GOOD BOY BAD BOY is one of the most confused and poorly made films I’ve seen in recent times, and given I’ve just seen Guddu Dhanoa’s BIG BROTHER, that’s say quiet a lot. I don’t have a problem with “ dumb” comedies, and I have no qualms in accepting that I whole heartedly enjoyed KYA KOOL HAI HUM and APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY (co-incidentally produced by Ghai too) .However GOOD BOY BAD BOY is a uninspired, lame, contrived and above all pointless film which really makes the viewer wonder WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THAT?
And you still want a story? Well the movie revolves around Rajan Malhotra( Tusshar Kapoor) who is a “good boy” in the sense that he is a nerdy book-worm who likes to study and is very smart(this is shown in a scene where Tusshar inserts a CD in to a laptop and talks some technical jargon which sounds so over-the-top you know it’s fake). Then there is Raju Malhotra (Emraan Hashmi) who is a “bad boy”. He has no time for studies and his life revolves around girls, boozing up, smoking and partying. As fate would have it both of them are in the same college, and due to a confusion with their names (you see they are both R.Malhotra) they end up getting swapped. Rajan ends up in the “C” section for students who are dumb and “bad” while Raju ends up in the “A” section where the students are smart and “good”. Sounds dumb on paper? Trust me the execution on-screen is much much worse.
The story by Ashwini Chaudhury is so bad you’ve seriously got to question the man about his intentions and what he was making here? Was the point of the movie to prove that “bad” boys can become “good” and achieve what they want? Or was the aim of the movie to make a fun-filled college romp like those dumb comedies we get in Hollywood, some of which I admit are quiet enjoyable, or was the point to make a buddy-buddy comedy cashing in on the stereotypes created by Emraan and Tusshar? Who knows, and frankly…15 minutes in to the movie you won’t really care either. Chaudhury’s story tries to be a comedy of sorts at the start with some romance thrown in, there is a bit of drama, some songs, and in the end alls well that ends well. From what I can gather the aim was to make a fun-filled college romp like the ones we see in Hollywood but completely indianised however the final product has gone completely awry and leaves the viewer dumbfounded for the worst.
As a director Ashwini Chaudhury made a sparkling debut with the poignant and hard-hitting drama DHOOP. His well intended follow-up SISKIYAAN was an indianised version of DEATH AND THE MAIDEN, and though the movie wasn’t entirely successful, it did have its moments. And now with GOOD BOY BAD BOY Chaudhury has completely lost the plot. What happened to the director who showed so much promise with DHOOP? Chaudhury doesn’t know the first thing about making a comedy. He has taken the framework of a Hollywood teen comedy and bombarded it with a lame story and some of the lamest and silliest jokes I’ve ever seen and heard. There are a number of witty pop culture reference and in-jokes which are amusing, but these are too few and far in between. The romantic sequences hardly leave a mark either, and the jarring background score is just atrocious to say the least. Farah Khan did a superb little trick in MAIN HOON NA where violinists appear every time Shahrukh Khan is dreaming about Sushmita; here too there are violins every time Emraan and Isha are on-screen however this time they play in the background so loudly it gyrates on the nerves. I could go on and on but to cut a long story short, Ashwini Chaudhury has lost the plot.
The performances in the movie are lame. Tusshar is earnest as the wide-eyed “good boy” but he sleepwalks through the entire part. The boy’s comic timing has always struck me as impressive based on KYA KOOL HAI HUM and GOLMAAL-FUN UNLIMITED however here it leaves a lot to be desired for. His delivery is monotone and he looks bored.
Emraan is slightly better as the “bad boy” playing the the mischievous with aplomb and living up to his image. He exudes enthusiasm and his comic timing is decent, however this has to go down as the worst Emraan film to date. Yes, even JAWANI DIWANI was more tolerable than this.
The girls don’t have anything to do except smile, dance around and look good. Isha Shravani who made a confident debut in KISNA, followed by a witty performance in RGV’s DARWAZA BANDH RAKHO is lifeless here. She looks like a pale ghost and her performance is uninspired. Tanushree Dutta is slightly better in an almost non-existent role; however she can look extremely sexy at times so I’ll forgive her on the “eye candy” default.
Paresh Rawal delivers an uninspired performance. His character is a lame cross between Bachchan in MOHABBATEIN and Williams in DEAD POETS SOCIETY however it’s one that fails to leave a mark. It’s a force and fake performance which Paresh is sleep-walking through for the sake of an easy pay-cheque.
An immensely talented actress like Sushmita Mukherjee (who can forget Kitty from the original KARAMCHAND series who recently starred with Paresh and Tusshar in GOLMAAL-FUN UNLIMITED) is royally wasted, bastards!
Himmesh Reshammiya delivers one of his worst scores to date. Was the music here composed in a few minutes? Cut and pasted from his previous scores? None of the songs leave a mark, and the picturisations are lacklustre to say the least.
Technically the movie is below the mark. The makers have tried to go for a “fun”and “bright” look which doesn’t gel well. Manoj Soni’s camerawork is below the mark.
All up GOOD BOY BAD BOY as about as bad as it gets. Usually I can sit through anything; however I honestly struggled with this one. A word of advice to Subhash Ghai, STOP WASTING MONEY ON JUNK LIKE THIS AND CONCENTRATE ON MORE MEANINGFUL CINEMA. We know you’re capable of it as you’ve done it before.
Overall Rating=1.5/10.0
Final Rating: ¾
