DHOONDTE Reh Jaaoge is a hilarious spoof on the film industry that will have you laughing from the beginning to end. It is the feel-good film we have all been waiting for. Really, which was the last non-slapstick comedy you saw? Can’t remember? Exactly the point.

The film opens with the unscrupulous film producer Raj Chopra (Paresh Rawal), trying to hang himself from the ceiling fan in his room. The cause? Well, everyone, including his doodhwala (milkman) and Ronnie Screwvala (real-life producer and head of UTV). Chopra has long been pursuing Aryan Kapoor (Sonu Sood), to do a film with him, only to be given the royal ignore.

Meanwhile, Anand Pawar (Kunal Khemu), keeps losing his job. His girlfriend Neha (Soha Ali Khan) wants him to find a stable job so they can get married.

So when Pawar meets Chopra, the two concoct a plan to con other producers, make a flop film and keep all the money to themselves.

The film runs on a basic premise: everything is the opposite of what it is in real life. Instead of making a hit film, the two want to make a flop film; instead of a good story, they want a bad story; car maker Mitsubishi becomes Charsubishi; 420 becomes 840; Aaj Tak is Kal Tak, and so on.

And you will find yourself laughing. Hard. Because much of the film’s humour comes from its dialogues, unlike the slapstick versions we have sat through recently. Actor Johnny Lever comes back as a clean, comic actor, hamming forgotten. His Pervez Asharraf is pure entertainment.

Paresh Rawal’s consummate flair for comedy shines in this film. And Sonu Sood’s unselfconscious performance is a testament to his ease in front of the camera. From the arrogant superstar, Aryan Baba, to imitating Sunny Deol and Amitabh Bachchan; from playing a dwarf and a cockeyed dancer to an action double incapable of delivering dialogues well, he does it all effortlessly. We want to see him in more comedies!

Soha Ali Khan is quite natural, transforming herself easily from a girl-next-door to a glamorous heroine. Kunal Khemu holds his own opposite Paresh Rawal, with whom he shares the most screen space.

The movie spoofs the biggest hits of the Hindi film industry – Sholay, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Rangeela, Gadar, Lagaan. One of the funniest scenes in the film is when Paresh Rawal narrates his Phir Kabhi script to Sonu Sood, and when Kunal and Paresh Rawal go to meet Johnny Lever. The spoof they narrate is hilarious.

The songs are a disturbance. You wonder if the film could have done without songs, especially the beach song with Paresh Rawal and Kunal Khemu.

But for the most part, Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge is just the shot of entertainment we needed



Janhvi Patel/ Hill Road Media