Sunday

Cast: Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Ayesha Takia, Irrfan Khan, Anjana Sukhani, Mukesh Tiwari, Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol, Robin Bhatt
Language: Hindi
Banner: Big Screen Entertainer
Director: Rohit Shetty
Producer: Kumar Mangat, Sunil Lulla
Camera: Aseem Bajaj
Story: Tushar Hiranandani, K Subhash, Robin Bhatt
Screenplay: Tushar Hiranandani, K Subhash, Robin Bhatt
Dialogue: Tushar Hiranandani, K Subhash, Robin Bhatt
Lyrics: Farhad, Sajid, Kamran Bari, Daler Mehndi
Music: Sandeep Chowta, Suroor, Daler Mehndi, Amar Mohile
Year: 2008

Director Rohit Shetty became one of Bollywood’s most sought after names after the tremendous success of the rib-tickling Golmaal. This time around Rohit tries a repeat formula to make one giggle and laugh out loud. But does it work?

The movie takes you to the world of Sehar(Ayesha Takia) a dubbing artist who suffers from short term memory loss and thus can’t remember minute things such as the road to her office etc. Sehar goes clubbing one Saturday night with close friend Ritu( Anjana Sukhani) and her life somehow intersects with various characters which ultimately connect to a murder.

In comes Inspector Rajveer(Ajay Devgan)- a corrupt cop who heads the investigation for obvious reasons that he has been sent by his mother to meet Sehar and eventually get married to her. But, the problem is that Sehar can’t remember things and all the help she can get is from her tape recorder that carries voices of Balu (Arshad Warsi)-a street smart cabbie and Kumar (Irrfan Khan) –a wannabe actor. Thus the journey begins to find the missing ‘Sunday’ from Sehar’s life.

To begin with Rohit Shetty gets it all wrong this time. In an attempt to explore a comic-thriller, things look haphazard. Various scenes in the film look patchy. The film loses its thriller essence as it jumps from a comic to thriller genre. In fact the suspense elements in the film are so weak that one forgets that there even is some suspense in store. Rather the audiences are carried away with the witty one liners and comic interactions namely between Arshad Warsi and Irrfan Khan.

The screenplay of the film is so weak that it bores you at various instances and even until the end several elements don’t fall in place such as the presence of Murli Sharma at the murder scene and the two packets of milk at the doorstep etc.

Cinematography by Aseem Bajaj is ok. But above all if there is one thing that gets the movie going, is the witty dialogues by Sajid-Farhad. The dialogues dominate throughout whether it be for a small character such as Vrajesh Hirjee or a prime artist like Arshad Warsi.

The songs in the film are forced in which all the more gets the story nowhere. ‘Kashmakash’ by Shibani Kashyap has Esha Deol grooving to the number. But the track fails to impress as it seems heavily forced in. ‘Manzar’ by Raghav impresses with Tushar Kapoor shaking a leg or two. ‘Loot Liya’ and ‘Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha’ are good numbers but somehow the voices don’t suit the likes of Irrfan Khan and Ajay Devgan.

On the performance levels, the film truly belongs to Arshad Warsi who cuts through so smoothly as the typical Delhi cabbie. Right from his introduction till the very end he keeps you glued. In fact, every time the movie drags on its Arshad who comes in to save the show. His interaction with the Delhi cop, Hospital Sequence and argument with Vrajesh over cinema tickets are very impressive.

Irrfan Khan is also impressive in a role that doesn’t offer much scope. He is so simple and naturally witty. He doesn’t try hard to make you laugh but it’s his tone of voice that brings in the humour. As a struggling actor, his Don 3 and Himesh act are really funny. His get ups in the film as Raavan and Dracula make you giggle.

Ajay Devgan is diapointing in the film. A talented actor like Ajay wastes himself meandering around a vague plot. Ajay does a repeat of his Indar Kumar’s Masti act. He tries real hard to sound funny and fails to be romantic at the required sequences. Wonder what’s with the ice-cream munching entry Ajay makes over and over in the film?

Ayesha Takia too is good. It’s the script that doesn’t bring out her true potential. Anjana Sukhani is ok. Murli Sharma is wasted. Mukesh Tiwari and Vrajesh Hirjee are fantastic. Mukesh Tiwari actually surprises with his comic timing. 

To conclude, Sunday lacks in story and is low on the thriller quotient. Yet, it’s worth a watch for anyone who enjoys the usual Priyadarshan kind of films with multiple characters intersecting and running around chasing each other. Rohit Shetty brings you his take on the Priyadarshan formula and falls flat. In any case it’s a must watch for Arshad Warsi fans.

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