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I was finally able to get around to watching Phir Hera Pheri, and I'll say that I'm glad I was. For the past few years, all I've been able to do is bitch about the fact that there's an almost tanglible cornucopia of unwatchabe — not "bad," but fucking utterly unwatchable — comedies coming out of Indian cinema. Sure, such comedies somehow manage to strike a deal with the devil, and make more than a buck, but that doesn't mean that they don't suck big, sweaty monkey-balls. Thankfully, then, Phir Hera Pheri takes some honest, sincere steps toward re-building my faith in Hindi comedies.
Hera Pheri was a small, well-crafted, likeable sleeper-hit. Phir Hera Pheri, on the other hand, is an obviously big-budget, not-so-restrained, somewhat overt movie that manages to work — and to work pretty well — because it never tries to compete with its predecessor. There're some nods to the first film — "utthaalay rey, deva; mujhe nahin, in dono ko!" "utthaalay... dhoti" "Kabeera speaking" etc. — which help place Phir Hera Pheri as a movie not totally disconnected from the first, and mindful of the first's fans, but not so many as to annoy people, them sitting in their seats waiting impatiently and unamused for the next little reminder of why they're there in the first place. The characters here are also not restrained to perform as they did in the 2000 film. Arguably, they're not in keeping with just how and who they were in Hera Pheri — Baburao is stupider (though, I suppose, the "dumb" character always gets dumber, in apparently any entertainment venture), Ganshyam is a little less vocal, and Raju has a newfound "decency" — but then, even within the film, several years are supposed to have passed, and the characters are supposed to have had a severe change in finances and lifestyle; time and money are bound to change any people, so why not characters in a picture? This freedom actually makes for a movie that's more entertaining than it would have been had it tried too hard to maintain loyalty to its roots, as it results in characters that behave in the funniest possible way, rather than in the way they most would have six years ago. Other elements have been altered, as well. When Hera Pheri came out, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty were "names," but neither had that certain special "star" aura or draw. Six years later, however, Shetty is still almost a B-list actor, while Akshay Kumar has become perhaps one of India's biggest stars (behind Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, and all the many Khans). As such, Raju is now basically (well, not "basically": actually) the star of the film. Hera Pheri was maybe more about Ganshyam (hell, he's the one who got the heroine) than anyone else, so maybe it makes sense that, this time, it's Raju who gets the most screen-time out of any of the cast. It's not a bad decision in play, either, as Kumar is easily one of the best comedians in Indian films, and, given a strong part and a good script, there's just not stopping his ability. He absolutely steals the show, and if his fans were disappointed with the debacle that Bhagam Bhag turned out to be, they ought to be pleased that Kumar walks away from 2006 with at least this one winner under his belt.
One other thing of note: Phir Hera Pheri could have been foreseen as a disaster, for it's no secret that, usually, when a director abandons a film series, it means said series is out of hope, out of steam, and out of promise. When I read about Priyan's departure, however, I had mixed feelings. Were it 2002, I'd have cried "bloody murder," because of just the aforementioned reason. In 2006, however, it seems that Priyan has nothing but bull-shit film after bull-shit film to his name. Really, since Hera Pheri, he's barely had one decent movie to his name. This makes me think that Phir Hera Pheri could actually have been an idiotic disaster, had it been helmed by its original captain. Neeraj Vora hasn't exactly been writing up winners all this time, either, but, fortunately, when it comes to this project, both his pen and his director's hat are perfectly primed, and I'd rather he than anyone else get behind the wheel of "Hera Pheri 3," should it ever be made.
Altogether, Phir Hera Pheri promises to offer nothing but a fun way to kill a couple of hours; and, all-in-all, it certainly delivers what it says it will. The movie's not so good as the first, but then it never plasters "if you thought the first was good, then just wait..." over its ads. Rather, it's a film almost aware that it can't win a competition, and thus is sets out just to make us laugh. All that can be said, I feel, is, "job well done."
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