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Thursday, March 20, 2025
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BOLLYWOOD GO GOA GONE
EDITOR'S PICK
A
zombie fiesta, `Go Goan Gone` stressbuster (IANS Movie Review )
Rating:
***
Not taking into account the expression-less "actors" who have infested
Hindi films from time immemorial, zombies are a relatively new phenomenon in
Hindi cinema. We did have a zombie film some weeks ago which, like most
characters in films of that genre, died a swift death. Forget that.
"Go Goa Gone" is a savagely funny take on the mythic cult of zombies.
Since we are new to the genre, there are sly footnotes about them. Characters in
the course of their casual and quite corny conversations tell us plenty about
Zombie folklore.
That zombies enjoy eating human flesh, that they cannot run fast and most of
all, zombies are actually dead people.
Working backwards on the premise of heroes shooting the dead, the director duo
have fashioned a fiercely funny fable filled with loads of innocuous innuendos
and rumbustious scare attacks that never quite reach the stage of
stomach-churning gore-o-logy (to invent a term, and why not since this film is
about inventive creation).
"Go Goa Gone" can be seen as a brutal burlesque of the horror genre.
Scenes of ghouls/zombies chasing our puny heroes through the Goan foliage are
more satirical than scary. This innovative ode to terror moves at a quirky yet
measured pace, gamboling quickly from one well-written scene of mock-terror to
another without losing track of the film`s ultimate `bro-mantic` purpose.
For starters, the three heroes - Kunal Khemu, Vir Das and the quietly effective
Anand Tiwari - who travel to Goa for fun frolic and, ahem, the fraulein (if
you`ll excuse my German) look like cocky offshoots of the trio from Farhan
Akhtar`s "Dil Chahta Hai".
Interestingly, one of Farhan`s protagonists Saif Ali Khan here transforms into a
blonde Russian zombie slayer named Boris whose accent keeps slipping off. And
that`s fine because Boris is not really Russian.
Ha ha. And this is not a scary movie. Not really. Ha ha again. The principal
actors are fully in-sync with the zany mood. Saif as a pseudo-Russian zombie
hunter gives a performance to `dye` for.
The laughs flow with energetic gusto melting into a tide of spooky gore without
creating a genre-confounding mess. Kunal and Sita Menon`s Hindi dialogues catch
the fervour of the tongue-in-cheek words cheekily.
Here is one film that doesn`t lose its way in translation. Though the characters
`think` in English (Hardik, indeed!) and although the whole concept of a zombie
flick is very B-grade off-mainstream Hollywood, the hair-raising hijinks manage
to stay relatively sleaze-free.
Peppery and with a pinch of `assault`, the performances are pitched at just the
right flavour of fright. All the three main actors have fun with their parts.
But it is Kunal who seems the most at ease playing a synthesis of the slimy and
the slippery without falling out of character.
A true gem of an actor, why is Khemu not given more interesting work to do?
Saif`s star turn as the "Russian" sharpshooter is understandably
self-mocking in tone. Saif`s character is in keeping with the film. You really
can`t take the terror template seriously. And yet you get the uneasy feeling
that the joke is on us.
A zombie fiesta that`s savagely funny and surreptitiously scary, who but the
co-directors of the genre-defying "Shor In The City" could convert the
kookie content into an experience of a `laugh`-time!
Oh yes, there`s the mandatory glam-quotient in the figure of Puja Gupta. In her
presence Hardik, giggles, gets really excited.
Go for "Go Goa Gone". It`s a stressbuster with balls, nerves and
chutzpah.
Oh yes, Goa as shot by Lukas Pruchnik and Dan MacArthur never looked more
inviting. And less hospitable.
Actor Anand Tiwari, known for films like "Udaan",
"Kites", "Aisha" and "Go Goa Gone", says his appetite to grow and become a
better artiste has increased tremendously over time.
"I have only learnt
that there's so much more to learn and over the years I am getting more and more
hungry to be a better artiste," Anand told IANS.
"And I guess the most
important thing I have realised is that to be a relevant artist, you have got to
remain as open as a child and really keep exposing yourself to newer experiences
and interactions to be and remain relevant," he added.
Anand, who also
founded a content house Still and Still Media Collective (SSMC) with AmritpalRead More
The horror-comedy starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor has been titled "Stree". Read More
Vishal Shine & Gary Rodrigues & Abhishek Rao two dope heads who tag along to Goa with their buddy, Bunny , on his business trip. Luv comes across a free-spirited girl, Luna who casually invites them to an exclusive underground rave party on a remote island! The party is headed by the macho Indo-Russian Mafioso, Boris. But something is not right on this island. All of a sudden, they are accosted by zombies! Where did these zombies come from? And who is Boris really? And why has this cold-hearted drug-dealing don come to save their lives? Together they need to get out of the infected island!
Go Goa Gone film promotion Stills