Chashme Baddoor movie review: The remake from hell

Himmatwala seemed to be the clear contender for the worst film of the year so far. Who’d have imagined it would have such strong competition so soon? David Dhawan seems determined not to let Sajid Khan get away with the honour of the worst botch-up of a remake.

So he takes what was a genuinely funny and memorable film and “remakes” it into a crass, unfunny and offensive film that serves just one purpose — it speaks volumes about the sharp decline in our sense of humour in the last three decades.

To be fair, “Chashme Baddoor” is barely a remake of Sai Paranjpe’s classic. Taking one iconic scene and the hint of the storyline doesn’t mean that Dhawan has ripped off a classic film.

Barring skeletal details such as three friends who fall for the same girl and the “Miss Chamko” scene, Dhawan’s comedy has no story to speak of and hinges on a flimsy plotline to keep the film going.

Ali Zafar is Sid, a bookish nerd who is the voice of reason to his two friends Omi (Divyendu Sharma) and Jai (Siddharth), both of whom spend their waking hours pawing at girls and making lewd remarks at college gatherings. When they spot Seema (Taapsee Pannu), they both decide to try their luck — only to be spurned.

Sid, unknowingly falls for Seema as well, but the two friends decide what they can’t have, their friend can’t have either and set about creating problems between Sid and Seema. Rishi Kapoor as a portly Goan restaurant owner and Lillette Dubey as their landlady play the supporting roles in furthering this romance, but to be honest, they are the ones with more chemistry than Zafar and Pannu.

Pannu has the personality of a plank of wood, and Zafar seems too conscious and intent on making sure not a hair is out of place, to put in any serious effort into acting. Of the cast, only Siddharth seems to be enjoying himself, but even then, is too loud and shrill to be any good.

This film could have be another of those puerile comedies that we are subjected to day in and day out. But calling it a remake of a classic film seems like a crime. Pick the old over the new this weekend.

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not of Reuters)