Rascals Review

David Dhawan is back to his old ways. During the 90' s, he made a name for himself by making madcap comedy films which were a huge hit with the audience. He also made the careers of actors like Govinda and Sanjay Dutt. This time he has teamed up with Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn. There are also rumors that this film is a remake of Deewana Mastana starring Anil Kapoor and Govinda. Let' s see if with this film David manages to recreate the magic of the old days.

Chetan (Sanjay Dutt) and Bhagat (Ajay Devgn) are two fraudsters who also happen to be archrivals. They are constantly trying to outdo each other. They both end up falling for the same girl (Kangana Ranaut). They try their best to woo her and spoil each other' s plan. That' s the film in a nutshell.

This is the plotline of the film. Yes, there is absolutely no story. Just a number of sequenced gags that are not even funny. This kind of humor used to work in the 1990s but this is year 2011 and the public now wants a story in every film they watch. Even mad and nonsensical comedy films should have some basic storyline. That is what is missing in Rascals. The film looks like an assortment of sketches with the same characters. This has to be one of the worst comedy films of the year.

The screenwriter Yusuf Sajawal needs to refund the money he was paid because it seems he has not done any writing of sort for the film. The dialogues by Sanjay Chhel aren' t that funny either. Some jokes are funny, but they are all in the first half. It is all downhill from there onwards. The second half of the film is very bad. At least in the first half there is some entertainment, but post the interval it is pure torture for the audience. The length of the film is also questionable.

This kind of film is bread and butter for David Dhawan. He can simply sleepwalk through the whole film making, and that is what it seems he has done. He has slept throughout and just hasn' t paid any attention to the non-existent storyline. He could have ensured that the writers add some sort of sense into the story. Maybe he was overconfident of pulling off this script which did not have much in it. He has also failed to get any good performance out of any of the actors. They just all seem to be hamming throughout the film.

Ajay Devgn has become a master of sorts of comedy films. His last comic caper, Golmaal 3 was a huge hit. Therefore, the poor performance of this film will not make much of a difference to his burgeoning career. This film however, will bad affect Sanjay Dutt. His last film, Chattur Singh Two Star, was a huge disappointment. Also, with rumors about him being replaced in the Munnabhai series, things are not looking great for him.

Kangana Ranaut does an okay job. She wants to break her serious girl image and hence, she has been starring in quite a few comedy films. However, she should avoid films like Rascals if she wants to succeed in breaking that image. Lisa Haydon looks great, and acting wise too she is good. She seems to have a bright future. The rest of the supporting cast is good.

The music in the film is one of the few plusses about the film. One would have to feel bad for Vishal-Shekhar as they do their level best in the music department but the content of the film fails them. Few songs from the film like "Shake it saiyan" and "Tik tuk" have become quite a rage among the public. These songs are also pictured well. The cinematography is good, but the editing is strictly okay. During editing, the editor does get to understand if the length of the film is right or wrong. They should stamp their authority and chop out unnecessary scenes even if the director is not willing.

The production value of the film is good. The sets are lavish and the locations beautiful. The film also has been promoted really well. Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn have been appearing on quite a few TV shows promoting the film. The popularity of the music will also work in its favor. Rascals will get a good initial opening, but will find it hard to retain the audience as bad publicity of the film is bound to spread. The audience will not like the film and the producers are set to lose big on this film. Also, the other releases of last week are still going strong.

Rating: *1/2

Verdict: Rascals is a waste of time and money. Watch the week' s other releases instead.

Reviewed by: Harshal Anand

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