Reviews by santanu

Even after the wear tear of 3 Decades of awful remakes and annoying references in multiple comedy films, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1979 cult classic Gol Maal stands even taller on the merit of its uncompromised story and pure and heartfelt comedy. The versatile director’s take on Comedy in Gol Maal is purely based on the faked identity and situational moments. There are certain scenes where the impromptu acts of the brilliant actors make it a hilarious experience. Gol Maal still remains to be one of the most revered comedy films in the history of Hindi film history.
Gol Maal is based on a superbly written script. It’s a story of Ramprasad a recent college graduate who finds a job with a finicky man Bhavani Shankar, who believes that a man without a mustache is a man without a character. As the story further unfolds Ramprakash finds himself tangled in complex web of lies. He starts making stories to cover up his lies and finally his every lie compels him to lie further. The story unplugs pure and simple humour and entertains us to the fullest extent.



Gol Maal proves it again that humour can be created with a very simple story and some brilliant acting and one need not to be sleazy or mucky in order to bring smile into the viewers’ faces. The acting department of Gol Maal is so enriched having the likes of Utpal Dutta, Amol Palekar, Bindiya Goswami, Deven Verma and Dina Pathak. Just about everyone contributes to this brilliant sitcom. But the duo of Utpal Dutta and Amol Palekar were just too good. The comic timing of Utpal Dutta was so immaculate that certain scenes have become immortal in our heart. The direction of the master is flawless and the music is outstanding.
All in all Gol Maal is a perfect example of how a comedy film should be made. This is one of my all time favourites and without any doubt this is the best comedy film in the history of Hindi films. I am going with 8 out of 10 for Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1979 classic Gol Maal, even after watching it for so many times I still get glued on to the screen every time it is broadcasted.

Watching Kolkata on screen is always a real turn on but an entire story set on the back drop of the city is more than a visual treat for me. Now add a smart script and an ably handled execution and I feel we are talking about an unknown phenomenon in Hindi cinema. Honestly after a long time I have enjoyed a good Hindi film which concentrates on the tight screenplay rather than lingering on to the other unimportant aspects of masala ingredients of Indian cinema.
Now before going any more deep into it I have to confess upfront that Kahaani is all the way a Vidya balan film. She is undoubtedly the best Indian actress of present time and she grabs this author backed performance opportunity with both hands and does full justice to it. The supporting cast is enriched with talented Bengali actors and all of them are really good.



The story despite being heavily influenced from Taking Lives is well handled and the smart and tight screenplay keeps the interest alive till the suspense unfolds at the end. The direction by Sujoy Ghosh is more than competent.
Now despite all the good things there are a few minor glitches in the story that really annoyed me. Believe me Kolkata cannot be this dull during Durga Puja when the story is set. Besides the climax on Dashami it hardly looked like Puja time. Also the fact that our IB looked so dumb seemed a little far fledged, I admit that Indian intelligence bureau has a remarkable history of non intelligence failures but they can’t be this dumb. A bereaved woman finds a criminal with such ease whereas the agency entirely depends upon her for the job is shear unbelievable. Moreover the twist ending seemed little half backed. After a superb first half, the last few moments completely looses its tight grip on the story.
All in all after a long time our own Bollywood gives us a good thriller to enjoy. I liked this one and why not I don’t get to see Kolkata everyday on screen. I am going 7 out of 10 for Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, it is really a good example that even we can produce good cinema without being sleazy.