Masti Express

Now here's yet another film that places its story on Rajpal Yadav's shoulders. This time, Rajpal has Johny Lever for company. Masti Express, helmed by first-time director Vikram Pradhan, has two stories running concurrently: Rajpal and his wife Divya Dutta's fervent desire to have their kid educated at a respectable institution and the auto rickshaw race that forms the crux of the story. Quite an interesting idea, I must add, but interesting ideas don't necessarily translate into fascinating cinematic experiences. The problem is, Masti Express appeals in parts, not in its entirety. At places, the film is engaging, but there are times when it comes across as a yawn-inducing attempt. The screenplay writing is clearly the culprit here!


Masti Express tells the story of a father [Rajpal Yadav], who desperately tries to get his only child admitted to a renowned school and provide him education. His son is just another brat in a slum with an uninspiring future. The son is refused admission initially, but later, when the father faces a lot of obstacles and wins an auto rickshaw race with the help of the school kids, the Principal [Manoj Joshi] opens the doors of his school to the kid.

The director tries to pack just about everything to make the film palatable to the junta janardhan. He decides to pander to the commercial diktats by injecting songs on guest stars [filmed on Shankar Mahadevan and Kashmira Shah, respectively] and also instill comedy in the narrative. Sadly, one doesn't laugh at the jokes [which are crass anyways], the songs too act as speed breakers, while the kiddie portions are half-baked. Ideally, the director could've avoided the unwanted add-ons [including the characters that suddenly arrive from other states to participate in the race] and the editor should've trimmed the film judiciously for a better impact.