In recent times, a lot of comic flicks have released and tickled the funny bone of viewers. One Two Three comes at a time when people have already seen a lot of these mindless comedies and are bored of it. And plus, One Two Three disappoints a bit because of its plot and lackluster script. And that’s where One Two Three fails.
The story of the movie: A diamond belonging to the Don Batlya Bhai (Manoj Pahwa) is stolen by another goonda Papa (Mukesh Tiwari) and his sons Albert (Vrajesh Hirjee) and Pinto (Sanjay Mishra) but it accidentally falls into the hands of Chandu (Upen Patel) and her girlfriend Chandni (Tanishaa). On the other hand, three guys, all three of them named Laxminarayan enter a small town Pondy and are booked in the same hotel-Blue Diamond. Laxminarayan-1 (Tushaar Kapoor) is an upcoming ‘bhai’ and has been sent to Pondy by Batlya Bhai to kill Papa and retrieve the diamond from him. Laxminarayan-2 (Suniel Shetty) has come to buy a vintage car from Laila (Sameera Reddy) for his boss. Laxminarayan-3 (Paresh Rawal), an undergarments seller, has been sent to Pondy by his son to collect lingerie samples from an upcoming designer Jia (Esha Deol). The three Laxminarayans get three letters which are not meant for them but for the other Laxminarayan. Laxminarayan-1 gets the photo of Jiya and thinks that he has to kill her. Laxminarayan-2 gets the photo of Papa sitting in a Maruti car and thinks that he has to buy that Maruti car from Papa for his boss! Laxminarayan-3 gets the photo of Laila wearing lingerie and standing besides the vintage car and thinks that he has to collect lingerie samples from Laila. The three Laxminarayans land up at the wrong place.
The Result:
Laxminarayan-1 doesn’t kill Jiya and falls in love with her
Laxminarayan-2 is beaten by Papa and his sons as they misunderstood him as the killer
Laxminarayan-3 talks something to Laila, which makes Laila think that he is a pervert!
How the misunderstandings get solved is what the climax of this movie is all about.
As you see, the story of the movie is fantastic. The misunderstandings, the ‘bhais’ and diamond-all these make up for a perfect story for a Bollywood comic flick. So full marks to Ashwani Dhir in the writing department. But Ashwani Dheer falters in the script and direction (and Suneil Shetty was bragging that the script is the USP of the movie!). I feel that some talented and experienced director like Priyadarshan, Anees Bazmee or David Dhawan should have directed this flick.
The first half hardly has any funny moments. Even Suniel Shetty’s ‘Left-Right’ trademark dialogues doesn’t manage to evoke laughter after some time. However, it’s the second half which is the saving grace. The second half really has some great funny moments which entertained. The climax was a copy of movies likes Phir Hera Pheri, Golmaal etc. (i.e. many people running after a precious thing) yet it entertains. But the last scene of the movie (diamond gets divided between everyone) was a stupid one. Overall, the movie could have been a better one.
There are a lot of actors in the film, and it’s tough to chose as to who did the best job. Starting with the males in leading roles. Tushaar was good-he did nothing extraordinary. But he doesn’t disappoint also. Paresh Rawal played his part perfectly, but it cannot be counted in one of his most memorable roles. Suniel Shetty was great, though he bored in the middle. However, he was terrific in the climax portion!
Now to the females. The best among them has to be Esha Deol, who gets the maximum scope. She does a better job in the second half. But off late, she has not choosing the right roles and opting for wrong films like this One Two Three. She did a great mistake by rejecting Jannat. I hope her forthcoming flick Hijack is well-made and is successful.
Sameera Reddy was okay-she was better in the last week’s release Race. Neetu Chandra as the Haryanvi cop Inspector Mayawati didn’t have much to do in the movie but she was terrific. Same is for Upen Patel and Tanishaa, who did a fine job but were hardly there in the movie.
The supporting cast also did a great job. The best among them has to be Sanjay Mishra. His accent was damn funny and he deserves a pat on his back for the wonderful job he did in the climax! Mukesh Tiwari also manages to entertain in some scenes. Vrajesh Hirjee was wasted but he was great in the scene when he is pulled into the jeep by Neetu Chandra! Manoj Pahwa’s rhyming dialogues were too good! Murali Sharma gave another wasteful performance, like the one in Sunday. The lady enacting the role of Tushaar’s mom was damn funny. Others were good.
Raghav Sachar’s music was good in only 2 songs-the title track and ‘Rock Mahi’. Cinematography was nothing great.
Ashwani Dhir’s story was fantastic. Even his dialogues and one-lines were witty and hilarious; especially Manoj Pahwa’s rhyming ones. But Ashwani disappointed with his screenplay and direction. The screenplay could have been tighter in order to make the going-on interesting. I hope he has realized his folly and he will be more cautious when directing his second flick.
Some of the funny scenes of the movie:
1. Tushaar’s mom requesting Batlya Bhai to recruit him in his gang
2. The three Laxminarayans getting the wrong letter
3. Laxminarayan-2 at Papa’s place
4. The chase sequence before the intermission
5. Tushaar threatening Murali Sharma
6. Mukesh Tiwari’s attempt to flirt!
7. The climax
On the whole, One Two Three was an okay entertainer and fails to reach the status of movies like Phir Hera Pheri, Dhamaal, Golmaal etc. The second half and climax were great, which act as the saving grace for the movie.
My rating-** ½