Bol Bachchan a tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee?

06 July, 2012

Why did Rohit Shetty give tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee and his classic Gol Maal? Bol Bachchan without its few similarities is nothing like the yesteryears films, and is made to disappoint people who want to experience Hrishikesh Mukherjee again.

WHILE ALL the Bollywood actors, directors, producers, pseudo actors, pseudo directors are lavishing praise on Bol Bachchan, and how it is heading towards the Rs. 100 crore mark within a week, the audience seem to be disappointed with Rohit Shetty for giving a mind numbingly poor tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee's film. It almost seems as if we are comparing chalk and cheese when we take the name of the classic Gol Maal and Bol Bachchan together in a sentence but that is what it is- a tribute to Mukherjee's classic comedy and his characters of Ramprashad/Lakshmanprasad and the famous Bhawani Shankar. Needless to say, Hrishikesh Mukherjee would be turning in his grave.

The director has taken all the major points in the plot of the classic Gol Maal and infused it with his over-the-top non-sensical dialogues and comedy acts. Abhishek Bachchan is the modern Ram and Lakshman Prasad as he plays a Muslim as well as Hindu character with and without the moustache. Where Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the master creator and infused laughter in his audience with situations as well as dialogues, Rohit Shetty wants to compensate with weird characterization of Ajay Devgan and gaudy costumes of Abhishek Bachchan.

The story goes that Abbas (Abhishek Bachchan) after relocating from Delhi to Ranakpur with his sister Saina (Asin) rescues a drowning boy by breaking a temple lock. To not get into trouble for being a Muslim and upsetting the locals he adopts a false name and guess what that is – Abhishek Bachchan. The muscle man of the area who don't tolerate any hanky panky, and is a no-nonsense guy, is played by our very own handsome Ajay Devgan. His character has a special love of English and not one day goes by without his murdering the Queen's language. His sister Prachi Desai comes across as the sweet girl who unwittingly falls for the guy with and without the moustache. Archana Puran Singh, however, is the surprise package as she is in her best form and it is a welcome surprise to see her outside the sets of Comedy Circus and not beside Arbaaz Khan.

The movie, however, is great for people who literally wants to keep their brains in their home, and only want to laugh. As Rohit Shetty famously said, he truly doesn't want to make his audience think - we must say he is doing a fine job of it.