By Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Lock your brains in the cupboard, throw your thinking caps out of the window, fasten your seat belts, hold your breath…
Sangeet Sivan, the man behind the thoroughly enjoyable madcap entertainer KYAA KOOL HAI HUM, is ready to unleash his new masaledaar entertainer on money and diamonds. His new outing, APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY, belongs to the same family as K2H2, but the difference is, there’re eleven characters this time around. Oh yes, there’s a dog too this time!
Years ago, Brij Sadanah made a rib-tickling comedy with Ashok Kumar and Pran called VICTORIA NO. 203. It was all about the precious diamonds being hidden in a horse carriage [Victoria]. APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY also charters a similar path. A gangster’s moll hides the booty in her sandal and the assorted eleven characters, not remotely connected to one another, come lusting for it [diamonds] in the end.
Sivan’s fundas are evident at the very outset. APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY is not for those looking for path-breaking cinema. APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY is not for the pseudo critics. APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY is not for the hi-gentry that loves to pop champagne at Page 3 events.
It’s for the aam junta that looks for non-stop entertainment.
APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY rests on a waferthin plot, but is loaded with nonsensical [and juvenile] humor that makes you laugh at regular intervals. Sure, this comic caper has too many characters and Sivan and writer Pankaj Trivedi’s narrative goes on and on in the second hour. Also, the climax loses its sheen for this very reason [all eleven characters need to have a conclusion after all]. But you overlook the flaws since APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY was never in the race for the Oscars!
To sum up, APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY is a decent time pass flick that delivers what it promises: Tadka [glamour], jhatka [skin show], masti [jokes], mazaak [laughter]… most importantly, the escapism form of entertainment that appeals to the hoi polloi.
APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY revolves around a bunch of madcap characters that eat, drink, sleep and worship money. The story revolves around a mechanic [Shreyas Talpande], a conman [Ritesh Deshmukh], a dancer [Koena Mitra], an upright cop [Suniel Shetty], an obsessed father [Anupam Kher] and his homely daughter [Riya Sen], a tabela owner [Rajpal Yadav], a ruthless gangster [Chunkey Pandey], a deadly don [Jackie Shroff] and his moll [Celina Jaitley] and an unpredictable dog [Casper].
If one runs after money, the other runs after love and the one who runs after love eventually runs after money. A dramatic turn evolves when all the characters start looking for hidden diamonds that are worth Rs. 50 crores.
APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY defies logic from start to end. Writer Pankaj Trivedi borrows characters and incidents from real and reel life to make a funny film. A few jokes are indeed amusing, but there are times when the gags fail to evoke mirth.
Ritesh and Anupam’s scenes are hilarious. So is the Rajpal Yadav track [he does a takeoff on Big B from SARKAR]. Chunkey’s portions also make you flex your facial muscles. But the love story [Shreyas-Riya] looks lifeless, the Ritesh-Koena prem kahani is equally listless, the don [Jackie] is reduced to a caricature and the climax, which should’ve been thoroughly enjoyable, falls flat.
What also goes against the film is that the narrative lacks the consistent wit-n-humor of KYAA KOOL HAI HUM. Sivan’s execution of the subject is perfect and the idea to make Ritesh change into various get-ups is indeed brilliant. In fact, Ritesh’s final get-up [of Shreyas’ aunt] is the best part of the enterprise. But how one wishes Sivan would’ve [i] Opted for fewer characters, [ii] Utilized the dog in some way or the other, [iii] Opted for a better climax.
Pritam’s music is strictly komsi-komsa. Barring the title track, the film lacks the hit tunes one associates with Mukta Arts’ productions. Ramji’s cinematography is eye-filling. Dialogues are enjoyable at times, but corny at places.
APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY has so many characters that it’s difficult to carry each one home after the show has concluded. But if there’s one actor who’s bound to make heads turn with a smash performance, it’s Ritesh Deshmukh. It’s a challenge for any actor to portray multiple roles in one film, but Ritesh gets to portray four here and he takes to each role with relish, enjoying every bit of it. He works the best as Shreyas’ aunt who flirts with Anupam Kher.
Anupam Kher is in terrific form yet again. In fact, Anupam is so good here, you actually wonder if anyone else would’ve been able to carry off the part with as much flourish. Chunkey Pandey is fantastic. After watching him in APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY, all you want to ask him is, Where were you hiding all this while? Rajpal Yadav delivers yet another knockout performance that’s sure to be talked about. Suniel Shetty is lovable as the honest cop.
Amongst ladies, Celina Jaitley is the best of the lot. She looks gorgeous and enacts her role with rare confidence. The girl is gradually evolving into a fine actor. Koena Mitra is alright. But the writer hasn’t done justice to her part. Even Riya Sen is relegated to the backseat.
Jackie Shroff doesn’t work. Shreyas Talpade’s role is oh-so-clean, which looks fake in a film of this genre. However, he enacts his part well. Sanjay Mishra is competent. Vrajesh Hirjee, Vijay Patkar, Bobby Darling and Avtar Gill lend decent support.
On the whole, APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY is a time pass entertainer targeted at the aam junta. Don’t look for logic in the film and chances are you wouldn’t be disappointed. At the box-office, the patronage by its target audience [masses and youth] as also a favorable opening response should help this medium-budget film make decent profits in the final tally.
BollywoodEntertainment.com.au Rating: 2.5
