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Oh
dear dear, there is this fear. The next time you’re in
New York, it might seem as if you’re strolling down
Nagar Chowk or Chandni Chowk. After all, whether it’s on
television or the formula racing tracks, everyone’s
speaking Hindi and supping on masala bhindi. Americans are
conspicuous by their absence.
Produced
by Factory No.1 aka Yashraj and directed by Siddharth
Anand, Ta Ra Rum Pum Pum Pum (sorry, don’t know when to
stop)..Pum..Pum..Pum is like a fusion dim sum – it’s
stuffed with fillings from Cinderella Man (a bar scene in
which rich guys humiliate poor guy), Life is Beautiful
(kiddies, this is no terrible dump, it’s a reality TV
show..huh?), Days of Thunder (those vroom..vroom tracks)
and In America (penniless parivar residing in a chawl).
Evidently, Copykar Anand only forgot to include Ben-Hur.
No chariots here, only cars..horn OK please?
In
fact, the screenplay is about as original as a Xerox
machine..but that’s an antiquated grouse, isn’t it?
Lift and let lift. |
| If
you slap yourself into submission, the result is not too
bad, even engrossing and touching at points. Yup, you’re
occasionally manipulated into empathising with a certain
AV (Saif Ali Khan) and Female AV who have married after
singing, dancing and arguing over a broken iPod..never
mind if pods weren’t invented when the two were dating,
mating..whatever..at least some eight years ago. Time pass
anyone?
Anyway,
the couple come up with two kids faster than cash from an
ATM machine. And then sigh..your hero has a nasty accident
on the tracks. Sniff. He hits skid row, is deserted by
manager Jaaved Jaaferi (bad impersonation of a Gujarati
bhai) and boss Bharat Dhabolkar (smoking a cigar as if it
were a hookah). Moanwhile, angry pa-in-law Victor Bannerji
travels around in a limousine that’s mercifully shorter
than his speeches. "You study Elizabethan
poetry," he tells his literature-enriched daughter,
"and you want to marry a driver? Sorry, he’s not of
your intellect."
That’s
the first time the word ‘intellect’ has been used in
the Bombay movies. Bravo! Next: the impoverished AV must
become A-1 on the tracks all over again. Pronto. Now, a
half-witted gang unites, a la Lagaan, to beat the goras at
their own game.Despite all this jiggery pokery, how come
you’re disposed fairly favourably towards this Bhaagti
ka Naam Gaadi? It’s simply because there are some
engaging moments like the couple’s domestic showdowns,
the Disneyesque fantasy song with the kids and the
irresistible rah-rah climax. At least four to five of the
16 reels are more than okay.
The
direction style, especially in the use of alaaps, is often
imitative of Karan Johar. Vishal-Shekhar’s music score
is totally Yash-Adityaesque. Salim-Suleiman’s background
music is hung up on Eye of the Tiger riffs..the sound
design threatens to shatter your ear-drums. Binod
Pradhan’s camera doesn’t aspire to anything above the
ultra-glamorous. The editing lingers far too much over
lachrymose star faces (till you can smell the
glycerine)..but the action on wheels is well-shot and
well-cut.
Of
the cast, kiddoes Ali Haji and Angelina Idnani are
endearing.Saif Ali Khan is reliably likeable, displaying a
new maturity in the heavy duty scenes. Rani Mukherji is
lovely and delivers a near flawless performance. Their
costumes are a bit jarring though: Ms Mukherji’s
micro-skirts are much too wannabe sexy..and Mr Khan’s
use of checked shirts to suggest that he’s got no money
is often chuckle-inducing. Please!
Bottom
line: worth a summer holiday outing..just about..but
that’s still saying a lot about the movies today at the
plexes. |
