Available on: Amazon Prime
One of the characters in the film asks Raju Coolie (Varun Dhawan), "Hey Raju, kya hogaya hai tujhe, tu kaise baat kar raha hai?" To which, the latter replies, "Shit. Pagal ho gaya hoon main yaar yeh do-do (double role) khelke." Like him, you too feel the fatigue as you watch the Dhawan boy switch between the richie rich Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh and Mithun Chakraborty's Jimmy inspired Raju Coolie.
David Dhawan's latest outing comes across more as a spoof of his own 1995 hit vehicle Coolie No. 1 which starred Govinda and Karisma Kapoor in leading roles.
What's Yay: A few gags
What's Nay: Lazy writing, tacky VFX
Story
Jeffery Rozario (Paresh Rawal), a Goan hotelier wants his daughter Sarah (Sara Ali Khan ) to get hitched to a 'stinking' rich man. When Pandit Jai Kishen (Javed Jafferi), a matchmaker brings a marriage proposal for Sarah, Rozario humiliates him and the boy's family because "inn logon ka rishta pehle se gareebi ke saath judda hua hai."
An enraged Kishen who considers his self-respect to be his pride, decides to teach him a lesson and finds a perfect opportunity when he comes across Raju Coolie (Varun Dhawan), a railway porter. Meanwhile, Raju is already smitten by Sarah after having a glance at her photograph.
Hell-bent on seeking revenge from Rozario, Jai Kishen convinces Raju Coolie to woo Sarah by posing as a billionaire, Raja Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh. The greedy Rozaria falls prey to Jai Kishen-Raju Coolie's conspiracy and ends up getting his daughter married to Raju. On the other hand, sparks fly between Raju's mechanic friend Deepak (Sahil Vaid) and Sarah's sister Anju (Shikha Talsania).
When a series of incidents threaten to blow Raju's cover, he cooks up a story about having a estranged twin which leads to comedy of errors.
Direction
First things first, I am a huge fan of masala entertainers who has grown up on a staple of what 90s generation watched as kids. Govinda-Karisma Kapoor's Coolie No. 1 released in 1995. 15 years later, keeping aside the changing cinematic sensibilities, the comic caper still manages to tickle my funny bone. Be it late Kader Khan's Hoshiyaar Chand or Shakti Kapoor's Govardhan Mama, David Dhawan's supporting characters packed a punch.
Cut to 2020, the filmmaker presents the same wine in a new bottle. Varun Dhawan steps into Govinda's shoes while Sara Ali Khan reprises Karisma Kapoor. Despite a talented supporting cast including Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Lever and Anil Dhawan, the film struggles to stand on its feet. Reason? The shoddy writing. Further, many dialogues from the film are lifted from the Govinda-Karisma Kapoor starrer. In short, David Dhawan's reboot simply means shifting the original story to sunnier locations and expensive hotels, and roping in new faces.
The flipside to this is that you unknowingly find yourself comparing the new version to the old one simply because the makers have nothing novel to offer. Also, jokes on accent and body-shaming is so passé.
Performances
There is no denying that Varun Dhawan has an impeccable comic timing (I kind of enjoyed his silly antics and goofiness in his 2014 film Main Tera Hero who was also directed by Papa Dhawan). In case of Coolie No. 1, the young actor has big shoes to fill. There are a couple of gags where the boy makes you laugh but then, they are only as many as you can count on your fingers.
Sara Ali Khan lacks Karisma Kapoor's exuberance, and it clearly shows in her act. At the end of the day, the young actress barely manages to cross the passing marks. While Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan make for a good-looking pair on screen, they lack Chi Chi and Lolo's vibrant chemistry.
Paresh Rawal as the snobbish Jeffery Rozario essays his role with gravitas, though Kader Khan's Hoshiyaar Chand has a cult following of its own. Rajpal Yadav and Johnny Lever are good in their buffoonery parts. Shikha Talsania who was so much fun to watch in Veere Di Wedding, barely gets any scope to perform here. Sahil Vaid plays a second fiddle to Varun Dhawan's character and tries to make most of it.
Technical Aspects
A scene involving a child and a train is likely to be a favourite with the trolls for its outlandish VFX. Barring the 'Husn Hai Suhana' song based in a lavish location, the rest of the film has been shot on sets and has nothing new to offer in terms of production value. The same holds true for Ravi K Chandran's camerawork and Ritesh Soni's editing.
Music
The makers retain 'Husn Hai Suhana' and 'Tujhko Mirchi Lagi' from the original film to evoke some nostalgia and we ain't complaining. The rest two songs- 'Teri Bhabhi' and 'Mummy Kasam' boost of some infectious dance moves, but fails to feature in your on loop list.
Verdict
In one of the scenes in the film, Paresh Rawal's character Jeffery Rozario quips, "Heaven on the docks man, Judwaa out of the box, man." David Dhawan's latest directorial Coolie No. 1 turns out to be a weaker twin of the 1995 film. All Govinda fans out there, steer clear of this one!
We give 2 stars out of 5 for Varun Dhawan-Sara Ali Khan's Coolie No. 1.
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