Yes, I am aware of the extremely unabashed referencing to the film's tagline in the headline of this review. It's in-your-face, I know. Not very classy either. It's an attempt to give you a taste of what's in store when you step in to watch Delhi Belly. The film is unabashed, in-your-face, and there's nothing classy about it. If anything, Delhi Belly revels in its crassness, sometimes a bit too much. In a country where we love our slapstick, the film gives you plenty.
Toilet humour is in abundance here. Heck, it begins with the film's title itself. 'Delhi Belly' is a kind of traveller's diarrhoea, the sort someone visiting and not used to the cuisine here would get. Here, Delhi resident Nitin (Kunaal), gets a bad bout of loosies. A photographer, he's on a secret assignment - capturing his landlord have sex with a prostitute so he can blackmail him into paying rent that Nitin and his roommates, Tashi (Imran) and Arup (Vir) can't afford. On the way out, Nitin pays the prostitute for her service and gently presses her breast in recognition of the work she's done for him. It's a small gesture (ok, may be not), but where I was watching the movie, it brought the house down with laughter.
At the onset, Delhi Belly may look like a Guy Richie-inspired flick, but you soon realise that this is more the Farrelly Brothers-meets-Adam Sandler brand of comedy. If Dumb & Dumber cracked you up, you will have a blast with this one. The fart jokes don't stop, characters indulge in goofy, over-the-top antics and a lot of the humour depends on the extent to which it can gross you out. But while the attitude is irreverent, and the characters young, Delhi Belly is far from 'cool'. It tries to be, but the effort to be cool is so much at times, it ends up not getting there.
Nitin's stool sample gets mixed up with a bag of diamonds local goons (Vijay Raaz and his cronies) are after. Mayhem ensues. That, pretty much, is the plot of the film. Everything else, including Tashi's attraction to fellow journalist Menaka (Poorna), Arup's seemingly dull life (horrid boss, selfish girlfriend) and Nitin's guilt pangs at having blackmailed the landlord who comes to his rescue when he needs it, is incidental to the main track. But it all comes together in a neat 96-minutes-long story.
Akshat Varma's script seems to be trying too hard initially, F-words thrown in generously for effect but coming out looking terribly forced. Many of the jokes work because they are in English (which makes me want to watch the Hindi dubbed version out of curiosity), but you wonder why a guy hanging from a ceiling fan would want to converse with a maa-bahen-gaali-spewing gangster in English. Slowly and surely, though, Varma manages to let his characters take over the story, letting them dictate the course it should take.
After two films as director, I am still unsure of Abhinay Deo as director. Game, his debut film, was a manual in how-not-to-make-a-film while Delhi Belly is very much a writer's film. The fact that Varma gets associate director billing makes it "his" film even more. Many scenes penned by him will having you clutching your bellies and laughing your guts out, and that in itself is reason enough to give Delhi Belly a shot. While Varma's one-liners (many of them [in Twitter lingo] 'Instant Classics', some not going anywhere) are what keep the film going, the interesting cast helps bring the drama alive.
Kunaal Roy Kapur is the star of the show, getting some great lines, and sparkling with his timing. Vijay Raaz shows what an accomplished actor can do given the right material. The guy remains poker-faced in the most absurdest of situations, impressing with his villainy, yet managing to draw guffaws. He is simply outstanding. Vir Das is impressive too. His love track, though, is pointless and while the TV-styled wedding spoof might be funny to some, I wanted it to get over quickly so I could get back to the actual plot. Poorna Jagganathan shines, her bohemian sex appeal a refreshing change from the prim and propah 'heroine' we are used to watching. Shenaz Treasury (not wala anymore) is ok. Paresh Ganatra is hilarious as the landlord.
Which brings me to Imran Khan. While every other actor in the film is the character s/he is playing, Imran plays Imran. "You need to loosen up," Menaka tells him at one point, and that's exactly what you're thinking. While many scenes where Imran holds centrestage are funny, he himself brings nothing to the table. You wonder how a better actor could have helped take the humour to another level, given that every other actor in the film just fits. Aamir Khan's 'item song' in the film's end credits will probably be lapped up by his fans, but I would have liked to have left the film with Nitin abusing Tashi and Menaka for driving over hiskhatara scooter.
Delhi Belly is guilty pleasure. Watch it with your best friends, a couple of pegs down may be.
Film: Delhi Belly
Director: Abhinay Deo
Cast: Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Shenaz Treasury, Poorna Jagannathan and Vijay Raaz
Rating: *** ½
Toilet humour is in abundance here. Heck, it begins with the film's title itself. 'Delhi Belly' is a kind of traveller's diarrhoea, the sort someone visiting and not used to the cuisine here would get. Here, Delhi resident Nitin (Kunaal), gets a bad bout of loosies. A photographer, he's on a secret assignment - capturing his landlord have sex with a prostitute so he can blackmail him into paying rent that Nitin and his roommates, Tashi (Imran) and Arup (Vir) can't afford. On the way out, Nitin pays the prostitute for her service and gently presses her breast in recognition of the work she's done for him. It's a small gesture (ok, may be not), but where I was watching the movie, it brought the house down with laughter.
At the onset, Delhi Belly may look like a Guy Richie-inspired flick, but you soon realise that this is more the Farrelly Brothers-meets-Adam Sandler brand of comedy. If Dumb & Dumber cracked you up, you will have a blast with this one. The fart jokes don't stop, characters indulge in goofy, over-the-top antics and a lot of the humour depends on the extent to which it can gross you out. But while the attitude is irreverent, and the characters young, Delhi Belly is far from 'cool'. It tries to be, but the effort to be cool is so much at times, it ends up not getting there.
Nitin's stool sample gets mixed up with a bag of diamonds local goons (Vijay Raaz and his cronies) are after. Mayhem ensues. That, pretty much, is the plot of the film. Everything else, including Tashi's attraction to fellow journalist Menaka (Poorna), Arup's seemingly dull life (horrid boss, selfish girlfriend) and Nitin's guilt pangs at having blackmailed the landlord who comes to his rescue when he needs it, is incidental to the main track. But it all comes together in a neat 96-minutes-long story.
After two films as director, I am still unsure of Abhinay Deo as director. Game, his debut film, was a manual in how-not-to-make-a-film while Delhi Belly is very much a writer's film. The fact that Varma gets associate director billing makes it "his" film even more. Many scenes penned by him will having you clutching your bellies and laughing your guts out, and that in itself is reason enough to give Delhi Belly a shot. While Varma's one-liners (many of them [in Twitter lingo] 'Instant Classics', some not going anywhere) are what keep the film going, the interesting cast helps bring the drama alive.
Kunaal Roy Kapur is the star of the show, getting some great lines, and sparkling with his timing. Vijay Raaz shows what an accomplished actor can do given the right material. The guy remains poker-faced in the most absurdest of situations, impressing with his villainy, yet managing to draw guffaws. He is simply outstanding. Vir Das is impressive too. His love track, though, is pointless and while the TV-styled wedding spoof might be funny to some, I wanted it to get over quickly so I could get back to the actual plot. Poorna Jagganathan shines, her bohemian sex appeal a refreshing change from the prim and propah 'heroine' we are used to watching. Shenaz Treasury (not wala anymore) is ok. Paresh Ganatra is hilarious as the landlord.
Which brings me to Imran Khan. While every other actor in the film is the character s/he is playing, Imran plays Imran. "You need to loosen up," Menaka tells him at one point, and that's exactly what you're thinking. While many scenes where Imran holds centrestage are funny, he himself brings nothing to the table. You wonder how a better actor could have helped take the humour to another level, given that every other actor in the film just fits. Aamir Khan's 'item song' in the film's end credits will probably be lapped up by his fans, but I would have liked to have left the film with Nitin abusing Tashi and Menaka for driving over hiskhatara scooter.
Delhi Belly is guilty pleasure. Watch it with your best friends, a couple of pegs down may be.
Film: Delhi Belly
Director: Abhinay Deo
Cast: Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Shenaz Treasury, Poorna Jagannathan and Vijay Raaz
Rating: *** ½
No comments:
Post a Comment