No Problem Movie Review: No Problem: Giggle Fare, Fairly

Director Anees Bazmee is back with his inimitable brand of comedy in 'No Problem', a film produced by Anil Kapoor Productions. This is the man who has given us films like 'No Entry', 'Welcome' and 'Singh Is Kinng', films which the masses have loved. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Bazmee seems to have taken over from yet another comedy king, David Dhawan.

The formula, however, seems to be the same, bizarre plots and equally bizarre characters. It is pointless to try and find any kind of sanity or coherence here. But what one does find in plenty is entertainment and lots to laugh about. That has been the case of most Bazmee movies. And despite the director saying in a recent interview, that audiences are expected to bring their brains along when they watch his movies, they are generally quite brainless and 'No Problem' is no exception.

What the movie does require, of course, is a suspension of one's sense of judgement and reason. If one is able to do that successfully, then there is really no problem. But that is precisely the problem with his latest movie, it lacks the sharpness and systematic craziness of Bazmee's earlier efforts, hence, the comedy is a little forced here. As a result, the laughs do not come so quickly and so easily.

The basic story of 'No Problem' is about two small time crooks, Yash (Sanjay Dutt) and Raj (Akshaye Khanna), who are childhood friends as well. Both have very different temperaments, with Raj always wanting to lead an honest and simple life while Yash can never rid himself of his crooked ways. As a result, Raj always gets dragged into one escapade after another with his buddy. The most recent one being a bank robbery, where Yash robs a bank and its manager, Zandulal (Paresh Rawal) finds himself dragged into suspicion by the cops.

Talking of cops, Arjun (Anil Kapoor) is this foolish cop who is married to the Police commissioner's (Shakti Kapoor) daughter Kajal (Sushmita Sen). His marital life is fraught with tension as his wife transforms into a maniac, intent on murdering him, at least once every day. And finally, there is this big time robber, Marcos (Suniel Shetty). A diamond heist brings all the characters together.

Predictably, Arjun the bumbling cop is after the robbers, while at the same time trying to steer clear of his wife; Zandulal is after Yash and Raj as he has discovered that they are the ones who robbed his bank. He threatens to expose them if they do not return his money.

Yash and Raj now decide to commit one final robbery to get Zandulal off their backs. They rob a minister, who is murdered minutes later by Marcos, who is on the trail of the diamonds. Yash and Raj find themselves in deeper trouble as now they may be implicated for murder. Romance finds its way into this merry go round plot as Raj falls in love with Sanjana (Kangana Ranaut), Kajal's sister. Raj and Yash now find themselves being chased by the cops, as well as the baddies and of course, Zandulal.

So the plot is a basically a merry go round with everybody chasing everybody and the ensuing confusion gives rise to the laughs. So yes, it calls for very skilfull writing and Bazmee seems to slip in this department in many places, which weakens the comedy. However, thankfully for him and the film, the cast seems to plug in with very good performances. But obviously, it could have been a much sharper and funnier movie, with more skilfull writing. Also the madness seems to run its predictable course. But barring these few problems, the film is otherwise quite enjoyable.

The actors really get into the mood of things and leading from the front is Anil Kapoor as the bumbling cop. He is quite good and his scenes opposite Paresh Rawal are excellent. And talking of excellence, no matter what the movie, Rawal is one character who is never less than that. Be it a comedy like 'No Problem' or a serious film like the recent 'Aakrosh', the actor is nothing less than brilliant. His comic sense and his timing are a treat to watch.

Dutt and Akshaye make a cute couple and are quite good. Suniel Shetty and Shakti Kapoor live up to their expectations. Of the females, Sushmita seems to enjoy herself a lot and that comes across on screen. However, Kangana Ranaut and Neetu Chandra seem to be wasted.

As for the other aspects of the movie, it has been very well shot and the shots of South Africa are quite wonderful. The film's music is a little disappointing and has no really catchy number. As for the direction, Bazmee does his best but he is himself handicapped by his predictable madness and at places incoherent screenplay.

The film still manages to have enough to laugh at. 'No Problem' is entertaining but just that comic quotient is not as high as one would have expected, seeing the kind of bigwigs that the film has in its cast. Everybody does their best but there should be enough meat for the actors to dig their teeth into. And that is what this film lacks.