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FILM REVIEW: Cirkus

Entertaining fare where side actors overshadow the leads Cast: Ranveer Singh, Varun Sharma, Pooja Hedge, Jacqueline Fernandez, Murli Sharm...


Entertaining fare where side actors overshadow the leads

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Varun Sharma, Pooja Hedge, Jacqueline Fernandez, Murli Sharma, Sanjay Mishra, Siddhartha Jadav, Vrajesh Hirjee

Rating: 3*

One always has sky-high expectations from a Rohit Shetty film. After all, he has set the bar pretty high for full-on comedy entertainers. And all the actors who surrender to his madness do end up tickling your funny bone to the hilt.

Cirkus continues that tradition with its take on The Comedy of Errors. Two sets of identical twins in an orphanage are adopted by two couples one set in Bangalore and the other in Ooty. The doctor (Murli Sharma) in a bid to prove that it’s not blood but upbringing that cements relations separates the twins so that each couple gets one of each twin. While one becomes the owner of a circus, the other deals in the tea business. Trouble ensues when the businessman lands in Ooty for a business deal only to be mistaken for the other twin who is renowned as the electric man at the circus.

The problem with Cirkus are the leads themselves. Ranveer (Roy) and Varun (Joy) are great actors, but somehow here they both don’t look as if they are 100% into their performance. Likewise, the two heroines, Pooja Hedge and Jacqueline Fernandez, are reduced to pretty arm candies not doing much to actually make a difference to the proceedings.

What stands out are all the side characters who lift the film to a different level making it a watchable entertainer. Sanjay Mishra as Rai Bahadur steals the show with his Dev Anandesque mannerisms, making you fall off your seats laughing. His sidekick Prem (Anil Charanjett) gives him ample support with Siddhartha Jadav (Momo) as another laugh riot. Johnny Lever (Polson bhai) and Mukesh Tiwari (as a dacoit turned hotelier) are wasted in inconsequential roles as are Ashwini Kalsekar, Tiku Talsania, Brijendra Kalra, Uday Tikekar and Sulabha Arya. What a colossal waste of good talent!

The film is very colourful, almost like a rainbow spread across the sprawling canvas of the twins’ world. There are references to the 1940s (when the film starts) moving on to the late 60s and early 70s via films like Johnny Mera Naam posters and its theme music, as well as retro songs like aa jane ja, tu kya jaane wafa

The item number Current Laga Re where Ranveer’s real-life wife Deepika Padukone shakes her booty energetically with hubby dearest is one of the redeeming features of the film other than of course Sanjay Mishra.

Rohit Shetty’s mishmash of The Comedy of Errors, Do Dooni Char and Angoor with way too many characters is one big chaotic mess that will have a limited run at the box office. Still, it’s ok for a one-time dekho if you don’t have high expectations from the film.

PS: The end though has a twist as you get to know how Shetty’s money-spinning Golmaal franchise got its name. That is if you manage to sit through Cirkus till the end!

 

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