5 QUESTIONS
BILLBOARD
BOX OFFICE
MAKING WAVES
MEMORIES
MOVIES CHAT
QUOTE MARTIAL
REVIEWS
ROUGH CUTS
SHORT TAKES
SOUTHERN SPICE
THE LIST
WISH THE STARS
ARCHIVES

Comedy zindabad!

Kanchana Suggu

How can a gruelling day at work be a whole lot of fun?

It can be, trust me. For the people involved in the shooting of a film. All you have to do is be around the likes of Kader Khan, Asrani, Satish Kaushik and Johnny Lever who will have you in splits, give a jhatka or two to some catchy but meaningless song or just scurry around a garden, dolled up from head to toe.

And voila! That’s when even an exhausting day at work can be transformed into pure amusement… you may think it's inane, but so what?

That was the impression one got on the sets of Vimal Kumar’s Suno Sasurji which stars the above-mentioned veteran comedians along with boy-next-door Aftab Shivdasani and sweet-as-candy Amisha Patel.

David Dhawan sure seems to have become an inspiration for every director in town -- mindless comedy, with absurd dialogues and asinine dances, seems to be the modus operandi everyone is resorting to.

So, it seems, the time has come to bid adieu to the days of classics and welcome this new era of comedy, uninterrupted.

The location this time was the swanky Royal Palm Golf Club in Bombay. When we reached the sets of Suno Sasurji, Amisha and Aftab were going through their dance steps. There was also a bus full of junior artistes, dressed garishly in bright silk outfits. The song, with choreography by Chinni Prakash, was being picturised on Aftab, Amisha, Kader Khan and Asrani.

The lyrics, written by Sameer, went like this -- Doonga nahin tujhko main apni chori/ Main teri fidrat samajhta tha poori. From what we gathered, Aftab was trying to steal Amisha from dad Kader Khan who remained steadfast in protecting his ‘little spoilt rich brat’ from her man. So the entire song was about Amisha running after Aftab and Kader running after Amisha.

This, in different permutations and combinations, is the crux of Doonga nahin. Did we forget Asrani? Oh yes, Asrani happened to be the expert saviour who helped friend Kader Khan bring his daughter out whenever she hid under a chair or behind Aftab or under Kader Khan’s legs... or wherever.

The junior artistes had these bright pompoms in their hands which they would wave every time the director shouted 'action.' Amisha, in a bright orange miniskirt and black top, and Aftab, in a black blazer, we must say, looked rather cute together.

And while the sets were being changed, the lead pair posed for about 15 lensmen who had gathered there. The photographers went on clicking till Amisha actually had to bring them to a halt. The choreography resumed once the photo shoot was over.

Amisha seemed a natural with comedy. She effortlessly synchronsied her facial expression with her dance movements. Poor Aftab! He seemed to be having a problem in this department, with the director cajoling, "Aftab, feel, expression, enjoy." After a few retakes and then some more, the director finally said the magic word -- 'okay.'

That, in a nutshell, was Aftab and Amisha’s day at work.

Director Vimal Kumar, who evidently had not much to do that day, was chatting up with a couple of mediapersons. "Aftab has a great sense of timing and Kader treats him like a brother. Amisha is good in comedy. She’s very punctual and always eager to learn," he said proudly.

But what’s the film all about? "Kader is a banker and he pays a 25 per cent interest rate to those who deposit money with him, but only after 25 years. He deliberately chooses old people so that he can keep all their money once they die. But Aftab, whose grandfather had deposited money with Kader, comes back to claim his grandfather’s share and in the process, falls in love with the banker’s daughter. The daughter happens to be a complete squanderer, much to her father’s disapproval," explained the director. Well, so much for novelty.

Suno Sasurji, whose outdoors are to be shot in Mauritius, Portugal and Spain, promises to be a wholesome entertainer. In the meanwhile, all we can really do is wait for its release scheduled around August.