Being a pleasant rainy day, I thought of gorging on some sumptuous pakoras downed with a steaming cup of chai. Instead, I settled down for a 70 mm movie on my small computer screen, innovatively titled Bheja Fry. And this movie did wring out a smile from me and left me with images of how someone can turn your whole orbit upside down with a single jagged swathe of their idiocy! For some reason, this film took me back a few decades, when we got to savor some real-good comedies aired on Doordarshan, devoid of any tasteless or crass elements(so ubiquitously present in today’s comedy films/serials).
Vinay Pathak with his caricature-friendly idiotic looks and Rajat Kapoor as a poker-faced high-class society guy deserve the maximum plaudits for their many-layered performances. This film looks a bit theatrical with the characters popping in and out of the frame, and with most of the scenes shot in the same location making you wonder, if the ennui will set in? But the movie gets only better because you get to study the characters better and even predict their behavior or reaction in the most kooky circumstances.
Ranjeet Thadani(Rajat Kapoor) is shown as a meanie with even the opening scene suggesting that where he is holding a morsel of food far enough to be out of a dog’s reach. He and his yuppie friends hold a dinner party every Friday to “introduce” some unsuspecting, dim-witted guest, whom they amuse themselves with. He later justifies this to his wife(Sarika) as “good harmless fun”(albeit at another’s expense). Ranjeet takes a fair stab at finding out another block-head for the next soiree. This is no one else but Bharat Bhushan(Vinay Pathak) whose irritating talk actually sets your teeth on edge and makes you wonder if this guy will end up being a target of Ranjeet and his friends, or make them the victims instead. And as predicted, the mad cap Bharat messes up Ranjeet’s life and relationships even before the latter has the time to react to the sorry happenstances.
Ranjeet is forced to take Bharat’s help to set his life back on track. Bharat on the other hand, seems more interested in living up to his “one of a kind buster” image with his super-idiotic and zany antics. Needless to say, he muddies up things every time, much to Ranjeet’s annoyance. This however conjures up some real witty scenes that raise the smile quotient. One of them is where Bharat unwittingly calls Ranjeet’s girl friend a “turkey” and explains to her that it is another word for nymphomania.
The other two characters that delight are that of Ranvir Shourey’s and Milind Soman’s. While the former plays a Tax officer and Bharat’s friend, the latter is Ranjeet’s friend who amuses himself no end at the convoluted twists and turns(and rubs off the infectious giggles on us too).
The only point where you want to haul the director(Rajat Kapoor) over the coals is when it comes to the originality aspect of the movie. Why does it have to be a rip-off of the French movie Le Dîner de cons? Why can’t we create our own comic plots? But overall, Bheja Fry is a great entertainer, though it doesn’t have the elements of a masala pot pourri. Wish they make more of this stuff!