WAR…CHHOD NA YAAR: Leave it! Go for your favorite comedy TV shows instead. [2/5]

No one wants war. No one likes to participate in something that harms common people’s peace, prosperity and harmony. We all believe that. At least, we tend to believe that. So when it comes to our ‘not so sweet’ political relationship with our neighboring country, we all at some level have tried to imagine what if the circumstances at the border were not as tensed as it may look sitting in our drawing rooms. The very same is the premise on which first-time writer-director Faraz Haider tries to build nation’s first war-comedy WAR…CHHOD NA YAAR!

On the very first scene, we see our Indian army commander Rana [played by Sharman Joshi] and the chief of Pakistani army outpost [played by Javed Jaffrey] secretly leaving their bases in the darkest hour of the midnight, only to meet at the ‘no man’s land’ not for some revenge seeking war but a card game [Later, they have been shown playing Antakshari also with their respective teams]. The intention is very clear. Make every situation funnier that you think it could be but the problem is the writing lacks originality and innovation. The gags and wits are as if taken from either common man’s raw understandings and presumptions about issues and the mechanism or from an old book of anti-Pakistan jokes. You really can’t be biased with showing most of the good-hearted smart people at your side and the dumbest ones on the other [exclude politicians; they are all the same everywhere]…especially when at the end, you are heading towards a solid meaning message to all the humankind.

Film sure shows a humorous take on the political intervention of other countries [China providing innovative weapons and artilleries to Pakistan, Uncle Sam giving a generous financial aid to India to launch the war] and the caricature-ish low-IQed politicians from both the sides. There is also the TRP-hungry media that masters in how to fabricate regular News feeds to make it large enough for grabbing more eye-balls.  

Performances are strictly average and very conventional & unsurprising. Sharman Joshi and Soha Ali Khan Pataudi are just as you expect them to be. Javed Jaffrey is confident and looks the most promising of them all. Sanjay Mishra repeats himself roles after roles and offers nothing new. Dalip Tahil plays multiple roles of politicians from all sides but if anyone can really make you laugh whole-heartedly is out of the question. Mukul Dev plays an intruder terrorist from Afghanistan who always gets caught by an Indian intelligence officer in disguise patrolling over border-line.     

At the end, WAR…CHHOD NA YAAR is comical but only in its concept & the aspiration it dreams to achieve. I wish the gags would have been fresh and a little matured in nature. Being loyal to your country is one thing but demeaning others by attacking continuously on their state of financial crisis is completely other. Wait for the satellite release and you may like it on a lazy Sunday but as of now, it is not better than a 1-hour episode of comedy shows on your popular TV channel. [2/5]