Bunty without bubbly

Unlike Shaad Ali's earlier hit, his latest film Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom failed to meet sky-high expectations.

On the surface, Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom had everything going for it. A stellar cast, foreign locales, foot-tapping music, a captain in the form of Shaad Ali who gave us wholesome entertainers like Bunty Aur Babli … the works. But an hour into the movie and it became evident that JBJ sorely missed out on an important ingredient – a worthy script.

The so-called romantic comedy with Abhishek Bachchan as Bhatinda-born hustler Rikki Thukral and Priety Zinta as Pakistani-born Alvira Khan falling hopelessly in love after a chance encounter at a railway station in London fell flat in viewer's eyes. The crude jokes, over-the-top flamboyance of actors who were far too self-absorbed for their own good and insipid dialogues did not impress.

The height of absurdity was when a young Alvira Khan was shown praying that a handsome white man would marry her, never a "blackie or a brownie"!

Talk of racial comment at its worst!

Surprisingly, it was Lara Dutta and Bobby Deol who were the edible products in this snazzy product that had hi-tech gadgetry in plenty. Dutta as a vitriolic Southall tramp, her fake French accent notwithstanding, and Deol as a nerdish mamma's boy, evoked funny reactions.

Amitabh Bachchan as a Sufi mystic with Jack Sparrowish costumes and chanting the title track, grated on many nerves.

"I love Bachchan Sr, but he has gone overboard in this film," said Rahman, an avid cinema-goer. He could not have nailed it better.

The entire film smacked of actors and a director who could not see beyond their noses.

Fact File

- Priyanka Chopra was the first choice for Anaida Raza (Lara Dutta), but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.

- Vidya Balan signed on for the role of Anaida Raza (Lara Dutta). After finding out the script required her to dance, she dropped out.

- Vaibhavi Merchant (choreographer) reprises her famous Kajra re step from Shaad and Abhishek's previous Bunty aur Babli in the song Ticket to Hollywood

- Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal, British television stars have cameos in the film (Bhaskar as the news-stand owner and Syal as Bobby Deol's mother)