You
have
to
hand
it
to
Farah
Khan.
The
zany
spirit
never
leaves
her
side.
Tees
Maar
Khan
(TMK)
is
a
goofy
oddball
of
a
film,
replete
with
the
most
outrageous
takeoffs
on
the
dreaded
Hindi
Film
'formula'
seen
in
recent
times.
The
film,
we
understand,
is
inspired
by
a
1966
Peter
Sellers
comedy
After
The
Fox.
But
the
foxiness
of
this
feisty
farce
comes
entirely
from
Farah
Khan's
own
sensibilities
as
a
storyteller.
The
laughter
never
deserts
the
belly
of
the
plot.
In
TMK,
she
pulls
out
all
stops
to
tell
a
tale
that
never
grows
pale
under
the
gaze
of
the
camera.
The
plot
is
the
kind
of
kinky
concoction
that
one
associates
with
the
literature
of
P.G
Wodehouse
and
the
drama
of
Sheridan.
As
hard
to
put
down
on
paper
as
it
is
to
pin
down
on
camera,
Farah
Khan
manages
to
just
about
hold
the
myriad
madcap
characters
into
a
firm
comic
grip.
The
clasp
of
the
comic
is
strong
and
engaging.
The
grin
ever
slips
off.
The
spirit
of
a
spoofy
satirical
homage
to
the
larger-than-life
hero-giri
of
the
Formula
Fillum
never
slips
up.
Yes,
some
parts
of
the
takeoff
refuses
to
take
off.
At
times
the
storytelling
becomes
a
casualty
of
its
own
parodic
intentions.
You
never
know
when
the
narration
slips
into
a
parody
of
its
own
parody.
That,
you
realize,
is
a
part
of
this
film's
chirpychalu
charm.
The
energy-driven
narrative
propels
the
parody
from
one
gag
to
another.
The
gasbag
narration
is
never
short
of
tricks
to
seduce
us
into
a
state
of
helpless
laughter.
When
the
dialogues
fail
to
lift
the
satire(and
this
fuel-shortage
happens
frequently),
Akshay
Kumar
steps
in
to
do
his
number.
No
stranger
to
comedy,
Akshay
turns
in
one
of
his
zaniest
performances
since
Priyadarshan's
Hera
Pheri.
To
say
his
comic
timing
is
impeccable
would
be
stating
the
obvious.
Akshay
just
blends
into
the
no-man's-land
ambience
of
the
film
with
unquestioning
sincerity.
Tees
Maar
Khan
Akshaye
Khanna
as
the
Oscar-crazy
superstar
comes
up
with
a
comically
compelling
performance.
We've
never
seen
him
having
so
much
fun
before.
Maybe
it's
the
company
he
'quips'.
Katrina
Kaif's
airheaded
eyelash-batting
makeup-splashing
item-girl
act
gets
its
rippling
rhythms
from
her
lately-honed
comic
aptitudes.
Her
'Sheila
Ki
Jawani'
item
number
which
was
the
film's
selling-point
before
release
is
performed
with
a
gusto
and
elegance
that
could
have
easily
overpowered
the
film.
Happily
TMK
manages
to
hold
its
own
right
up
to
the
crazy
chaotic
finale.
The
plot
is
crammed
full
with
empty-headed
and
moronic
characters.
Farah
Khan's
vibrant
vision
encompasses
the
entire
gamut
of
giggles
chuckles
and
guffaws
in
one
swift
confident
sweep.
You
are
hooked
from
the
word
go.
The
supporting
actors
too
furnish
the
hectic
hilarity
with
enormous
zaniness.Particularly
notable
are
Aarya
Babbar
(fully
in
form
as
a
boorish
slightly
dimwitted
cop),
Apara
Mehta(endearingly
nutty
as
Akshay's
filmy
mother)
and
Ali
Asgar(as
one
of
Akshay's
sidekicks).
Tees
Maar
Khan
is
a
kind
of
subverted
homage
to
the
cinema
of
Manmohan
Desai.
There
are
no
lost-and-found
kids
in
this
'ever-grin'
film.
But
there's
plenty
of
that
spirit
of
daring
destiny
to
do
what
it
can.
Yup,
MKD
would've
smiled
on
watching
this
one.
Go
for
Tees
Maar
Khan.
Ignore
all
the
negative
comments
you've
been
hearing
about.
It's
great
unpretentious
fun.
To
actually
put
so
many
IQ-challenged
characters
into
an
intelligent
piece
of
comedy
couldn't
be
easy.
So
who
said
being
the
new-age
Manmohan
Desai
was
easy?
Story first published: Monday, January 3, 2011, 18:31 [IST]