Film Critic: Goher Iqbal Punn
Producer: Mirchi Movies Ltd.
Directors: Lucky Kohli and Rajesh Bajaj
Cast: Zain Khan, Swini Khara, Jackie Shroff, Sarika, Vijay Raaz and Saurabh Shukla
Mirchi Movies Ltd.’s ‘Hari Puttar’ emerges in cinemas this Friday. Directed by the directors’ duo Lucky Kohli and Rajesh Bajaj, the flick is aimed at the kids. As the title of the film does give the resemblance to Hollywood’s much acclaimed flick series, ‘Harry Potter’, but in actual this enterprise is not inspired by it rather it borrows the storyline from ‘Home Alone’. The directors of this show could not put the entertainment element aptly in this movie, which was required to make it a big entertaining kiddie film. Result: A mammoth lackluster at the box office…a poor upshot in every sense of the word.
Wonder…what happened to the directors when they passed this script to make the movie on..? Did they not know that today’s kid is much smarter to figure out what is good or what is bad..?
Hari Prasad (Zain Khan) is fondly called Hari Puttar. He is a 10 years old bright kid who with his parents has recently moved to UK from India. Professor Dhoonda (his father) is a scientist and has been assigned a secret job with Defence Forces at a remote location in England. Hari’s mother (Sarika) is atypical mother. His father has a chip that is laced with some confidential information. This chip is safely kept at his home. A few days later, Hari’s aunt (Little Dubey) and uncle DK (Jckie Shroff) come to their house. DK’s boss kids also arrive at the abode. Suddenly, the whole home gets filled with no less than ten children. Now the things begin to spin for Hari. He is thrown out of his room so that the girls can be accommodated. He is teased and ridiculed by the kids. He soon develops the feeling inside him that he is unwanted and unappreciated at his house. The day comes in when the whole family goes for a holiday leaving Hari Puttar and Tuk Tuk (Swini Khara) his cousin behind at home. Two goons (Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz) come to their home to steal the chip. Hari and Tuk Tuk confront them.
An amateurish and lifeless product all the way, ‘Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors’ does not have any sparks to raise the spirits even of the kids who are the actual target market for this film. The goons instead of looking hoodlums, appear to be jokers. The villain has no expressions at all. Why was the need to promote the film with a song picturised on the sex goddess Shamita Shetty? It’s a kids’ movie…why the kids are being offered to watch a sexy siren? For promotion, there should have been a song keeping the kids; mentality in mind.
The script is the bigger failure having no life at all. The direction is poor. Zain Khan is brilliant. Swini Khara does a fine job. Sarika falls flat on acting front. Little Dubey is just about okay. Jackie Shroff is passable. The fine actors like Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz disappoint.
In a nutshell, ‘Hari Puttar’ is a BIG FLOP with no interest element along to rave about.
RS Rating: 1/5
- The reviewer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and has a good rapport with Bollywood and Indian TV fraternities. He also shares good rapport with the celebs of these swanky abodes. You may write to him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and Bollywood.tv.analyst@gmail.com
Very good assessment!
Please also write the moral of the story which may be : Dont waste your hard earned money on the thieves directors.