This is an old review, but I am older and wiser and have more Bollywood experience than the first time I watched Fun2ssh . . . Dudes In the 10th Century; at the very least, I am better at taking screenshots. Let's see what Me From the Past had to say.
I first noticed Paresh Rawal in the role of Mohan Joshi, the saintly murderer and suspected terrorist of Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.
To this day, I still tend to think of him as “Mohan Joshi” first, and
Paresh Rawal second (which is unfortunate, since there is a Bollywood
actor whose name really is Mohan Joshi.) It’s the curse of the
character actor; since there’s no identifiable Paresh Rawal persona,
you’re more likely to recognize the face than the name. He’s “that
guy.” He’s one of the best “that guy"s in Indian cinema, but still, not
a leading man. So I was surprised to see him get top billing for Fun2shh . . . Dudes in the 10th Century.
(The next two names on the cast list are also members of Bollywood’s perennial supporting cast. Farida Jalal is, of course, Everybody’s Mom, and Gulshan Grover usually turns up in the role of second villain - he’ll scheme with the main villain, but never rises to the satanic majesty of the best Amrish Puri villains.)
The titular dudes are Johnny (Paresh Rawal), Vikram (Iqbal Khan), and Ajju (Anuj Sawhney), and they all stay at the boarding house run by Mrs. D’Souza (Farida Jalal). Johnny is a photographer who carries a torch for Maria (Rushali), despite the fact that “Aunty Dee” fiercely disapproves. Vikram (or “Vicky") is an aspiring actor who knows karate (what’re the odds that that particular talent will come in handy?) and hasn’t paid the rent in seven months. Ajju doesn’t really have a defining shtick of his own; he’s the baseline dude from whom the other dudes deviate. Like Vicky, he’s very behind on rent.
Mrs. D’Souza finally tires of her deadbeat tenants, and gives them an ultimatum; whether they have to beg, steal, or borrow, the rent will be paid within a week, or else they’re out. Luckily, Johnny is able to get them jobs working for Bhaleram (Kader Khan). Bhaleram’s security company has been hired by antiques dealer Goshal (Ashish Vidyarthi) to protect the crown of the legendary 10th century King Babusha from the nefarious Chindni Chor (Gulshan Grover), a legendary thief who walks around in public dressed as the Hamburgler.
Naturally, the boys mess up and the crown is stolen. Also naturally, the boys are blamed for the theft. After a few misadventures, and with Bhaleram in hot pursuit, the trio drive through a wall and find themselves in the 10th century.
We know it’s the 10th century because that’s what the dialogue says; this is not a painstakingly researched recreation of history. My labeling the film as historically inaccurate has less to do with the fact that everyone is speaking contemporary Hindi than the fact that, apart from the occasional sage, all the men are dressed in imperial Roman garb. I really don’t know why. It’s possible that it’s a deliberate attempt to create a timeless quality; the big Guys and Dolls/Gone With the Wind dance number would seem to support this theory, but the film as a whole is far too goofy to concern itself with such subtleties.
Me From the Present again - while it is absolutely true that most of the film is an anachronistic mess, the characters in the aforementioned dance number are wearing traditional Goan clothing. Perfectly sensible, even if it has nothing to do with ancient Indo-Rome.
It’s possible that the producers had a bunch of Roman costumes lying around and decided to use them, but you’d think that Indian costumes would be easier to find. I suppose the filmmakers may have wanted to set the story in Rome, and decided at the last moment that no one would be convinced by the entirely Indian cast; the fact that a key sequence is set in a gladiatorial arena would seem to support this. I don’t know why they’re all dressed as Romans, and trying to figure it out is giving me a headache, so I shall just accept the Roman costumes and move on.
After arrival, there’s some vaguely comedic business with the boys thinking they’re on a film set. Johnny is separated from the group, while Vicky and Ajju are arrested for spying on the local princesses (Nataneya Singh and Raima Sen), in the process insulting King Babusha (Gulshan Grover) by calling him Chindni Chor. The pair are thrown into the aforementioned gladiatorial arena, triumph through karate and dirty fighting, and win the hearts of their respective princesses in the process. Babusha can’t lose face, so he sentences them to be beheaded anyway. Johnny drives up and rescues them at the last minute, and all three take refuge in the home of the sorceress Hiraaka (Farida Jalal), who will be Mrs. D’Souza in a future life. Hiraaka delivers a hefty dose of exposition: the portal back to the 21st century will open again in 12 days, then close for another century, and the police back home have orders to shoot the boys on sight. Princesses notwithstanding, no one is terribly keen on the idea of spending the rest of their lives using 10th century plumbing, they come up with a plan; steal Babusha’s crown, and bring it to the 21st century with them, hopefully eloping with the princesses at the same time. The stage is set for wackiness to ensue, and ensue it does.
Fun2shh is a hard movie to review, because it’s no better than it ought to be. The humor is broad but reasonably funny. The action isn’t brilliant, but it gets the job done. (There’s a nice bit in the arena scene where they try to reproduce a key matrix moment, but with just wires and no fancy cameras.) The songs are reasonably catchy. It is, to borrow a bit of Hinglish, a “time pass.” If the premise of dudes in the 10th century sounds entertaining to you, you’ll probably enjoy it.I f the premise sounds stupid, nothing in the film will change your mind.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a fan of Bollywood’s eternal supporting cast, and I did enjoy seeing some of my favorites get the chance to step into the spotlight and play something different. Gulshan Grover in particular comes off well; for a man who’s built a career out of playing weasely, he’s surprisingly good at being regal.
And back to the present. This little jaunt into the past hasn't really changed my opinion about the movie; it's still bad, but it's the kind of bad movie that I'm willing to watch more than once.
No comments:
Post a Comment