Movie Review: No Problem

The one thing I’ve observed in Anees Bazmee’s movies is that the plotline may be bizarre and outlandish, but each of his films has stood tall on the entertainment quotient. Perhaps, that’s one of the reasons why his movies have struck a chord with a big chunk of moviegoers [read the hardcore masses]. The heroic triumph of NO ENTRY, WELCOME and SINGH IS KINNG endorses this statement. The most difficult thing is to make people roll with laughter and that’s precisely what Bazmee does in film after film, for viewers of all ages. Follow these three mantras religiously, while watching an Anees Bazmee film: Don’t seek logic, don’t ask questions and just keep your thinking cap outside the theatre. You need to follow these rules while watching NO PROBLEM as well. Unfortunately, Bazmee’s latest outing is so mind-numbingly dull that you wonder how could he come up with such a soulless and charmless film. NO PROBLEM doesn’t have a smart plot, theek hain, no problem. But the bigger problem is it doesn’t have those genuinely funny sequences and crackling dialogue either that you associate with the accomplished director’s films. Honestly, I never expect to watch a path-breaking story in his films, but I do expect them to deliver hearty laughs, which NO PROBLEM doesn’t. In the past, in films like NO ENTRY, WELCOME and SINGH IS KINNG, Bazmee had handled the multiple characters with aplomb, but the writing is so inconsistent this time that one has to actually struggle to stay attentive.

Final word? NO PROBLEM is meant to be a crowd-pleaser, but, sadly, it lacks those clever one-liners, bursting-with-energy sequences and amusing goings-on to make your two hours in the cineplex worthwhile. NO PROBLEM has a huge problem: It fails to entertain! Yash [Sanjay Dutt] and Raj [Akshaye Khanna] are small-time crooks and childhood buddies. Raj wants to lead an honest life, but Yash always manages to do something that jeopardizes Raj’s chances of turning over a new leaf. When Yash robs the First Village Bank, the innocent bank manager, Zandulal [Paresh Rawal], also falls under suspicion, just because he had sheltered Yash and Raj under his roof. In Durban, Arjun [Anil Kapoor] is a bungling cop, married to Kajal [Sushmita Sen], the daughter of the Commissioner of Police [Shakti Kapoor]. Kajal has a split personality — one moment she’s a loving wife and mother, who, for 10 minutes every day, transforms into a terrifying maniac intent on murdering her husband.