Phir Hera Pheri Movie Review: Don?t Think, Just Laugh

With the super success of Hera Pheri, the expectations from its sequel Phir Hera Pheri are huge. Add to that the fact that Priyadarshan who directed the original, declined the offer to direct the sequel led many detractors to believe that a sequel in Bollywood just can not find success as it can never live up to the original. The fact of the matter is that the writer of both the original and sequel is the same, for the sequel Neeraj Vohra wears two hats by taking over direction as well.

The film begins where Hera Pheri ended, which leaves Raju (Akshay Kumar), Shyam (Suniel Shetty) and Baburao (Paresh Rawal) end up with loads of money. They can finally get past all their money problems and live the life they had dreamed off. Unfortunately with money, comes the greed for more money and so when Raju encounters Anuradha (Bipasha Basu) so has a chit fund scheme which guarantees doubling of the initial investment in 21 days, Raju convinces the other 2 that this is a must do for them. The fact that Anuradha reminds Shyam of his dead wife (Tabu) only makes it easier for Raju to convince Shyam and also add more masala to the tale. The twist in the tale is that they require a minimum investment of Rs. 1 crore. Amongst the three of them they contribute 10 lakhs each but need to figure out how to get the remaining 70 lakhs. They con Rajpal Yadav into contributing 20 lakhs and they get the remaining 50 by selling their bungalow to the very Parsi Dinesh Hingoo. The scenes where Raju tries to convince Shyam and Baburao as well as the scenes in which they devise their plans to get the remaining money are absolutely hilarious. One has to keep in mind that this is a comedy film where logic takes a backseat and the funny situations, dialogues, performances and great timing take over the driver?s seat. If you are able to watch the film with this perspective that you will surely enjoy the film.

Once they realize that Bipasha has pulled a con on them and that the chit fund was a scam, they also come to know that Rajpal has borrowed the 20 lakhs from an underworld don (Sharat Saxena) who threatens to kill Rajpal and his sister (Riimi Sen) if his money is not returned pronto. Add to this the fact that Raju has fallen for Riimi, Raju, Shyam and Baburao have to come up with a way to tackle this don. Abound with funny moments ? the sequence where Raju meets Riimi for the first time will really have you laughing as will the scenes where Raju tries to show off his ?richness? as a means of conning others.

All this comic confusion leads to a climax which involves all the characters and reminds you of the climax of the original wherein the events are filled with one comic act after another. The circus environment only adds to the scenes and all the characters running around to save their lives is just hilarious. You?ll have to watch the film to see what finally happens in terms of whether Raju, Shyam and Baburao get back their money and what happens to Anuradha but the ending of the film clearly leaves scope for a third Hera Pheri.

The film is not without its flaws. Some of the jokes are clich?d and completely designed for the mass audiences. The film?s pacing in the second half is slow which makes us wonder that with better editing in the second half, the film could have improved immensely. Another flaw is that too many characters get introduced especially in the second half, taking away from the natural comedy that is infused by the 3 lead characters. Also the second half is not as funny as the first mainly because the introduction of so many characters forces the writer to introduce unnecessary tracks. Furthermore some of the scenes don?t really make sense and hence leave the viewer confused. In terms of music there is only ?Yaad Sataye Teri? picturized on Akshay and Riimi which is worth mentioning. However the placement of the song is distracting and one wonders why the production values of the song are not upto par.

Phir Hera Pheri belongs to Paresh Rawal. He brings back Baburao and all his antics and adds so much life to the character that we can?t imagine anyone else in that role. Inspite of not having the best one-liners and dialogues, his timing is absolutely perfect and his expressions, body language and the manner in which he shouts his lines will have you laughing till it almost hurts. Akshay gets the best dialogues and one-liners and he is perfect in delivering them. The only problem is that lately Akshay has done too many roles along the same time, and we hope his next comedy film gives him something a little different to do. Nonetheless, he is great to watch and we just reiterate his flair for comedy. Of the 3, Suniel Shetty has the weaker role, but he too infuses life into the character and his performance reminds you that the 3 characters are all meant to compliment each other. One wishes that Riimi Sen would get better roles to showcase her talent. After an amazingly confident debut in Priyadarshan?s Hungama which showcased her ability to handle comedies, Riimi has been relegated to meaningless roles which give are minimum scope to perform. The same is true for Phir Hera Pheri as she really doesn?t have much of a role. Bipasha is a treat to watch as she too shows that she has the timing and flair required for a comedy, but we wish that she would have had a meatier role. Both females get very little scope throughout the film.

All in all, Phir Hera Pheri may not be as good as the original but it surely entertains and definitely makes you laugh and is worth a watch just for the chemistry between the 3 characters and their comic situations.