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Paying Guests

Yet another in the line of the silly, mass-produced comedies that have become a norm in Bollywood

Namrata Joshi

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P
aying Guests is yet another in the line of the silly, mass-produced comedies that have become a norm in Bollywood—Kya Kool Hain Hum, Dhamaal, Golmaal et al. In fact, the connect with Golmaal is rather obvious here. Just like Golmaal, this film too is about four asinine guys, running rowdy and wild. The women in their lives are equally silly, the villains even sillier. And the plot is non-existent. What differs is the setting, in this case Pattaya. But if more than half the film is anyhow shot indoors, does Pattaya really matter other than filling in as the backdrop for some forgettable song-’n-dance numbers?

Shreyas, Javed and Ashish (Chowdhury) are paying guests in the house of a Sindhi businessman called Kiska (a horribly loud Asrani). Now why should anyone be named Kiska? Well, the raison d’etre for the nomenclature is a rather long and unfunny gag at the very beginning of the film. It makes you want to tear your hair out. Ok, now these three blokes get thrown out of their accommodation around the same time as they get sacked from their respective jobs. To make matters a little more difficult, another young man, the cousin of Ashish, arrives from Bombay in the hope of finding a job and getting a flat where the four can live happily ever after. That’s easier said than done, so the foursome are forced to become tenants in a sardarji restaurateur’s house. Catch is that they have to pose as couples, with two of them forced to do the drag act. What follows is pointless confusions, stupid situations, low-brow jokes, one-liners and sexual innuendoes. The film is replete with insensitive jokes. There are particularly bad digs at rape. In the wake of the Shiney Ahuja incident, it certainly does not behove Bollywood to laugh about it. There’s not a genuinely giddy moment. The foursome does not gel well and lack any basic sense of comic timing. The drag acts are crass and crude right down to the horrendous wigs and oranges filling in for cleavage. Even the usually reliable Shreyas takes a severe beating. The finale is a straight lift from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron with none of the original’s inspired zaniness.

High Fives

Bollywood

1. Paying Guests
2. Kal Kissne Dekha
3. X Men: Wolverine (dubbed)
4. Angels & Demons (dubbed)
5. 99

Hollywood

1. The Proposal
2. The Hangover
3. Up
4. Year One
5. The Taking of Pelham 123

Jazz

1. Chris Botti: In Boston (Chris Botti)
2. The Real Thing (Vanessa Williams)
3. New Beginnings (Ski Johnson)
4. Send One Your Love (Bony James)
5. Poetically Justified (Marcus Johnson)

Courtesy: Film Information

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