Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | March 17, 2017

Rating: 1 / 5

The essence: Abbas-Mustan are stuck in their genre; nothing wrong with it, but there is no novelty in their story-telling nor bite in their script. Something like this could have been a ‘mast mast cheez’ in the 90s.

This is la la land. There’s a radicalized Ransh (Mustafa Burmanwala, son of Abbas, the first half of the Abbas-Mustan duo). There’s also a Richie-rich kid, Sara Thapar (Kiara Advani), and a college setup to initiate a love story. There is a heavy reference to Romeo and Juliet!

Never mind how the film begins somewhere in North India; after a few uninspiring scenes and a couple of heavy duty songs with plenty of background dancers, there’s a twist in the tale which comes from top of the cliff, just at the interval. It reminds you of the famous Javed Miandad Sharjah six in 1986!

Although that is a ‘take your breath away moment’ nothing else matches the shock value of that scene, and when you think all is lost, in walks Johnny Lever. Even if for just 10 minutes, he makes up for your the bland moments on screen. His entry is not only a comic relief, but a huge relief!

Till then, we are treated to dialogues like, “Houses are becoming bigger, but families are getting smaller,”; “Everyone is running after money,” and “I will spoil your lipstick, but never your kaajal.” All spoken in Hindi, of course!

Kiara Adwani is capable of much more than just looking like an Esha Deol clone. Give her a role with meat and I’m sure she will do justice to it.

The new entrants (Mustafa and Eshan Shanker) have been handed Maruti 800 and asked to behave as though they are in a Ferrari. Considering the clout they have in Bollywood and producing movies, the director duo of Abbas-Mustan could have thought out a better launch vehicle for Mustafa. If a new-comer had directed this film, it could have been palatable. Abbas-Mustan seem stuck in their genre; nothing wrong with it. However, there is no novelty in their story-telling nor bite in their script. Something like this could have been a ‘mast mast cheez’ in the 90s. Today, films like Machine and Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya should be axed at the planning stage itself.

Dalip Tahil is caught in a film where he has nothing to do except be silly. Ronit Roy is now a pro at roles he can do whilst sleepwalking.

Machine, at best, is a show reel for Mustafa Burmanwala!

CREDITS
Producers: Pranay Choksi, Jayantilal Gada, Haresh Patel, Abbas- Mustan
Director: Abbas-Mustan
Star Cast: Kiara Advani, Mustafa Burmanwala, Dalip Tahil, Johnny Lever