One of my favourite Govinda flicks is the sublimely silly Deewana Mastana. As the paranoid Bunnu, who walks in baby steps, the spontaneous and effortlessly goofy Govinda stole the show from right under the moustache of Anil Kapoor. Back then Govinda was King, he could make sense of the madness in his movies because of the conviction with which he played these roles; he even outwitted Big B in Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan. Years later, the overweight comic star is trying hard to find another lease of life at the box office. Sadly, it’s time for him to be cast as the second fiddle. Yes, he was the saving grace in the multistarrer Salaam-e-Ishq but in Bhagam Bhag he got totally overshadowed by Akshay Kumar. Partner’s hero too is Salman Khan but it’s good that Govinda does find his space here. Technically a sidekick, he still manages to endear himself to the crowds more than Salman.
Which is not to say all’s well. Govinda hams, shouts and screams, goes over the top. The delectable comic timing is not as smooth as he is normally capable of. Blame that on David Dhawan, he sure is running out of ideas. First he relies for inspiration on a mediocre Hollywood flick like Hitch and then botches it by including inane tracks about a silly gangster, Chhota Don (Raghuvir Yadav), and some misfired missile. Prem (Salman) is the love guru who helps bewakoof Bhaskar (Govinda) reach out to his lady love Priya (Katrina). Naina (Lara) is a single mom and an intrepid journo that Prem has an eye for. Govinda-Salman pair off rather well as the oddball duo even as the two ladies are left to do nothing but look good and sport accents: Katrina’s is thick British Hindi while Lara’s comes with Punjabi-isms. It’s a given that a Dhawan movie will eschew logic and be full of innuendos. Partner fits the bill but the gags are not that funny. And not to forget the colourful song-’n-dance setpieces—the title track and the sanity-defying Kaindi Po. All they prove is that there is no better dancer in Bollywood than Govinda. The one sequence where he dances to Sarkailo Khatiya and Just Chill...well that could be the only reason to watch the film.
Bollywood
1. Partner
2. Harry Potter: Phoenix Ki Fauj
3. Naqaab
4. Apne
5. Aap Ka Suroor
Hollywood
1. Harry Potter: Order Of Phoenix
2. Transformers
3. Hairspray
4. Live Free or Die Hard
5. Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince
Rock
1. Zeitgeist (Smashing Pumpkins)
2. Our Love To Admire (Interpol)
3. Lost Highway (Bon Jovi)
4. Minutes To Midnight (Linkin Park)
5. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Spoon)
Courtesy: Film Information
