Minty and Bubbly!
Yeh world hai na world… (This world)
Isme do tarah ke log hotey hai… (has two kinds of people)
Ek jo har fillum main logic-wogic doondthey rehtey hai… (a. Nitpicking Losers!)
Aur doosrey, jo har fillum ke magic ka maza lootthey hai… (b. Picnicking Revellers!)
Bunty aur Babli yeh doosre type ke logon liye bani hai.
Yes, this comic rollercoaster of a caper is wonly for those blessed with a generous sense of humour. You can’t help but like this film, simply because of the colourful characters and the casual air with which the charismatic actors carry off the roles.
Abhishek Bachchan rocks.
Rani rules.
And, Biggie B shows us yet again why he’s still the BAAP of Bollywood!
The film starts off on a realistic note with the central characters stuck in sticky sentimental family situations. Vimmi’s (Rani) Dad wants her married and Rakesh’s (Abhishek) Dad wants him to become a ticket collector, just like him. Thus, Shaad Ali Sahgal sets the perfect stage for the characters to escape the claustrophoby and the monotone of the routine, regular everyday life.
Escape is what the film provides from the minute the characters run away from home and decide to take the easy way out: Con the world to fame.
Soon, the emotional sentimentality paves way for comicbook stylisation as Vimmi and Rakesh become Bunty aur Babli, the consters who have fun-on-the-run, one adventure after another, and one laugh-riot after the other. The one where they sell the Taj Mahal to the seventh richest man in the world is their crowning glory!
“I can’t believe that someone is selling the Taj Mahal,” says the phirang excitedly. “I can’t believe that someone is actually buying,” laughs Bunty.
As they play ‘Catch Me if You Can’ with Deputy Commissioner Dashrath (Amitabh Bachchan), they find the chase getting too close for their own comfort.
The chemistry between the lead pair is a delight. The romance is very understated, but Shaad Ali has also picturised one of the most beautiful kisses in Hindi cinema! If you’re already familiar with the songs, you are simply gonna love them more once you watch them!
Oh, the tributes are there in plenty. Shaadi Ali pays tributes to his mentor Mani Ratnam (Bombay, Alai Payuthey) and even old Bachchan fillums (Sholay, Don). Watch out for these brief lines, situations and choregraphy that work as fine salutes.
On the flip side, Bunty aur Babli is not clever. It totally banks on charm!
And it ends before you want it to, so much that it is almost an anti-climax. After a series of adventures, you would expect the action to snowball and end with the biggest con-job. Instead, the plot just fizzles out and turns politically correct.
Bunty aur Babli might not be a great film but it’s fun. Minty and bubbly it is!
Total timepass! Have a blast!
MADRAS INK. 