/> MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: Kunal Khemu, Paresh Rawal, Sonu Sood, Soha Ali Khan, Johnny Lever
Director: Umesh Shukla
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics: Jalees Sherwani, Shabbir Ahmed

THE FILM

With a movie titled 'Sholay Se Lagaan Tak' being made by Paresh Rawal, Kunal Khemu and Co. in the film, Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge in fact is as spoofy as it gets.

It's actually a spoof within a spoof because if one looks at it, apart from the fact that the movie is being made with reference to other classics like Sholay, Gadar - Ek Prem Katha, Lagaan, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge by itself is a spoof film.

It takes liberal doses from Rangeela and most recently Luck By Chance, what with the entire track revolving around Paresh Rawal and Sonu Sood being straight out of Luck By Chance where Rishi Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan were a part of a similar episode (superstar actor unwilling to work with his once-upon-a-time mentor).

Meant to be a comic entertainer, Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge does reasonably well in that aspect. Even though it does take it's own sweet time to reach to a point where the real story begins, what compensates for that are the 30 minutes before the interval point that are simply howlarious.

It's this part of the movie that really raises your expectations for an even better second half because the entire spoof element ('Sholay Se Lagaan Tak') does sound quite exciting.

However, the disappointing part is that it's this particular portion of the movie where the film falters. The spoofs are hardly entertaining and though there is a chuckle or two at a couple of places, it doesn't work to an extent that one was expecting all this while.

Sonu Sood getting into different getups a la Shah Rukh Khan (DDLJ), Aamir Khan (Lagaan), Sunny Deol (Gadar - Ek Prem Katha), Amitabh Bachchan (Deewar) and Dharmendra (Sholay) amongst others is interesting on paper and Sonu makes a good attempt as well.

However, the execution of scenes isn't as entertaining as one would have imagined. Yes, there are laughs even during this portion of the movie but not as much as we saw in the first half.

Surprisingly, in spite of this being a UTV production, the production values of Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge are quite low. In fact, the sets are some of the tackiest that have been seen in recent times. The background music though peps the proceedings to a good extent and keeps the show going.

From performances standpoint, Kunal towers above everyone else and plays his 'shaana' character quite well. Sonu Sood is earnest too though Soha Ali Khan is hardy there.

Even though Paresh Rawal is relegated to the backseat, in the overall narrative of Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge, one doesn't mind that much. As a team, the actors don't disappoint and come up with earnest performances.

However, it's the average second half that spoils the show for this movie which could have been much-much-much better!

PACKAGING

The DVD comes in a regular plastic case though it is better than the usual Moser Baer 'thin plastic case' that had almost become a trademark for cheap priced DVDs over the years

DURATION

The film's duration is 129 minutes

SPECIAL FEATURES

The DVD doesn't come with any special features

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo

PRICE

Rs. 99/=

CONCLUSION

All in all, this is a movie that won't necessarily be a must watch on your list but if you happen to get a hand on it, it's not really a boring outing. What sets it apart though is the fact that Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge is one of the rare Bollywood movies that prides itself on being a spoof movie.

Rating: **1/2