Watching Partner makes you wonder if life is really
beautiful or is it all made up. The laughlines aren’t spontaneous and worse,
they are pock-marked with clichés and innuendos. Even the songs are obsolete:
they don’t seem to have stepped beyond the hip hop numbers of the 90s. If they
have to copy stuff, can’t the filmmakers be up to date atleast? Director David
Dhawanji, the next time you conceptualise a song, I would recommend a healthy
dose of the music channels… watch the latest bands do their numbers and copy
them same-to-same… no probs with that so long as it’s up to date. Some examples
would be Linkin Park, Black Eyed Peas and Akon.
Get on with the story, you said? Okay, here goes the story,
but don’t ask me for the plot. there isn’t any. Director Dhawan is completely
banking on his actors Salman Khan to deliver the brawns and Govinda the
no-brainer jokes, however few they might be. The story is about a guy who gets
to travel to Phuket and own a sportscar on the money he earns by playing Love
Guru to all and sundry(except those who believe in one-night stands!). The
going is smooth until he meets with Govinda, a financial advisor in a company
who is smitten by his lady boss Katrina Kaif, who appears more like a model who
dances at the drop of a Govinda smile! What a boss! I will let this pass…
And then there’s Lara Dutta, a gutsy and most times stupid
reporter who is being chased by Chota Don(Rajpal Yadav) for giving him his 15 minutes
of fame on the front page of the paper she reports for. His chase scenes in the
film will make you reach for the gun more than he would. Not only is his
inclusion a waste of time, but the screenplay suffers from anything plausible
or engaging. Thank god for the editor, without him, the film could have become
even more of a bore. And thank god for Govinda. Even when he’s delivering
predictable lines, he keeps you hooked because of his wonderful body language.
His facial muscles work overtime when he’s dancing and it’s a wonder to watch
him when he does. His desi steps keep your eyes glued even when he’s competing with
Salman Khan’s better choreographed moves.
Okay, okay, pets. I am diverging but only a bit. there
is a gay character and yes, Govinda becomes gay too if only to get an entry
into the wedding hall. But when he begins to dance, he abandons the gay avatar and
becomes himself. Blame it on the schizophrenic screenwriter and the sleepyhead
quality controller - the director himself. The story is as plausible as the monk
who sold his brand new Maruti SX4. Everything just passed by me in a blur.
Govinda flashing his teeth when he was sad. Govinda flashing his teeth when
he was happy. Govinda flashing his teeth when he was happy-sad and then
sad-happy. cheeni has never found a better partner than in this film, making
you a diabetic all the way.
The other thoughts that crossed my mind while watching this
film went something like this. Lara Dutta looks too chubby. After her
separation with Kelly Dorjee, she seems to be indulging in some food therapy.
Wonder how Salman is still singing around trees while his pal Sanjay Dutt is
facing a jail term. Maybe it’s Salman’s many charities. Wonder why Katrina
makes you feel like she’s walking the ramp throughout the film. she’s a
model, silly, says the voice within.
This film is no Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. It was not even **Ek
Do Ek Gyarah**. Agreed, there’s a certain chemistry Govinda shares with Salman. But
the storyline doesn’t share a chemistry with either of them or the audience. It
was more a ‘thande ka funda’ and about how to make a movie that doesn’t give
any anda. Don’t get it? I won’t blame you. This is Partner ke side effects. The
film never made sense to me, so how can a review of nonsense make sense?
PS: The film’s a lift from the lovely Hollywood movie Hitch!