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Feroz, the current torchbearer of the Nadiadwala Productions, has come out as a chameleon in its true color. His latest 'Deewane Hue Paagal' was premiered last night at Fame Adlab in Andheri, Mumbai. The film's cast and crew came one by one, but there were many memorable and interesting moments to note. Katrina Kaif came alone and left without watching the film. Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal didn't turn up at all.

Vivek Oberoi's absence was compensated with his father Suresh Oberoi's presence. The absence of any other known face of Bollywood other than the film's cast was regrettable. It was also sad to see choreographer-turned-director Ahmed Khan being denied entry to the premiere and hanging around by the road side. Not many know that Ahmed was the original choice to direct 'Deewane Hue Paagal' when Anil Kapoor was to play the main lead. But, Firoz didn't see spark in him after Ahmed's debut 'Lakeer' flopped.

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He replaced Ahmed with David Dhawan who eventually brought Akshay in place of Anil. Next change was to see Vikram Bhatt replacing David Dhawan. And, when the film finally hits the screen; it is a complete change from what it was meant to be in the beginning. Akshay has completed half a dozen films with Firoz Nadiadwala. His first one was 'Lahoo Ke Do Rang', after which in each film with Firoz, he teamed up with Suniel Shetty. 'Deewane Hue Paagal' is a very brilliantly packaged film that has the challenge to pass the litmus test of the audience's taste of comedy. The film is shot mostly in Dubai. Incidentally, and it is the same film that made news of the arrest of actor Vijay Raaj when he was caught with drug.

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'Deewane Hue Paagal' mainly revolves around Rimi Sen. (She came to the premiere when Shaahid reached, but refused to pose with him for snaps). Rimi plays Tanya in the film. The sweet girl is the point of attraction for a smart and handsome chap Karan (Shahid Kapoor). Tanya is targeted by some mysterious people for having come to know some of their secrets. She shifts her base to Dubai and with her the whole story shifts there too.

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Karan is left alone back at home, not very keen to follow his love; he is persuaded by his friends to track her down. Karan does not want to do this on his own so he enlists the help of Rocky (Akshay Kumar). Rocky is really a rocker. He creates ripples wherever he goes. He is a spy by profession, but a flirt at heart. While following Tanya, Rocky himself falls in love for her. The love triangle gets more complicated because Tanya's close friend Sanju (Suniel Shetty) too thinks that Tanya loves him. He will do anything (of course whatever little he can do being a handicapped). But this is not the end of the mad world of the mayhem.

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There is one more to make the quadrangle a pentagon and for Tanya, it is not an easy situation to handle. The film takes a new turn with the character being introduced in the race and the comedy drama gets more confusing towards the end when director Vikram Bhatt tries to give all the people equal footage. The visual delights are many and on top is a very sensuous item number by voluptuous Lena, the belly dancer. The film also has Aftab Shivdasani doing a cameo and you can also have Vivek as the connecting link of the story web.

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'Deewane Hue Paagal' isn't a takeoff from where Vikram and Firoz left in their last film 'Aawara Paagal Deewana', but it does resemble with that. The viewer is confused with promo and posters and it may harm the film to a certain extent. 'Deewane Hue Paagal' is also a very badly publicized film. Not many knew about the press conferences, not many interviews were arranged and no body bothered to go to Hindi belt before the film's release.

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Technically, 'Deewane Hue Paagal' may be a brilliant film but it lacks the soul, the script to be precise. Neeraj Vora looks repetitive and the rustic combination of dialogues cannot go with the finesse of glam world. Either you are real or if you create one, then be honest to it. 'Deewane Hue Paagal' tries to move on both paths and very dangerously. Neeraj Vora may not have got much help from writer Kiran Kotrial but he should try to better now. People don't front benchers' lines repeated.

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The film boasts of some very astonishing action sequences by Abbas Ali Moghul; had this film been made as a pure actioner, the results could have been very different and positive. Music director Anu Malik tries to innovate an item number and succeeds. One can also listen to Vivek Oberoi who turns a singer and this song has been written by none other than director Vikram Bhatt himself. A good option for Vikram if direction fails him (Every body writes poems in love, so what if Vikram writes rap in love).

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In 'Deewane Hue Paagal', Akshay Kumar once again proves that he is the only actor around who can fit in all kinds of roles in demand these days. He does the best in every role. 'Deewane Hue Paagal' is sure to get a good initial because of his presence. Rimi tries to match the macho man inch by inch and can make a good pair with him in future. Charisma and magic of Shaahid Kapoor is essence of the film.

He brings a lot of energy and dynamism with his role. Had he not been shorter in comparison to other actors, he would have been a sure star material in days to come. Anyway, he balances this with his eagerness to work differently. Suniel, Paresh, Johny play their parts equally aptly. 'Deewane Hue Paagal' is a film that will reach at the box office. However, a lot will depend on the initial and word of mouth publicity.