By
Saibal
Chatterjee
Skating
on
thin
ice
is
one
thing.
But
trying
to
conjure
things
up
out
of
thin
air
is
quite
another.
Abhishek
Sharma's
Tere
Bin
Laden
–
Dead
or
Alive
does
much
more
of
the
latter.
The
outcome
is
inevitably
fluffy.
Even
when
the
film
does
a
bit
of
the
former,
which
is
quite
often,
it
is
obviously
always
in
danger
of
slipping.
And
it
does.
Director:
Abhishek
Sharma
Cast:
Manish
Paul,
Pradhuman
Singh,
Sikander
Kher,
Sugandha
Garg,
Rahul
Singh,
Piyush
Mishra,
Ali
Zafar
Tere
Bin
Laden
Dead
Or
Alive
Story:
The
story
actually
begins
with
an
Old
Delhi
boy
Sharma
(Manish
Paul),
who
dreams
of
making
a
name
for
himself
in
Bollywood.
In
Mumbai,
he
stumbles
upon
Osama
lookalike
Paddi
Singh
(Pardhuman
Singh)
and
has
a
brainwave.
But
Osama's
death
puts
paid
to
his
plans
to
make
a
film
on
the
al-Qaeda
chief.
His
and
Paddi's
life
takes
a
dramatic
turn
when
both
the
US
agent
and
a
terror
outfit
led
by
a
man
named
Khaleeli
(Piyush
Mishra)
launch
a
hunt
for
them.
One
wants
Paddi
dead,
the
other
wants
him
alive.
The
ensuing
mayhem
is
only
intermittently
amusing
–
not
funny,
mind
you
–
as
Sharma
and
Paddi
and
their
Bollywood
mates
(Sugandha
Garg,
Rahul
Singh,
Chirag
Vohra)
are
caught
in
the
crossfire.
There
are
moments
in
the
film
when
the
actors
appear
to
be
having
a
lot
of
fun,
but
with
little
in
the
screenplay
to
cling
on
to
in
order
to
stay
afloat,
they
are
reduced
to
clutching
at
straws.
When
a
wacky
and
wild
absurdist
comedy
is
delivered
with
a
degree
of
control,
it
can
work
wonders.
But
Tere
Bin
Laden
–
Dead
or
Alive
has
none
of
the
spark
of
the
original.
It
works
on
the
principle
that
a
madcap
caper
can
get
away
simply
by
pulling
out
the
stops.
The
end
result
is
a
riot
all
right,
but
it
is
singularly
without
the
laughs.It
seeks
to
poke
fun
at
everything
from
the
US
war
on
terrorism
to
the
violent
depredations
of
the
Taliban.
In
between,
it
throws
in,
for
good
measure,
plenty
of
jibes
at
Bollywood.
But
the
humour
is
too
laboured
to
hit
home.
Overall,
Tere
Bin
Laden
–
Dead
or
Alive
comes
across
as
a
flimsy
spoof
that
has
bitten
off
much
more
than
it
can
chew
and
digest.
The
2010
original
that
found
instant
takers
was
marked
by
a
lightness
of
touch
and
a
mirthful
plot
that
did
not
lose
its
way
in
an
over-indulgent
maze.
The
trouble
with
this
over-plotted
sequel
is
that
it
attempts
to
extract
tongue-in-cheek
hilarity
from
outlandish
situations
that
tend
to
overstay
their
welcome.
Among
the
many
butts
of
ridicule
in
the
film
is
no
less
a
personage
than
the
US
President.
Played
by
Barack
Obama
impersonator
Iman
Crosson,
he
orders
his
right
hand
man
David
(Sikander
Kher),
who
revels
in
aping
Jim
Carrey
when
he
does
not
launch
into
Punjabi-inflected
Hindi,
to
secure
documentary
proof
of
Osama
Bin
Laden's
death.
Verdict:
Tere
Bin
Laden
–Dead
or
Alive
lacks
the
sparks
the
original
had
and
is
nothing
but
a
filmsy
comedy.
Coming
down
to
Aligarh
Vs
Tere
Bin
Laden
2,
the
former
is
far
better
and
deserves
a
watch.
But
if
you
don't
wish
to
see
a
brillaint
film
like
Aligarh
then
have
the
courage
to
sit
through
Tere
Bin
Laden
2,
for
it
is
not
as
great.