Phir Hera Pheri

This movie comes with great expectations. The original movie, Hera Pheri, is almost a cult comedy of our generation, and has managed to create three next-door characters (if you are living in a slum) who have achieved almost iconic status. Hera Pheri, reviving the careers of all the three in the lead, is one of the finest comedies Hindi cinema has ever seen, and has helped director Priyadarshan carve a niche for himself as a fantastic director of comedy movies. Of course, he went on to carve notoriety for himself with his next few disasters such as Hulchul and Malamaal weekly. The author strongly advices readers against watching the above two movies, even if on pirated DVDs.

After such a great first movie, it is almost impossible to come up with a comparable sequel. Producer Firoz Nadiadwala must have had a nightmarish time coming up with a concept which can follow something even half as brilliant as Hera Pheri. In this search, he decided to zero in on Niraj Vora as the director to make the sequel. As we all know, Niraj Vora achieved instant stardom for his rip-roaring comedy in “Hello brother”, in which he played the role of a police inspector who farts. Yes, that’s it. That’s the comedy. Go laugh!

Now, when you put a director as talented as Niraj Vora, three legendary characters-Raju, Shyam and Baburao, the comic genius of Paresh Rawal, the cold stares of Suniel Shetty, and the recently-crowned superstar Akshay Kumar together, what do you get?

Phir Hera Pheri is an absolute disaster. It does not even live up to the standards of the trailors of Hera Pheri 1. It is almost a shame that such cult characters have been wasted by a director as pathetic as Niraj Vora. The storyline is almost as thin as Bipasha Basu’s waist, and the comedy is totally disconnected from reality. The biggest advantage of the first Hera Pheri was that the characters were excellently etched, and every viewer could relate to them. All the coolness in the first movie has been conveniently forgotten. The best part of Hera Pheri was that it was extremely fast. The second joke would begin before the first got over, and this went on for the entire movie. In Phir Hera Pheri, the viewers are subjected to absolutely low IQ humor which makes them wonder how the director could ever think up something so stupid. Rumors suggest that the script-writer collaborated with his other high intellect friends such as Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy, Arjun Singh, and the author’s barber’s dog, in order to complete the script. Viewers who thought Malamaal weekly was the worst comedy hindi cinema are now eating their words.

Of course, there are flashes of comedy in some places, when the threesome get together and exhibit their famous on-screen chemistry. Together, their timing itself is so brilliant, that their poor dialogues are not even relevant anymore. They just set you laughing from their spot-on delivery and reactions.

Suneil Shetty looks rusty, as if he is facing the camera after a long time. He almost looks reluctant to act. Suneil Shetty fans (yes, all 4 of them) will be pleased to note that the famous iron jaw is still intact, and a confused face is still the only expression he can manage. It is hence easy to deduce that his hiatus from the camera was definitely not due to an acting course. It’s good to see the Suneil Shetty of yore, even with the spelling change. One hopes the new spelling is helping his luck in other areas of his life at least.

Akshay Kumar exhibits the comic timing that has made him a very competent and complete actor in the last few years. His last few movies have been successes, and this is definitely because he is able to look more complete and mature in his roles. His infamous and irritating voice seems to have changed too, and he now does more than hang upside down, exhibit his unshaven chest, and employ the same karate kick in over 30 different occasions in the same movie. In a few movies he has even been able to match Amitabh Bachchan frame-for-frame, and his evolution in the Hindi film industry is very heartwarming. It shows how a moderately talented actor can excel on sheer hard-work, despite the obvious lack of charisma or star power. He has had a journey of over ten years in the industry, from his Khiladi days to his more mature roles in movies like Waqt. He looks set for more.

Paresh Rawal, that actor past compare, is not able to display a full range, due to a mediocre script and even poorer dialogues. There are instances when he displays his dialogue delivery skills that have made him one of Bollywood’s most competent character artists.

A special mention is deserving for Bipasha Basu, whose role in the movie is very similar to Maurice Green in the last Olympics. She runs throughout the movie, sometimes from the hero, sometimes from the bad guys. It really doesn’t matter. She runs anyway. She is connected to the story in some vague manner which the author still working on. Please keep watching this space. Grievous mental injury is inflicted on the intelligence of the viewers, by telling them that she was an executive in a bank, but loses her job and becomes a bar-dancer. One thinks they should introduce the concept of naukri.com to her, so she can find a job more relevant to her prior qualifications and experience.

The climax of the movie seems to be inspired from classics such as Jaane bhi do yaaron, but they do a terrible job of it. The star of the climax is whoever-is-the-man-supposed-to-look-like-a-gorilla, and plays one of the most believable roles in the movie. Desperate comic attempts are also made, by using speech defects in the characters to bring in humor. Niraj Vora hits more lows than the stock market has in the past two weeks.

In summary, the movie is not bad. Its atrocious, and the viewers are subjected to even worse comedy this year than they were the last. When will Bollywood ever see comedy of the standard of jaane bhi do yaaron, Gol mal, Andaz apna apna, and the likes. The viewers will wait. Until then, of course, Bipasha Basu will continue to run wearing tight t shirts, and Niraj Vora will continue to make movies. In a recent interview, Niraj Vora reveals his plans to make 7 sequels to Hera Pheri. The author pledges to write reviews for all seven of them.