akshay shah

Thanks Sheeru for another fantastic review though this is one I disagree with you on as I enjoyed APKGB quiet a bit!

This piece first appeared on Facebook here

Rajkumar Santoshi directs a comedy…ooooiiieeee maaaaa….LOL. Last time Rajkumar Santoshi directed a comedy was in 1994, Andaaz Apna Apna. No one thought he had it in him to set fort in that genre since practically all of his films were serious, action-packed, dhoom-dhamaka movies. Well, 15 years later Santoshi Saab gives us APKGK. These days comedies are doing very well at the box office. Sometimes movies that turn out to be nothing but utterly nonsense end up succeeding at the box office.

APKGK is nothing new in terms of presentation. It’s the same old, twists and turns that cause confusion mingled in with a romantic angle. Where actors talk loudly to get there point across wanting the audience to laugh out loud. Where there hero and heroine share many comedic moments in which there is loads of slapping and tons of please and thank you’s. The highest mark goes to the film’s marvelous music. Pritam outdoes himself, once again. Tu Jaane Na is my favorite track of the year. Tera Hone Laga Hoon is brilliantly pictured. Prem Ki Naiyya is a peppy number that is captured amazingly by director. Also, the chemsitry between Ranbir and Katrina is worth praising. They are a delight to watch on screen. They look perfect together. Everyone will fall in love with Ranbir’s character Prem. His life-style, his happy go lucky attitude, his sacrifices for the girl he loves will make you fall for him. Ranbir is a star. He has the charisma to be a star. He is one actor we can’t get bored of, that’s a promise. He has set his foot down when it comes to comedy. He knows he’s funny, he knows he can make people laugh. Katrina is improving. She is handling her emotional scenes well these days. The accent is still there, but since she is playing an educated Christian girl, we can forgive her. Let me add, she is looking gorgeous in this film. Any Prem out there would go crazy for her lol. Darshan Jariwala and Smita Jaykar do very good in their roles. Govind Namdeo and Zakir Hussain should be shot. They are so damn loud. There track is a total bore. There are many side plots that should of been deleted or re-worked in this film. Sometimes I felt like Rajkumar was in a rush to quickly wrap up the shoot. Another turn off was that Santoshi’s characters kept changing drastically from time to time. Upen Patel’s character was very poorly written. Wait, wait, wait…Upen Patel is such a fake actor. I have no idea why director’s even sign this man. Salman Khan’s special appearance did not stand out in my opinion. He probably came on the set to check up on his real life girlfriend and Santoshi added him into a scene just for the hell of it. Editing was not up to the mark.

Cinematography could of been better in my opinon. The locals used in the songs were great to look at. The action sequences were meant to be funny, but I did not laugh. Actually I wasn’t laughing much in this film. Even the climax which kind of reminded me or Andaaz Apna Apna’s climax did not work for me. Yes when Katrina kept hitting Ranbir on the head with a pole the director managed to get in a few laughs there. There were many corny angles and scenes. One being Jesus Christ appearing in the end. That was…I can’t find the word. Upen and Katrina’s relationship didn’t mean anything for the viewer. There was no emphasis on it. On how they met, or how they fell for each other. All we know is that they met in school and fell for each other, no flashback, no nothing. Another big mess-up was when out of no where Sajid The Don kidnaps Jenny. How, when, where Mr Santoshi? Show the viewer. I know it’s a comedy film where you leave your brains at home, but come on. Rajkumar should of filled the gaps because there was a lot missing in this film. One thing that stood out was Prem and Jenny’s stammering when they get emotional. That was very neat. And well acted by the two lead actors. So where does that leave us. Hmmm…it’s passable. Watch it once. If you loved the music, you won’t be disappointed since all of the songs are well pictured. If you like Ranbir and Katrina, you won’t be disappointed because both gave good performances. If you want to laugh non stop…this is not the movie…unless if you wanna fake laugh…hehehehe….hahahaha.