Something about being Merry!
By Vikas Mohan, MovieTalkies.com, 26 November 2005
3 / 5
Here goes another ‘inspired’ flick, but lets give this one credit for starters. Deewane Huye Pagaal, inspired from the Hollywood hit There is Something about Mary, is genuinely funny at places. Rimii Sen is ‘the’ centre of attraction in the film. The most beautiful girl in college, Shahid Kapoor is the first among the suitors who falls for Rimii. But a gawky, shy and awkward kid, Shahid, who also studies in the same college and works in Johny Lever’s canteen part time, before he can profess his love to Rimii, a rather comic sub plot keeps his commitment at bay. Rimii while on the way to meet Shahid encounters a problem. Scientist Om Puri, who has invented a ‘stay-young-forever’ formula, has secured it in a safe, whose code is known to no one except him, and his pet parrot. But Om’s twin brother, who plays a don, is out to get the formula. Om is on the run with the parrot, while his nephew pursues him. Om tries to get into Rimii’s car to escape, but is killed by the nephew. Rimii is a witness to the murder and though the killer comes after her, she manages to escape, and flees to Dubai, where she starts life on a new note, and with a new name.
Meanwhile, even though three years have passed since that incidence, Shahid is unable to forget his love. And when he finds out that Rimii is in Dubai, he engages Akshay Kumar to trace her. And though Akshay is successful in finding her, the twist comes in when, Akshay also finds himself falling for Rimii, making him Suitor no.2. Joining the bandwagon are Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal, who too are in love with Rimii, and who pretend to be handicapped yet helpful beings, in order to woo her over. A surprise entry, a jumble of events and with some genuine bouts of humor, Deewane Huye Pagaal takes a three hour journey to unleash who finally gets the girl.
Production values are very good, with some great cinematography. But Anu Malik’s score is anything but ‘original’. Abbas Ali Moghul’s action is spectacular in the climax, and is something to watch out for. Though a light film, the story doesn’t have a very convincing backbone, and the characters somewhere end up looking look artificial.
Performance-wise, Akshay Kumar again shows his competence with comedy. Suniel Shetty has ‘tried’ his best to play the role of a handicapped man, and though the role was an opportunity of a lifetime for Rimii Sen, as she plays the most pivotal role in the film, she proves to be a miscast. The surprise element is Vijay Raaz, who in spite of having a minor role, steals the show whenever he appears on-screen. And though Johny Lever, Suresh Menon, Asrani, Supriya and Baljeet add to the humor of the situation, Vivek Oberoi ends up making a farce of his role as the ‘sutradhar’.
As the director, Vikram Bhatt’s attempt at comedy can is not entirely successful due to a poor script, but the dialogue definitely has punch at places.