Himmatwala

In reference to the latest Himmatwala, actor Naseerudhin Shah said Bollywood is now remaking films that should not have been made in the first itself. Well after watching the Devgan starrer, I really believe that director Sajid Khan had a lot of scope in proving the critics wrong by making it a spoof of the original mediocre version that had Jeetendra and Sridevi as the main protagonists. But Sajid restricted the spoof portion into scattered sequences here and there and followed the old formula and hence making the audience wonder about the sensibility of remaking such a bizarre movie.

The plot here revolves around the street fighter Raju who returns to his village to meet his mother and sister. Raju’s father committed suicide after being falsely accused for theft by the harsh village head Sher Singh. The movie is basically about the fight between Raju and Sher Singh. How Raju wins over Sher Singh and ultimately proves the innocence of his father.

There is no magic in the content of Himmatwala to attract the audience into it. Sajid tries to add some skit fun into a story that is filled with tiring clichés and melodrama. But after all Himmatwala is still the same old Himmatwala. The slight changes in the story also follow that outdated dramatic fashion. The only property Sajid had in this version to entertain was Paresh Rawal’s Narayandas who occasionally manages to crack the audience with Shayari punches and performance. Apart from that Himmatwala is that exaggerated Hindi cinema that will test your sensibility.

Onscreen, Ajay Devgan is comfortable in his Himmatwala avatar that will remind you his recent characters in the celluloid. Tamanna is there for mere skin show. After the tiger fight, Tamanna’s character is not there in the film for a long while and when she returns in the second half a whole lot of audience were laughing as most of them almost forgot the leading lady. Paresh Rawal offers something to laugh in this dull comedy. Adhyayan Suman gets a good role but sadly it’s not enough to be considered as a comeback. Mahesh Manjrekar gets a chance to show his comic skills, but the exaggeration kills the fun. Zarina Wahab seems to be everyone’s choice for the mother role these days; especially in old fashioned dramas. Sajid Khan’s friends’ wing is there in the movie with a bunch of cameo appearances.

In the making, Sajid has literally made fun of the movie which he said he loves very much. It is possible that even mediocre films will impress us in our childhood days. But when it comes to remaking such films, you should really think thrice or more than that to take away the flaws. I don’t know what made Sajid offer a refund to the audience if they didn’t like Ajay’s introduction scene.  Writers Sajid-Farhad only manages to impress us in the funny dialog portions. The camera isn’t that charming and the music is just about pleasing. The visual effects are really on the downside and the fight sequences are executed very poorly.

On the whole Himmatwala demands a lot of Himmat. If they have made the movie as a complete spoof of the original one, things might have worked for the film. I am giving 1.5/5 for this Sajid Khan entertainer. The decision to remake the movie with same flavors is indeed immature.