Lighthearted comedy is Priyadarshan’s forte. The viewers have got a touch of his comic vein in movies like Hera Pheri and Yeh Tera Ghar, Yeh Mera Ghar. In his latest offering Hungama, the director has gone a little overboard to make the audience laugh, and has eventually ended up creating a peculiar kind of humor that brinks on confusion and absurdity.
Hungama begins at a very fast pace as director introduces all the characters and their stories in the first two reels itself.
Confusion, chaos and mistaken identities – that is what Hungama is full of. The film begins with a young village girl Anjali [Rimi Sen] coming to city looking desperately for a job. She gets a job after a ‘young dreamer’ named Jeetu [Akshaye Khanna] misunderstands her as the daughter of a business tycoon, Radheshyam Tiwari [Paresh Rawal].
Jeetu wants to take the easy route to riches. To get started in life, he begins with ‘robbing’ money from his miserly father. And now he is on the lookout for a rich girl to marry and become a millionaire himself.
Cut to Nandu [Aftab Shivdasani], another local loser who dreams of becoming a famous singer against his parents’ wishes. Nandu runs away from home and lives in Mumbai on his own. To get a cheap accommodation he is forced to chum up with Anjali, and the two have to pretend that they are married too.
Cut to Anil [Sanjay Narvekar], a bank employee who harbors the dream of marrying the only daughter of Tejabhai alias Kachraseth [Shakti Kapoor], who is a big shot in the town. But to impress the girl, he has to sham that he is the son of Radheshyam Tiwari.
Cut to Radheshyam, a trustworthy husband who suspects her wife to be having a secret affair with a young guy called 'Jeetu from Videocon'. Radheshyam’s suspicion keeps growing and soon the circumstances become such that their marriage is on the rocks.
Radheshyam’s wife Mrs. Tiwari [Shoma Anand] is happily married to her husband until her encounter with Kachraseth makes her believe that her husband has illegitimate sons and daughters.
Things keep on getting more entangled, and confusion and chaos take the frontseat as all these characters go about to realize their dreams and chase their fears and fantasies.
Paresh Rawal, who has single-handedly carried humor in Priyadarshan’s earlier films, disappoints in Hungama with his loud and theatrical performance. On the other hand, Akshaye does manage to get under the skin of his character and prove that apart from serious and brooding roles he does have a knack for comedy too.
Rimi Sen makes a noticeable debut in the film. In addition to her gorgeous looks, the Sen girl does have acting sensibilities. Being pitched opposite the likes of Paresh Rawal and Akshaye Khanna in the very first movie is not easy for a newcomer, but Rimi has carried her role with commendable flair and style.
On the whole, Hungama does tickle a funny bone, but the humor is more slapstick and incidental.
Reviewer: amit
