By:
Subhash
K.
Jha,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
August
28,
2007
When
it
doesn't
TRY
to
be
funny,
it"s
funny.
And
when
it's
not
funny,
it's
quite
heartwarmingly
touching…honestly!
Picture
this.
A
tv
anchor
who
has
made
a
career
out
of
spoofing
satirizing
and
savaging
Hindi-film
conventions
decides
to
direct
a
film
where
three
certifiable
studs(check
out
their
huffing
harem
of
haseenas
of
every
hue
and
colour
preferably
blonde)
wake
up
one
morning
(in
separate
beds
with
different
blondes)
to
find
a
baby
on
their
doorstep.
No,
the
babe
is
not
Vidya
Balan.
She
comes
much
later.
The
baby
is
a
8-month
old
girl
eventually
christened
Angel
who
does
more
pooh
than
we
can
go
pooh-pooh
over
the
wild
improbability
of
Leonard
Nimoy"s
Three
Men&A
Baby
working
in
a
desi
context.
But
Sajid
Khan's
comic
timing
in
telling
the
story
of
the
taming
of
three
screws…er,
male
shrews,
sees
the
tale
through.
You
can't
fault
the
narrative
for
its
brio.
Sajid
gives
the
heee-heee-heroic
trio
a
huge
leeway
to
raise
laughter
on
a
self-consciously
casual
set
representing
a
bachelor
pad.
The
swanky
pad
comes
alive
to
the
sound
of
a
little
girl
bawling
her
head
off,
eating,
chuckling
and
of
course
doing
stinky-pooh.
The
rapidfire
editing
(Rameshwar
S
Bhagat)
creates
a
series
of
immensely
watchable
vignettes
taken
from
the
life
of
a
trio
of
over-libidinous
slobs.
The
reformation,
though
expected,
still
takes
you
by
surprise.
The
crisis
in
the
baby's
life
(she
nearly
dies
when
left
in
the
rain
by
her
callous
surrogate-dads)
culminates
in
the
trio
falling
at
her
feet
as
a
beam
of
light
pierces
the
darkened
room
to
denote
their
new
enlightened
spirit.
The
Muslim
hero
(Fardeen)
even
falls
to
his
feet
to
recite
his
prayers.
Manmohan
Desai
must
be
chuckling
in
heaven.
You
know
Sajid
Khan
is
out
to
get
your
attention
by
hook
or
by
crook.
Pulling
out
all
stops
he
designs
an
entertainer
that
isn't
shy
of
letting
all
the
filmy
emotions
hang
out.
They,
the
emotions,
often
do.
Hang
out,
I
mean.
The
treatment
of
the
theme
is
brutally
schwaltzy
and
savagely
satirical.
You
can't
miss
the
sharp
screechy
turns
that
the
debutant
director
takes
as
he
takes
his
boisterous
threesome
from
smelly
socks
to
smellier
napkins
and
sensitive
fatherhood.
Yes,
the
conversion
is
more
sudden
and
drastic
than
a
bunch
of
rowdy
tribals
suddenly
converting
their
religion
for
Church
benefits.
And
really,
the
three,
especially
Riteish,
occasionally
over-do
the
fatherly
concern.
But
the
swift
one-liners
and
irreverent
but
innocuous
gender
jokes
in
the
first-half
are
delightfully
done.
At
interval
point
Sajid
Khan
brings
in
the
lady
of
the
show.
Vidya
Balan
plays
a
hot-tempered,
impulsive
capricious
and
stubborn
single
mother
with
a
dash
of
uncharacteristic
zest.
She
loses
her
delicate
edges
to
sustain
a
portion
of
the
brittle
film
that
requires
a
whole
deal
of
sustenance.
In
this,
Vidya"s
screen-dad
is
of
tremendous
help.
While
one
can
think
of
many
truly
funny
moments
in
the
first-half
the
second
-half
has
just
one
interlude
that's
positively
hilarious.
It
has
Fardeen
Khan
doing
a
take-off
on
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee's
Chupke
Chupke,
driving
Miss
Balan
and
her
dad
at
snail's
pace
while
the
other
two
heroes
swish
by
in
various
get-ups.
Here,
more
than
anyone
else,
Boman
Irani's
expressions
from
the
back
seat
of
the
snail-paced
car
are
to
die
for.
Luckily
the
film's
pace
is
svelter
than
snail's.
But
no,
you
don"t
'die'
laughing
in
Heyy
Babyy.
The
gags
are
reined-in
and
often
qualified
by
the
eagerness
to
show
an
emotional
underside
to
the
feeling
of
all-boys'
bacchanalia.
The
second-half
where
Akshay
seduces
the
innocent-and-starry-eyed
Vidya
Balan
as
time-pass
reminded
me
of
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee's
Jurmana
where
Amitabh
Bachchan
had
played
the
devi
Raakhee's
amorous
advocate.
The
source
references
and
allusions
in
Heyy
Babyy
are
sly
and
tongue-in-cheek.
When
the
three
bacherlor-fathers
are
toying
with
a
name
for
the
baby
Riteish
suggests,
"How
about
Jaan-nasheen?" to
Fardeen…..Refer
back
to
Fardeen's
father
Feroz"s
flop
film.
The
flip-flop
of
talcum
tenderness
and
boys'
boorishness
keeps
you
watching
most
of
the
time,
though
the
second-half
does
get
painfully
tedious
with
portions
sticking
out
like
'snore'
thumbs.
Sleeping
on
the
banana-peel,
or
what!
But
you
really
can't
fault
Sajid
Khan's
directorial
debut
for
its
joie
de
vivre.
The
swirl
of
sleek
satire
and
the
twirl
of
mini-skirted
attire
ensure
that
the
audience
never
tires
of
this
ticklish
tale
of
three
incorrigible
bachelors,
a
headstrong
babe,
a
charming
baby
and
plenty
of
glam-decked
fast-paced
gup-slurp.