Darna Zaroori Hai (**1/2)
Genre: Comdey in the disguise/ Self-acclaimed Horror
Directors(7): Sajid Khan (Super Sale fame)
Ram Gopal Verma (Needs no introduction)
Jijy Philip (He directed My Wife’s Murder)
Parwal Raman (I guess he made Gayab)
Chakravarty (He played Satya in the movie Satya; he also acted in Vastu Shastra - another funny Horror movie)
Manish, Vivek (They have done misc. things on RGV projects in past)
Cast: Amitabh Bacchan and many others
Comedy disguised as Horror! The directors (except for RGV) have made comic stories and they do make you laugh. If this movie was touted as a comedy flick, it might have actually done well given that everyone laughed at these shoddy stories
In short: Ignore the posters and convince yourself that it is a comic caper. Sit back, relax and you will have fun with some eerie moments thrown in this otherwise mediocre comedy!
Highlights:
- None actually!
Let-downs
- Too many to list down!
Plot:
Darna Zaroori Hai begins with the (best) story that sets the story up. This is about a movie crazy guy who doesn’t listen to his mother’s advice and walks through a graveyard to watch a movie. The end of this story (which is hilarious and tragic at the same time) is the beginning of the actual series of stories.
The main story is about five stories being narrated to five kids who have lost their way on a picnic to an old lady’s house. The first story in the series is that of a professor(Amitabh Bachchan) and his student(Ritesh Deshmukh). This story is directed by RGV and does succeed in giving a few creepy moments but that is it!
The next story tells tale of a married couple(Bipasha and Makrand Deshpande) who have a guest (Arjun Rampal) whose vehicle has broken down and wants to make a phone call.
I might have forgotten the order but there is one story about a middle class family Suniel Shetty, Sonali Kulkarni and their kid) who are troubled one fine Sunday morning by a salesman (Rajpal Yadav) who sells insurance policies. This is the worst story of the enterprise. I guess this one was directed by JD Chakravarty.
The comedy moves on with a story is about a film-maker(Anil Kapoor) who seems to be mocking Karan Johar. He wants to make a horror film after having given several romantic hits. On his way to a hill station to write the story for his next film, he happens to give lift to a beautiful stranger(Mallika Sherawat).
The funniest story follows (if I remember the sequence correctly) - a common man (Randeep Hooda) is in police custody for a murder that he believes he did not commit. Police inspector is played by Zakir Hussain who does well at comedy. "Main kisi aur ko chipkoongi" declares the lady bhoot. Hilarious to the core, this one is probably that keeps you from leaving the theatre.
The worst story is the main story where these stories are being narrated. I am not very sure why did they choose kids to listen to the story. Why kill kids? Would it make any difference if we have grown ups dying for no reason at all. The funniest line in this story is "Sabse darawnee kahani to maine tumhe sabse pehle sunayee... (a pause)... mere naukar ke baare mein (glaring big eyes rolling to scare you but you laugh... you laugh uncontrollably)" What a waste!
Acting Performances: All are above average except for the old lady who is narrating the story. She messes with the punch line(s). I dont know her name... I think some Mukherjee. Amitabh is very good. I hear Amitabh did the entire shoot in a day and did not charge RGV a single paisa. What a gesture. I think the movie would have been more entertaining if you had these trivia coming up towards the end. Anyway, Arjun Rampal hams yet again. Markand Deshpande is just repeating himself doing similar kind of roles and giving the same expressions for all situations.
It is a movie that you would like to watch if you have nothing to do on a boring weekend and you have enough money for popcorn and enough breaths for laughing watching this comedy in disguise (tM :)