Go Goa Gone: just don't go.

It's really difficult to discuss Go Goa Gone without talking about my expectations for it. This was on my radar for a number of reasons: the directors had hit home-runs with both of their previous ventures, 99 and Shor in the City, Saif Ali Khan was involved (and I was hopeful that these two directors would bring out the best in him, as he was obviously passionate about the project, having a producer credit and all), the mix of stoner comedy meets zombie film seemed interesting, and finally, Kunal Khemu was among the cast. All signs pointed to this being an awesome film, especially when the first trailer made me chuckle a lot.

Three friends (the stoner loser, the nerd and the average guy trying to improve himself) go to Goa, one of them finds a girl, one of them gets laid, and all of them find themselves in a zombie apocalypse with a Delhiwalla gangster who pretends to be Russian. Surely this situation is fertile ground for some jump scares and some comedy, but what is truly disappointing about Go Goa Gone is exactly how it fails to live up to its premise at all.

The characters are the film's first failure. They're dumb but not lovable, and most importantly, they're flimsy. We're supposed to care about them, so it matters to us that they're in this desperate peril, and we're meant to chuckle at their idiocy, but the story fails to establish the characters as protagonists you could actually root for. Simply put, they're all pretty unlikable. Saif Ali Khan's odd badass Boris should be the kind of quirky side character who makes the film, but instead he too comes off as slightly tired. Are there funny one liners? Yes, but they're all the ones you saw in the trailer.  

I admit one reason for my disappointment might just be zombie fatigue. By the time this trend hit Indian cinema, English entertainment is absolutely inundated with zombie fiction, be it riffs on Pride and Prejudice (now with zombies!) or Brad Pitt saving the world from zombies, or Walking Dead exploring human drama (amidst zombies). But I also think that this could've felt fresh in the Indian context, and it's sad that it doesn't.

One reading of the zombies in GGG is that the provide a metaphor for excessive drug use, but this is a very accommodating way of looking at it – the film is not exactly rich with social commentary, as some of the best zombie films are. The extras don't make for very good zombies, even though the make up work was commendable, but perhaps the worst failing of the zombie genre is that it never feels like the protagonists are truly in danger. It's not scary, nor is it comically over the top enough to be funny. There are bits and pieces where the premise of zombies and stoner comedy come together, but those little sparks of life just aren't enough to liven up this film.  

I'm glad I saw it, in the sense that I didn't really believe others who said it wasn't that good, before witnessing this limp piece of film myself. It could've been so awesome, and yet it's just maybe okay at best, boring at worst.

30 Days of Film - Day 2.

2. The most underrated movie

Tightly plotted and cleverly written comedy filled with old favourites (who doesn't like Boman Irani?) and new likable faces (Kunal Khemu is awesome, Soha Ali Khan is always solid). So explain to me why it sometimes feel like it's just me and Filmi Girl who watched 99? The directors went on to do Shor in the City, which was a pretty popular little-film-that-could that seemed to make a lot of people's "underrated 2011 films" list, so everybody of you reading who enjoyed that film, please seek out 99. It's a good time, I promise you. For more persuasion, please see previously linked reviews from yours truly and FG. 

It's even got Vinod Khanna! Like, come on now.

PS. It looks the directors of this film are re-uniting with Kunal Khemu and Saif Ali Khan in their next one! I'm too psyched.

Another attempt to push 99 on people.

I uploaded the song that plays during credits of 99, previously discussed here. It's a cool song, has beautiful Sunidhi Chauhan vocals and it's just a fun way to wrap up the movie (no spoilers here!). I don't think I've seen Soha Ali Khan dance to a properly choreographed song before (she might've done some but not in films I've seen her in) and Kunal Khemu can move and even Boman Irani gets down a little. (To make the video quality better, select the 480p version.)

Just give this comedy a chance! It's good fun!

Quickie review: Dhoondte Reh Jaoge

This 2009 comedy caper is a Bollywood spin on The Producers, filled with inside-industry gags and some loud, some subtler comedy. Raj Chopra (Paresh Rawal) is producer of steady flops, desperate to get Aryan Kapoor (Sonu Sood) in his next film. He meets a stuttering chartered accountant Anand (er, whatever that is!) played by Kunal Khemu, whose girlfriend Neha (Soha Ali Khan) is a budding actress. They clash initially but eventually come together for a nefarious plot to make money off a guaranteed flop film, and so they go out of their way to make the worst film possible..

The film manages to get a lot of very funny lines here and there, especially when it comes to industry references. Sonu Sood's opening scene has references to Southie masala clichés, which utterly killed me - the actor himself was also really good in the role.

Some of the comedy falls utterly flat, though, and I personally hated the cheesy song picturizations - I feel like the film should've been more self-conscious about them. They were mostly cringe-inducing.

The film they end up making is a shameless cut-and-paste film with plot elements from Sholay, DDLJ, Lagaan.. But of course, it's hilarious, and some of the best, silliest moments come from seeing the end product. A total joy for me was Soha Ali Khan's Neha having to do her best Basanti impression - golden scene.

I wish the film had been tighter and the song sequences better thought-out with regards to the rest of the film. They really jar and worst of all, offer little entertainment (I thought the first song with Kunal was particularly off-putting). But the performances in general are good. It's worth a watch if you like some of the cast - I'm particular to Soha and Kunal Khemu personally - but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it strongly.

Now here's a gossipy question - are Soha and Kunal really dating?

99 - the vibe is right.

I'm utterly behind on new movies, but for whatever reason, the film 99 caught my eye and inspired by my recent rewatch of CDI, I knew I had to at least try and get back on the '09 Bollytrain. I actually don't remember why this film sparked my interest. It might have been Filmi Girl's post in which she asked, "Why isn't Kunal Khemu a superstar yet?".

Why, indeed. Better yet, why is he not in every film this year, every film ever, why is he not shirtless in my bedroom.. Um. You get my point.

And besides him, this film has the fantastic Boman Irani who I love the hell out of in pretty much everything but this was one of his most brilliant roles and performances thus far. I was filled to the brim with Boman love. And Soha Ali Khan, pretty and charming, definite girlcrush of mine (though I admit, has ways to go in terms of acting - she gets good roles, though!). And and and Vinod Khanna! In older form, but still fantastic. Oh. Oh.

Wait, story? Fine, if you must know. 99 takes place in 1999, before and after the Y2K panic and follows the journey of two small-time crooks Sachin (Kunal Khemu) and Zaramud (Cyrus Broacha) who go from being independent to working for the bhai AGM (Mahesh Manjrekar). The perpetual gambler Rahul (Boman Irani) owes AGM money, so Sachin and Zaramud are forced to go to Delhi to collect money.

It's one of those films that isn't mind-blowingly amazing but solid enough and so well-written that you begin to believe in its world, laugh out loud at its clever little jokes and enjoy the ride its characters take into the unpredictable world of betting. Lacking of traditional song picturizations but packed with interesting music all the same, it's one of the few less loud Indian comedies I've seen. (Not that I mind loud comedy -- but I appreciate more situational comedy when well done.)

Kunal Khemu definitely has the acting chops to match his looks and the comic duo of him and Cyrus Broacha worked nicely in here. And I can't fangirl Boman Irani enough, and I also liked Simone Singh in the small role of his wife (which also amused me, because I recalled their jodi in Being Cyrus). This film just had its own style, and that style worked perfectly.

Sometimes I review movies to discuss them, sometimes to warn about them. And sometimes, as with this movie, just to recommend them. It's a fun little film I bet tons will be missing out on. It doesn't look like 2009 is a great year of Hindi films so far, so you might as well give this one a go.