In the last 12 months or so, about 50 odd aspirants ventured in Bollywood to try their luck at the box office. To be more precise the number comes to more than a dozen as far as debutant directors are concerned. This week too two films with two new directors are released simultaneously, 'Munnabhai MBBS' and 'Fun2shh'. The difference between the two lies from the beginning to the making. While both are made as fun films, the difference lies in their approach. 'Fun2ssh' is a fantasy fun film, while 'Munnabhai' progress in the real world. Both differ in direction too. 'Fun2ssh', directed by Imtiyaz Punjabi, talks about bridging past and present. Snappy dudes lives juxtaposing in 10th and 21st century. The idea is very brilliant and could have been made into an excellent child-fiction film. 'Fun2ssh' is a work of fiction in making a fun film with this kind of idea, but having made an amalgam of too many things, the film lands in chaos and adds to slapstick comedies biting dust one after other. One can only pray for the better future for this mix masala of past and present.
The film heavily relies on the comical talent of Paresh Rawal that he attained after doing good comedies like 'Hera Pheri', 'Aankhen', 'Yeh Tere Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar' and 'Hungama'. Paresh Rawal plays Johny in 'Fun2shh'; he is friendly with Ajju (Anuj Sawhney of 'Nayee Padosan' fame) and Vikram (debutant Iqbal Khan). They are three to tango and their life is full of masti and mazaa. But their happy go lucky life traumatizes when they are accused of stealing a precious crown that is a royal heritage of 10th century. Their employer Bhaleram (Kader Khan) is hell bent behind them and the three find themselves on the verge of falling a prey to wrong accusations. They strike against the wall and are suddenly transported to 10th century, where the king (Gulshan Grover) is still in his palace along with his two beautiful daughters (Natanya Singh and Raima Sen).
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In the beginning, the dudes find it hard to live in the Stone Age situation, but soon start taking interest in their surroundings. Ajju and Vikram fall in love with princesses. They also meet a lady magician there who is the pre-incarnation of their landlady. The gang of the three manages to find the crown and elope back to the 21st century with the princesses. But before they realize how lucky they are, the misery of their life begins when the king too lands in their world in the hot pursuit of his daughters and the crown. From there things turn curious, and lead to the final chase where each one is living happily ever after.
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As the film combines present with the past, the producer has spent huge amount in recreating the sets that can depict lifestyle of 10th century. But while utmost care has been taken in designing the sets, little has been done on screenplay and casting. The two boys who accompany Paresh Rawal are no match for him. They fail every time to deliver the right kind of punch in the comedy. Moreover, the dialogues are same whether the film moves in the present or in the past. The ambience too does not change much. The body language must have been different 100 years ago.
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The film needed a fast cut editing in joining the happenings. The scenes go on, and the impact and the pace are nowhere in the picture. Debutant director Imtiyaz Punjabi has a unique idea to make the film, but fails in making a brilliant film. It requires a mature attempt to carry out the task. Dealing with ideas that are related to the concept of time machine are not easy and it is not made clear if mythology supports the idea of co-existence of different worlds with their different timings.
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The film also lacks technical excellence. It is shot on especially constructed sets at the Film City, and on other locations in Mumbai city. But the treatment lacks spontaneity. The photography is jarry and camera movements are hardly seen in story narration. Most of the film is shot in long and mid shots and that results in the impact fade away. The scenes created for the comedy are too situational to be believed. Paresh Rawal looks monotonous and both the new comers as his partners fail to match him. Natanya and Raima Sen fail to generate heat on the screen and look like decorative dolls. Music by Pritam Chakravorthy lacks melody. Nitin Raikwar, who has been writing lewd songs for a long time, has tried to change his image in this film, but fails. On the whole, the film fails to leave any impression and may incur heavy losses to its distributors. The film may find some patronage in small centers but will find it very hard to get viewers in multiplexes and metros where people are used to watching foreign films made in this sector.
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