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Sunday, May 28, 2023
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BOLLYWOOD KAMAAL DHAMAAL MALAMAAL
EDITOR'S PICK
`Kamaal
Dhamaal Malamaal` clean, healthy entertainer
Rating: ***
If you can overlook the outrageous suggestion that Nana Patekar could be Om
Puri`s son, then you`re in for some clean, healthy, wholesome and engaging fun
in this comic drama about a stranger who walks into a Catholic village and
changes malfunctional lives with his positivity.
Does the reformation in the Church theme ring a bell? Films of Hrishikesh
Mukherjee - "Anand", "Bawarchi", "Buddha Mil Gaya"
and "Khubsoorat" - attempted the same theme of the whimsical but
endearing stranger who walks in with an eccentric agenda to change jaded lives.
Priyadarshan`s parodic populace is a city of eccentricity. Rural or urban, the
characters are whimsical, stubborn, and oddly out of step with the
socio-political reality of the world that they seem to inhabit from the fringes
without being able to position themselves in the mainstream.
"Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal" (KDM) gives us Priyan`s people at their
quirkiest. There is a farmer Om Puri who lives here with his wife (Sona Nair),
two daughters and a wastrel of a son (played with superb slothfulness by Shreyas
Talpade) in whose life comes a dark brooding stranger Nana Patekar who be any of
many things - a long-lost brother, an unwanted bother, a ghost from another
world, a blast from the past, a foodie who clean-sweeps all the food on the
tablefast! Leaving Om Puri`s family aghast.
It is interesting to see how Priyadarshan brings into play a small church-based
village community`s affinity to religion, courtship and domestic politics. Here
is a village sustaining itself at the grassroots with spirited hilarity, often
self-directed.
Though a little tongue-in-cheek if not altogether blasphemous, I was tickled by
the heroine`s female bodyguard (Pratima Kazmi)`s one-sided passion for the
priest played with Asrani in an ill-fitting cassock. This audacious plot-track
was more outrageously comical than newbie Madhurima Bannerjee`s endless
courtship with the eminently unlikeable wimp (Shreyas).
This isn`t the first Priyadarshan film where the pampered heiress is protected
from male attention by her slew of bullying brothers. Earlier Kareena Kapoor was
similarly guarded from Akshaye Khanna`s attention in "Hulchal".
Recurrent themes often give Priyadarshan comedies a sinking sense of sameness. A
remake of a Malayalam film "Marykundoro Kunjaado", KDM is one of
Priyadarshan`s better potboilers in recent times.
He hasn`t been able to do away with a regional flavour in the story. The
cloistered gossip-mongering Keral village may seem odd to Hindi-speaking
audiences. But the film has been shot by R. Ganesh in a beautiful lakeside
township. There are lush images of fields and meadows. The climactic chase
catches Nana and Shreyas running through a harvest-ready field in the dead of
the night. It`s an arresting image, framed and shot with care.
Though Neeraj Vora`s dialogues have seen better digs, they capture the ethos of
eccentric antics well. The actors are all in the mood to have fun.
Tucked away in this rumbustious drama of mistaken identity and godforsaken
raillery is a message on trust, belief and honesty. All of this is put forward
with zero dependence on vulgarity.
The double meaning is restricted to the ambivalence of the characters. The
principal actors specially duly deadpan Nana; blissfully and brazenly
self-serving Shreyas; incredibly unselfconscious Om Puri, wickedly ironic Paresh
and Neera Vora - a scream as a coffin maker who prays for the dying to be dead -
get into the swing of things. They lend a layering to the laughter.
An interesting film, and far superior to the prolific Priyadarshan`s other
recent comedies like "De Dana Dan", "Khatta Meetha" and
"Malamaal Weekly", a prequel to KDM.
Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal rooster arrives!
The rooster has announced it loud and clear! There will be an outbreak of laughter virus this September 28 all across the country, coupled with drama and family entertainment. For, Percept Pictures’ Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal, directed by Priyadarshan, will hit the marquee on that day.
Starring Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Shreyas Talpade, Asrani, Shakti Kapoor, Neeraj Vora among others, the film promises all of Priyadarshan’s flavour and much much more.
With all the extraordinary actors coming together one can expect great drama with ingredients comedy, action, music … loads of entertainment says Priyan.
He adds As I have said earlier Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal is a film with an identity of its own. Casting is done according to script requirements. And my actors have perfectly fitted the slot. KDM is a no expenses spared effort that will regale audiences. The film will also see interesting musical fare by entertainment kings Sajid-Wajid.”
Says Shailendra Singh, Jt MD, Percept Pictures, “Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal is the melting pot of league of extraordinary gentlemen, extraordinary actors, bringing their own flavour and spice to a Priyadarshan-helmed entertainment The film also sees Neeraj Vora and Priyan team up as writer-director after a span of eight years.
With Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal having the magic Priyadarshan touch, it looks like a storm is going to soon pull every family that seeks a hilarious, emotional rollercoaster family ride into its arms and give us that unforgettable laughter virus experience we all so long for! After all, isn’t laughter the traditional best medicine, folks!
Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal film Promotion Stills