DILWALE: Guns and Roses, Jammed and Wilted! [2/5]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Pretending is ridiculous. I really wonder how could someone disregard this golden rule of comedy and still call himself a master of the same. Rohit Shetty’s DILWALE suffers heavily from this exact syndrome where almost everyone involved with the project pretends to be someone else. Rohit acts [behind the camera, as director] as if he’s none less than Late Mukul Anand. Varun Dhawan makes faces as if he’s his dad’s favorite Govinda. Kajol and Shahrukh pretend comfortably to be in a love-story within a comedy within an action thriller [Now you know why Varun compares it with INCEPTION. Yeah, he did. You heard it right!]. The film itself lives in a make-believe world to be a HUM (1991) in plot-construction and DDLJ (1995) in promotional gimmicks. And pretending is ridiculous, I tell you. So, the only two who don’t fall in the pit are Pankaj Tripathi and Sanjay Mishra; one plays a character [where mosts play their aura] and the other does a spick and span imitation of Jeevan Saab.

DILWALE settles its base in Asian Paints sponsored Buenos Aires, Venice and Charleston parts of Goa. Kids here if not driving modified multihued cars, sure would find themselves in a clash for ‘tera laal mere laal se jyada laal kaise?’. Raj [Shahrukh Khan] with his younger brother Veer [Varun Dhawan] runs a Dilip Chhabria inspired garage-cum-design factory and stays mostly as calm as Aloknath in any Barjatya film. Well, mostly. Soon, you find him throwing professional punches on 10-12 goons in a Shahenshah-like working module at nights to ensure audiences that the guy definitely has a dark past behind. Plot gets thicken when Veer meets Ishita [Kriti Sanon] and Raj discovers that the girl is the younger sister of his ex-flame Meera [Kajol]. The star-crossed lovers have many secrets to unravel including murders, betrayals and mix-ups.

So what if it belongs to an average formula of 90’s; DILWALE had a decent story to start with until Rohit Shetty starts promoting it as a great story. Bringing the best on-screen couple together after so long was alone a big pull for the film but Rohit couldn’t hold himself from polluting the same breezy idea of romance with his colossal caring for flying cars, blasting cars, drifting cars, toppling cars and the very dry and dreary sense of slapstick comedy. Since when and why do the charm of Shahrukh and the flair of Kajol need substantial comic sub-tracks having Boman Irani, Johnny Lever, Varun Sharma and Mukesh Tiwari? The film’s high points are mostly with Kajol where she looked, acted and ruled the screen in same potion of intensity, integrity and beauty she’s been always admired for. DILWALE also fails to recreate the chemistry between Kajol and Shahrukh. Rohit does ensure that they both look their best on-screen but it all comes out as a lifeless still postcard and not as a lively moment to cherish.

On the performances, Shahrukh does exactly what he’s been doing in CHENNAI EXPRESS & HAPPY NEW YEAR. He charms the ladies, woos the fans, promotes brands and guarantees a ‘No risk’ cover for his producers [He himself is the one]. Varun Dhawan becomes pathetic, irritating and unbearable at times. Kriti is good, balanced and doesn’t disappoint. Varun Sharma is wasted, especially in a girlfriend-bashing monologue inspired by Kartik Aryan’s in PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA. Kajol is the only redeemer here but in those tiresome and trivial 2 hr 34 min of total duration, trust me, even her spark begins to fade.

At last, Rohit Shetty’s DILWALE is another product that highlights the demand and supply rule in Bollywood. Why to waste time and money on hunt for a concrete story if you can easily make hefty lot of money by just arranging some hit formula-bricks, without even considering the right order it should be in. The film sees around 100 brand tie-ups on opening graphic-plates; I missed brands for pain-relief tablets there. Take a pill, before you try to chill in the theatre! [2/5]