• Menu
  • Menu
  • Entertainment
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
Trending
UAE holidays 2020 Coronavirus Offbeat Get noticed by employers Travel
  • UAE
    • Crime
    • Education
      • Young Editors
    • Environment
    • Government
      • Year of Zayed
    • Health
      • Better Health
      • Why Worry
    • Transport
    • Science
    • Weather
    • Reader Complaint
    • Ask the Law
  • Latest News
  • Business
    • Banking
    • Aviation
    • Property
      • Cityscape
    • Energy
    • Analysis
    • Tourism
    • Markets
    • Retail
    • Personal Finance
    • VAT
    • SME
  • World
    • Gulf
      • Bahrain
      • Kuwait
      • Oman
      • Qatar
        • Qatar Crisis
      • Saudi
      • Yemen
    • Mena
    • Europe
      • Brexit
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
      • India
      • Pakistan
      • Philippines
    • Oceania
    • Offbeat
    • Court and Crime
    • Coronavirus
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Eds
    • Letters
    • Off the Cuff
  • Sport
    • UAE Sport
    • Horse Racing
      • Dubai World Cup
    • Cricket
      • IPL
      • ICC
      • ICC World Cup 2019
      • Howzaat with KR
    • Football
    • Motorsport
    • Tennis
      • Dubai Duty Free Tennis 2020
    • Golf
    • Rugby
  • Entertainment
    • Hollywood
    • Bollywood
    • Pakistani Cinema
    • Pinoy Celebs
    • South Indian
    • Arab Celebs
    • Music
    • TV
    • Books
    • Theatre
    • Arts+Culture
  • Staying Home
    • Movie Reviews
    • Society
  • Photos
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Readers' Photos
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • Health+Fitness
      • Beating Breast Cancer
    • Family
    • Community
      • India
      • Pakistan
      • #Pinoy
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Weekend Review
  • Living In UAE
    • Visa+Immigration
    • Housing
    • Phone+Internet
    • Banking
    • Transport
    • Health
    • Education
    • Relocate
    • Ask Us
  • Auto
    • News
    • Test Drives
    • Car Culture
    • Auto Care
  • GN Reach
  • Jobs
  • Tech
    • Electronics
      • Gitex Shopper
    • Gaming
    • Trends
    • Fin-Tech
    • Media
  • How To
    • Employment
      • Jobs
    • Passports & Visas
    • Your Money
    • Legal
  • Videos
    • How-To
    • Best Of Bollywood
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Business
    • Sport
    • #Pinoy
    • Community
    • Travel
    • Technology
  • Food
    • Recipes
  • Travel
    • Destinations
    • Hotels
  • Gold-Forex
  • Notifications
  • Gold/Forex
  • Prayer Times
  • Cinema Listing
  • Subscribe to Newsletters
  • About Gulf News
  • Contact us
  • Work with us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Gulf News store
  • Advertise with us
  • Reach by GN
  • GN Focus
  • Gulf News epaper
  • Sitemap
  • Have your say
    • © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2020. All rights reserved.
    ‘Pagalpanti’ review: John Abraham, Anil Kapoor film is a hot mess

    Photos

    Sunday, March 29, 2020
    Gold / Forex

    Photos Entertainment

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Readers' Photos
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Sports
    All Sections

    ‘Pagalpanti’ review: John Abraham, Anil Kapoor film is a hot mess

    The regressive comedy inspired no laughs and is best avoided

    Published:  November 21, 2019 14:38 Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Chief Reporter
    tabloid!
    1 of 7
    Pagalpanti
    My eyes, my eyes! How do you un-see a terrible comedy concoction like ‘Pagalpanti’? To say the Bollywood comedy — starring John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Saurabh Shukla and Pulkit Samrat — is an assault on our senses would be an understatement and wouldn’t cover the depths of our despair. ‘Pagalpanti’ is a chaotic comedy of errors that makes you want to pull your eyeballs out from sheer frustration. How this hare-brained comedy get greenlit may remain one of the biggest mysteries of 2019. Image Credit: Supplied
    2 of 7
    Pagalpanti
    The Plot: It’s a potpourri of plots and it’s all over the place. It isn’t easy to nail this convoluted film, but here goes: A bumbling trio of friends played by Abraham, Warsi and Samrat, set up a firecracker business of their own in the UK that goes bust. Abraham is considered a bad omen, according to an astrologer and anything that he touches turns to dust. They become penniless when their firecracker business fizzles out and they end up working for two mobsters (Shukla and Kapoor) in desperation. Enter Niraj Modi, a spoof on the real-life diamond tycoon (Nirav Modi) who cheated India out of billions and sought asylum in the UK. They get embroiled in a string of messy and sticky situations where car blasts and chases are common. The highly physical comedy is an attempt at taking a swipe at business tycoons-turned-thieves who become asylum seekers, but merely changing the character’s name to Niraj Modi and hiring an actor who bears a close resemblance to the real person doesn’t stick. ‘Pagalpanti’ is a classic example of too many actors spoiling the fun and froth. Image Credit: Supplied
    3 of 7
    Pagalpanti
    The Acting: Physical comedy is expected from each one of the actors and hamming could be the natural casualty. While Shukla, Kapoor and Warsi are good at what they do and breathe life into the sporadically witty lines, Abraham disappoints. The latter is expected to do some heavy lifting, but he simply doesn’t have the prowess and the nimbleness as an actor to carry off this role on his sculpted shoulders. Abraham flounders considerably, but Warsi and Samrat are relatively better. Usually, seasoned actors like Akshay Kumar are paired with Abraham so that the buffed-up actor’s flaws are glossed over. But there’s no veteran like Kumar to rescue him here. He’s expected to fly solo, but he fails miserably. The women don’t fare better either. Kriti Kharabanda, as the mobster’s spoilt, pampered daughter is supposed to be an arrogant airhead and she grates on your nerves as a woman-child. There’s nothing sweet about an over-indulged rich woman. Urvashi Rautela as a professional dancer stuck in the UK after her passport gets stolen seems like an unnecessary prop added into the mix of chaos. Of all the women, it’s Illena D’Cruz who fares better. Her frustration at being cheated by Abraham’s character makes her interesting. Image Credit: Supplied
    4 of 7
    Pagalpanti
    What I liked: There’s hardly any redeeming features in this film. Image Credit: Supplied
    5 of 7
    Pagalpanti
    What I disliked: The list is long. Making fun of people’s physical appearances — the tainted diamond tycoon is short and bald in real life — is so last season. And throwing in a real-life fraudster in a chaotic comedy feels misplaced and manipulative. The jokes rarely land and songs with lyrics that translate to “Girl from UP with a curvaceous body” doesn’t help their case either. It’s painfully regressive. The writing is sloppy and the plot meanders with umpteen characters flooding the climax. At one point, two lions enter the frame as if the dozens of bumbling characters weren’t enough to kill us. Image Credit: Supplied
    6 of 7
    Pagalpanti
    Verdict: Avoid this comedy with all your might. It’s a movie which will induce a migraine, even for those who don’t suffer from that condition. Image Credit: Supplied
    7 of 7
    Pagalpanti
    Movie: Pagalpanti; Stars: 1 out of 5 Image Credit: Supplied

    Trending

    • Light show looks to bring hope in Switzerland

      Light show looks to bring hope in Switzerland

    • Tourists stranded by canceled flights, shut borders

      Tourists stranded by canceled flights, shut borders

    Sign up for Coronavirus Newsletter
    Latest local and global Coronavirus news directly to your inbox
    Please enter your email address
    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Latest In

    • Rockets intercepted above Saudi cities: Al Arabiya TV

      11 minutes ago

    • Updated list of fines for violating COVID-19 measures

      49 minutes ago

    • 329 German tourists repatriated from the UAE

      1 hour ago

    • Dubai Municipality continues disinfection campaign

    • 29,000 requests from UAE residents outside the country

    Go back to top
    Network links:
    • Baby & Child
    • Friday
    • Inside Out
    • Watch Time
    • Wheels
    • getthat
    • GN Tech
    • Jobs
    • About Gulf News
    • Contact us
    • Work with us
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Gulf News store
    • Advertise with us
    • Reach by GN
    • GN Focus
    • Gulf News epaper
    • Sitemap
    • Have your say
    Sign up for the Gulf News Newsletter
    Delivered bright and early weekday mornings, this email provides a quick overview of top stories and need-to-know news
    Sign Up
    Find us on Social
    © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2020. All rights reserved.
    ✕
    This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you. Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our Privacy Policy.
    Share on Facebook
    Share on Twitter
    Share on Whatsapp
    Share on Mail
    Share on LinkedIn
    Close
    Gulf News

    Get Breaking News Alerts From Gulf News

    We’ll send you latest news updates through the day. You can manage them any time by clicking on the notification icon.

    Subscribe No Thanks