It would be wrong to slot KRAZZY 4 as a comedy. Sure, KRAZZY 4 remains faithful to the ongoing trend of providing laughs at the oddest of things, but it's more of a masala fare that's reminiscent of the 1980s cinema. Packaged in a modern avatar, of course.

A film like KRAZZY 4 is easy on your brains. It rests on a thin plot, but the makers have tried to package the proceedings with entertaining stuff from Scene A to Z. Sometimes it works, at times it doesn't. But the pros outweigh the cons in this case. Also, let's get one thing straight. This isn't path-breaking or ground-breaking cinema by any chance. It's targeted at the aam junta, not connoisseurs of cinema.

Also, one of the trump cards… sorry, make it two, are the dance numbers filmed on the two superstars -- SRK and Hrithik. Just these two numbers are enough to satiate the hunger of an avid moviegoer. Even the Rakhi Sawant track is an asset, since it's hugely popular with the desi junta [like 'Main Aayee Hoon U.P.-Bihar Lootne' and 'Beedi'].

Write your own movie review of Krazzy 4
In a nutshell, KRAZZY 4 isn't the kind of cinema that would invite debates or discussions. Its intention is to make people leave the cineplex with a smile and it succeeds in its endeavour.

Arshad Warsi is Raja: Truly the angry young man! His blood boils, his fists clench and he's ready to beat the daylights out of anyone who upsets him in some way.

Irrfan Khan is Dr. Mukherjee: He has decided that he's the Captain of the team! But so obsessed is he by the need to be in control of a situation, he doesn't realise he's totally lost control of himself and his mind.

Rajpal Yadav is Gangadhar: He's marching to a beat only he can hear; he's fighting for a cause that's long over. But in his mind he's still fighting for Swaraj.

Suresh Menon is Dabboo: He's everybody's pet and however far gone the rest may be, when it comes to Dabboo, everybody's protective. Even if he can hear and understand, Dabboo refuses to speak. And nobody knows why!

Dr Sonali [Juhi Chawla] treats them all. She has faith that all it needs is a little time and lots of patience to make them part of the mad, mad, mad world out there…

Rakesh Roshan's story takes a leaf out of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, while Ashwani Dhir's screenplay tries to pack everything that's available on the shelf. The first hour is quite entertaining, with a few sequences compelling you to flex your facial muscles.

But the problem lies in its second hour. More specifically, the writing relies on the age-old stuff to reach the finale. Too many cinematic liberties have been undertaken in this hour, just to reach the culmination and it doesn't really work at times. Even the end outside the hospital looks contrived.

Jaideep Sen shows a flair for comedy, but had the debutante director opted for a slightly novel screenplay, it would've taken the film to another level. A few comic scenes are well executed and in terms of execution, Jaideep knows the grammar right.

Ashwani Dhir's screenplay may lack novelty, but the dialogues penned by him are witty and enjoyable. Cinematography is nice. Rajesh Roshan's music is up to the mark. The two tracks, filmed on the superstars, are top notch and what enhances the effect are the choreography and production design [of SRK track] and the visual effects [in Hrithik track].

Arshad Warsi is the best of the lot. His character is bound to work with the moviegoers. Irrfan's role doesn't offer him that much scope. Yet, the actor enacts his part with precision. Rajpal Yadav is quite funny at places. Suresh Menon is a surprise. He hardly utters one word in the film, but he delivers with expressions.

Juhi Chawla doesn't get ample opportunity. Dia Mirza is efficient. Zakir Hussain is okay. Rajat Kapoor is relegated to the backseat.

On the whole, KRAZZY 4 is slightly above the average mark, but the brand [Rakesh Roshan] coupled with the presence of the two superstars in its songs and of course, some great actors in comic roles should ensure positive returns at the box-office.




**3 item numbers=price of admission. rest bonus!

t rhymes with Lazy Bore

Raja Sen | April 11, 2008 16:15 IST


Watch HR item number i Krazy 4!
Sigh. Must we?

Arshad Warsi and Dia Mirza in Krazzy 4On paper, there must have been something to Jaideep Sen's directorial debut that made sense. A reworking of hackneyed Michael Keaton starrer Dream Team, the film is about four madmen of varying mental disability out on the town and involved in a kidnapping plot.

*
Watch Rakhi Sawant's item number in Krazzy 4!

Add to that a hearty Bollywood dose of message-filmmaking, extraneous patriotism and good ol' backstory-masala, and -- on paper, as we said -- there must have been a few gleaming grains of potential. Toss in a few capable actors, producer Rakesh Roshan might have justifiably reasoned, and we're cooking.

The problem, however, despite all the excessive slapstick elements well in place, lies with the script. Relying purely on actor-expressions and a few moments of action can't quite do the job. The cast is a decidedly fine mix as Rajpal Yadav, Irrfan Khan [Images], Arshad Warsi [Images] and Suresh Menon get to pirouette around Juhi Chawla [Images] and Dia Mirza [Images] while Zakir Hussain and Rajat Kapoor [Images] look on -- but there's only so much good timing can do without authentic punchlines.

There's nothing offensively 'wrong' with Krazzy 4, especially compared to the atrocities served up nowadays. It's almost a throwback to older funny-movies, and the farce never quite enters modern day (read Priyadarshan [Images]) territory. The film seems to have its heart in the right place, tries to pretend there's a message, albeit vague. For all its naivete, it could actually have been quite charming.

Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Suresh Menon and Rajpal Yadav in Krazzy 4Except, um... it's just not funny.

So we have Angry Arshad, Freedom-Fighter Rajpal, Irrfan the Compulsive Cleaner and -- in a bizarre bit of miscasting for a talented mimic -- Menon the Mute, all heading out to watch an India-England cricket match on Independence day, something Dr Juhi Chawla thinks would teach them the value of teamwork.

Naturally, all hell breaks loose as our titular quartet squabble and huddle together to save the day against all odds. There are a couple of well-conceived sequences, like a mall-full of shoppers standing at attention during the national anthem hitting out at goons for not doing the same, and the idea of a begging song, but the jokes are lost in the execution.

As said, it's not horrible. You can watch the film without cringing, and indulgently smile at where what is going wrong and, figuring out how the real joke might have sounded as intended, chuckle a bit. And honestly, this isn't a film we're trying to make sense of, or nitpicking about plot detail: make it loony, for god's sake, go wild but try and make it funny, instead of hoping Irrfan's and Rajpal's faces do the trick.

And so we are better off discussing the item track, SRK's [Images] MJ routine and Hrithik's impressively fluid vertebrae managing to at least hold viewer attention and giving us a bit of a thump. Well, at least more than the film.

Rediff Rating:
1.5/5