A Sonnet of Heresy

Paying Guest: Hilarious

Not really pleased that I continue to miss my byline in my reviews because of snags in the new uploading tool at AOL. Due to the problem the person who uploads the story seems to be getting the byline. And that’s not a very pleasing thought for anyone who works hard. L

In any case I will paste the entire review for Paying Guests here too.

Direct Link: AOL.in

Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Jaaved Jaaferi, Vatsal Sheth, Aashish Chowdhary, Johnny Lever, Neha Dhupia, Celina Jaitley, Sayali Bhagat, Riya Sen, Chunkey Panday, Inder Kumar, Delnaz Paul, Paintel

Director: Paritossh Painter

Producer: Raju Farooqui

Music: Sajid-Wajid

Long back in 1957 there was a movie called ‘Paying Guest’ starring Dev Anand. Though it too started on the lines of a guy in need of an accommodation, it turns into a thriller after that. Years later in 1966, Hrishikesh Mukherjee came up with a movie about four young guys in a metropolis who resort to playing married couples to get a shelter. The movie was called ‘Biwi Aur Makaan’ and the original story was written by Sailesh Dey (writer of ‘Golmaal’) which was adapted by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Another movie ‘Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi’ was made in Marathi in 1988 by well-known actor Sachin with a similar storyline. Paritosh Painter’s ‘Paying Guests’ is clearly inspired. It however does admit officially that it is based on a play called ‘Paying Guest’.

The film is a story of four guys who need a place to stay in Pattaya, Thailand. With no options remaining, they decide to play couples and get an accommodation owned by an Indian family. Bhavesh (Shreyas) turns into Karisma who is Paritosh’s (Aashish Chowdhary) wife and Parag (Javed Jaaferi) turns in as Kareena who is Jai’s (Vatsal Sheth) wife. There is enough room for comedy with every guy being penniless and also having his own love life. The girls - Neha Dhupia, Celina Jaitley, Sayali Bhagat, Riya Sen - don’t have much of a role but they do serve to the chaos. Plus, there is also an evil brother to Ballu (Johnny Lever) played by Chunkey Panday and a local don played by Inder Kumar (remember him?). And Paritosh cooks it well enough to bring out a dish which will serve as a laughter medicine for the entire duration of the movie. He in fact shows that he is brilliant with comic dialogues and ‘Dhamaal’ was not just one off. There are some dialogues that will keep you laughing even after you leave the theatre.

The timing of the release, ie. shortly after Shiney Ahuja’s arrest for allegedly raping his house maid, is ironic as all through the movie Chunkey Panday’s character makes statements on how much he likes the ‘Kaam wali bai’, thus evoking laughter.

However, there is enough slack in the script. For one, the locations are used without a purpose. It beats me why they decided to set the film in Pattaya when they could have easily made it in aamchi Mumbai. Guess the pre recession boom made producers take strange decisions. Plus, the second half of the movie loses out on humour as the writer tries to bring in the evil and good under one roof. It somehow does not fall in the way it should have to keep the humour alive from the first half. This happens when you are too stuck on making people laugh rather than telling the story. Another thing that’s difficult to digest is how most people in Thailand speak Hindi!

And how can we forget the ultimate desperate attempt – the Mughle Azam! Stage plays seems to be an all-time favourite with Bollywood writers who want to create chaos towards the end. Here too they use the technique which was used to brilliant effect in ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron’. It does not work as well here though.

Technically the film looks clean with good editing and cinematography. The music is a complete spoilsport when it comes to the pace of the film. But it is good otherwise. ‘Jack and Jill’ number is already topping charts and it is something people may find themselves humming in the theatres.

‘Paying Guests’ is pulled on performances. Shreyas Talpade is superb as a woman. He gets every expression right. Javed Jaafery does not look as appealing as a woman but his performance cannot be overlooked. Aashish Chowdhary does well and so does Vatsal Sheth. Neha Dhupia is good among girls. Riya and Celina are yet to learn the art of being natural. Delnaz Paul and Johnny Lever deserve a mention.

Overall, ‘Paying Guests’ is not a great film. It has enough loopholes. But if you are willing to leave your brains away for a while and are hoping to catch a laugh riot, this one is your best bet right now. It does have some of the best dialogues in a long time. Paritosh Painter has worked enough to ensure that. ‘Paying Guests’, in a word, is HILARIOUS!

By - Noyon Jyoti Parasara