When priyadarshan announces a NEW hind film, the first question is which malayalam/tamil film he is gonna remake…..but no complaints till now, for he has done a decent job and got away(mostly ). So, let me start with whats kind of unique to MW- if my memory serves right MW is his 2nd non- remake , if u forget an utterly-forgrettable kabhie na-ever kabhie, that is.
The film opens on a village. setting is a-typical R K Lakshman, where u have most villagers with hearts of gold ...the gold is only in their hearts as they live in abject poverty and are controlled by a cruel thakurain who has the pots of gold.
One of them (Malayalam actor Innocent, voiceover by Tikku Talsania) wins a lottery and promptly kicks the bucket. Paresh Rawal, the lottery seller comes to know of this and decides to keep the lottery for himself, but is forced to share the secret- and the booty- with milkman Ompuri. Soon, one by one, the entire village comes to know of this and demands their share. …and so does the thaukrain (Sudha chandran) and her go-goner of a brother (Rajpal yadav). ..
How the villagers outwit her and the twit brother along with hoodwinking a rather dim witted lottery inspector (Arbaaz) forms the story….. But not before they realize the worthlessness of it all…meaning the usual “money doesnt bring happiness” kind of noble thoughts…
So, what of it…don’t expect a laugh riot a.k.a HERA PHERI, GARAM MASALA or HULCHUL etc in typical priyadarshan mould…in fact its more Hrishikesh Mukherji kind of polite humour than priyadarshan. It’s a nice story, told without too much abuse. Trouble is it could be too simple for liking…i mean there no masala...not even that bit we like to add ....the characters just don’t make it above the have-seen-earlier type, and the acting is ordinary…of course, save for a few…
Paresh is good- but just so much, thats all. The film doesn’t belong to him, despite an author(?) backed character….it belongs to Ompuri who gets the claps. Wonder why we don’t see more of him…hopefully we will see more ..and asrani..he too is good and hope will entertain us more.
Rest? Sorry, but if u DO want to hear : Sudha chandran in the (over) make up, left over from her own TV role of Ramola; Rajpal in a weird wig; Pretty Reema Sen tries hard to impress she’s a gaon-ki-gori; Hitesh, wasted having a good comic sense…
do wonder who played Innocent’s (the actor) sister--she comes across rather fine....the rest are unmentionables. Sakthi kapur, looking hard to play the clergy-man...(funny, sakthi in the clergy’s role..what say Rajat Sharma? sau chuhe khakar chalee sakthi ..sorry billi haj?)
and yes, priyan has copied..in parts at least, from his own and others malayalam films…but we’ll forget that…and wait for the next one from him…
But let me end from a different angle, if u look at it, in some ways it’s a very ‘black’ film. Mean, it’s the greed that stands out. The cunning, conniving, conspiring- though portrayed in an innocent manner, is not really an excuse. Does poverty justify such deeds? I feel no....Above that, there’s a deadman and custom demands respecting the dead and giving them a decent burial - fast. Our folks do give him one, but not before holding on to the carcass till the lottery inspector comes in, after 3 or 4 days. Acceptable? Also, the end. (permit me to reveal it)- Arbaz khan’s vehicle collides with the thakurain’s ---pushing her into the gushing water below and death. The villagers let him go…and so does he, without any guilt….all because she was a terror …isnt it sadistic, a bit?
Well, does a Rs. 50 ticket need such thoughts? Maybe not..so just go ahead and enjoy.