Joker: Movie Review

If we go by filmmaker Shirish Kunder's strange concept, one should try being an alien when human acts fail to do wonders. But Kunder's latest release Joker seems too very alienated from the real world. Joker featuring Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Shreyas Talpade in the leads, revolves around a funny, madcap story, where we get introduced to Paglapur's weird characters, who promises to take you for a laughter ride.

Story:

When Agastya (Akshay Kumar), a NASA scientist, fails to invent a machine (that would help us to communicate with the aliens) in UK, he travels back to his village Paglapur, which isn't considered as a part of India. When we get introduced to the remote village Paglapur, it gives us a feel of a circus, where each clown has a different role to play. Every character in Paglapur is a complete lunatic, more or less kind of an asylum. The unfortunate thing about this village is that it lacks basic facilities like water and electricity. When nobody is ready to solve the problem, Akshay Kumar creates a hoax by involving aliens in order to attract attention to the village's problems. The film is surely a laugh riot, that provides you with no logic.

The first half is not a bad attempt by Kunder, but as it proceeds, things go lousy and over-the-top. Every attempt by Agastya for the betterment of Paglapur fails, as his rival scientist (Simon) Alexx O'Nell stand tall as a hurdle to crack Akki's tricks. But that doesn't stop Akki and he does what he aimed for. In a way, Joker is out-and-out illogical movie. But every character promises a great deal of laughter as expected from a typical Akshay Kumar style flick.

Performances:

Surprisingly, Akshay Kumar wasn't a great comedy in Joker. He does his part well, but we feel no NASA scientist would ever do such dramas and tamashaas to grab the Government's attention for the prosperity of a neglected village. Sonakshi wasn't too convincing. The best one in Joker was none other than Shreyas Talpade. He was outstanding as Babban.

You can see Akshay and Sonakshi in some crazy, tacky attire that adds no humour. In fact, after watching out such brilliant stars in such crazy costumes, doing some insane acts in the film, we feel nothing except pitying them. The film also introduces us to some dirty, monstrous looking aliens that might just scare you at a glance, unlike the cute, adorable Jaadu from Koi Mil Gaya. If you believe that these hideous aliens could only speak in gibberish and have no other job in the movie, you are sure in for a surprise. These aliens are skilled performers, they dance and even entertain you. Well, does that sound funny? Not at all because when you watch out these creatures dancing around, it would surely make you say "WHAT THE CRAP IS GOING ON?" In fact, this entire alien related episode looks very artificial and idiotic.

Positives: Joker lends out a good message. There are so many remote villages in India that are lagging behind. The Government may not even know the names of these neglected villages. So, why not, we being the citizens of this nation, try out our bit to help these underprivileged ones to live a better life. This was possibly the best thing, one could learn from this madcap comedy.

The music was quite good. Chitrangada's item number in Joker adds spice and grabs many eyeballs. The movie's cinematography is quite impressive.

Negatives: The lead characters fail to deliver a stupendous performance, while the supporting actors does their respective part well. The second half is a full on tamaasha and would sure give you a headache. I feel Joker could have been a better piece, but Kunder's overrated madness spoiled its beauty.

Watch or Not?

Joker is one-time watch as it is a mass entertainer and delivers a lovely message. But note one important thing: Do not fail to carry a Disprin tablet, as it might leave you suffering from a severe headache in the second half.