?
There are so many moments in Golmaal Again when one just wants to say Golmaal not again please! Go for it at your own risk.
I give it 1.5 Quints out of 5. The actors and the audiences – everyone deserves better.
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