Nagesh Kukunoor’s latest offering, Bombay to Bangkok, is a comic caper which has been very well crafted indeed. The film has a kind of freshness to it which is very refreshing. Kukunoor proves that in the hands of an intelligent director, even the not-so-extra-ordinary material can be moulded to make a truly enjoyable movie experience. One has come to expect the unexpected from Kukunoor. The man who gave us Dor and Iqbal among many others, has grown as a director, and so have the expectations from him. Fortunately, he always delivers.

Bombay to Bangkok is no great story where stories are concerned but it is Kukunoor’s treatment of his subject which makes it so very watchable. His choice of actors, the quirky characters that they play, and the at-times-obvious and at others tongue-in-cheek humour, is what really makes this film work. And of course, the ridiculous situations that the protagonist finds himself in. He does work with a few clichés here as well, but there is still a twist that he adds which makes the characters memorable. The best of all is that Kukunoor never lets the comic flavour go out of hand and descend into the very slapstick kind, innuendo-laden variety. The mix is just about right. Then there are his actors, all of who do a marvelous job of keeping the spirit going.

The film’s story is about Shankar Singh (Shreyas Talpade), a chef in a modest Mumbai restaurant, who discovers a money bag and decides to pocket it, thinking that it would solve all his problems in life. Unfortunately for him, the bag happens to belong to a don, who is now after his life. The don played by Naseerudin Shah, in a small cameo, sets his son Jamal, who goes by the name of JAMK (Vijay Maurya), on Shankar. Jamk, who is a rap artiste by soul and a hoodlum by profession, now is baying after Shankar’s life. The cook manages to hoodwink the goons and lands up in Bangkok along with a motley gang of doctors, by pretending to be one of them. All the doctors, save the team’s psychiatrist, are taken in by his appearance. He hides the money bag in one of the boxes of medical supplies, planning to retrieve it once he reaches Bangkok.

Kukunoor sets the entire drama in Thailand. Since the destination is Thailand, massage parlours cannot be far behind. On their first day in Bangkok, all the doctors are taken to a typical Thai massage parlour by their affable host. This is where Shankar meets the heroine of his life, Jasmine, and falls in love. The next day at the medical camp, he sees the same girl again, working as a volunteer. Their love story gets off to a start aided by a helpful interpreter. While Shankar, the lover manages to fend for himself, Shankar, the doctor bumbles and fumbles his way and accidently even reaches a correct diagnosis, escaping detection all the way.

But things get a little complicated when he finds that he cannot get into the supplies room without the psychiatrist’s permission. Also, when he does go in, he is unable to find the bag. When he realizes that the bag may be in the supplies sent to another medical camp, he sets off for Bangkok, riding pillion on Jasmine’s scooter. (the medical camp is held in a place off Bangkok). Love blossoms on the way. The gangsters manage to make it to Bangkok. They accost Shankar right after he retrieves the precious money bag. Having lived a lie for so long, he is relieved to have been able to get off easy. Reason: Rap artiste has had a session with the psychiatrist at the camp and has managed to resolve his complexes, or at least quite a few of them.
The complications begin here with Jasmine leaving Shankar in Bangkok as she knows that Shankar does not approve of her profession. Love is not enough. Back at the camp, the medical supplies are missing and everyone thinks that Shankar is the culprit. In the end, all falls in place and the true culprit is found. Shankar also finds true love and gets a chance to play a real hero.

Shreyas Talpade carries the film well on his shoulders. He gets an opportunity in this film to play a more filmi character – dance, song, romance, and he carries it off very well. The best thing about him is the ease with which he portrays his character. Not an iota of effort is visible in his performance. Perhaps this is more so because of Kukunoor, with whom he must be sharing a very comfortable working relationship.

In this film, Kukunoor manages to, very subtly, highlight our misconceptions about Thailand and its people. The message of tolerance and acceptance of all people and places is very subtly woven into the relationship between Shankar and Jasmine. Kukunoor’s genius touch is most evident in the character of Shankar’s mother, a retired geography teacher, a very small cameo by Uttara Baokar. The ultimate is probably the character of the gangster who is a rap artiste. The relationship between him and the psychiatrist are to die for. There are quite a few such masterly touches strewn in the film. The Thai actress who plays the role of Jasmine also turns in a very good performance as Shankar’s ladylove with a mind of her own. Vijay Maurya as the gangster is just fantastic. Quite a scene stealer.

The scenic beauty of Thailand is very well captured on camera. The film’s music is decent. The one number, ‘We Are Same-Same’ is quite catchy. The film’s treatment, its dialogues, funny and quirky at places, go a long way in making Bombay To Bangkok an extremely interesting experience. Backed by an intelligent director, and some very commendable performances, Bombay To Bangkok is a delightful comic caper.