A minor delight
chés and tired stereotypes galore – Black men as footsoldiers of the villain, bad guys spewing crude language and even ringtones.
But there’s also the quintessential Raj-DK touch – quirky dialogue, slapstick scenes and smart one-liners, all sprinkled about evenly.
Good guy Gaurav being friendzoned by Kavya (Jacqueline Fernandez) makes for some good doses of laughter; that risqué Rishi dreams of a home with a loving wife, a dog and a few kids is interestingly layered.
Sidharth and Jacqueline are fun to watch. That they have to be flashy, cheeky and very, very Bollywood for the most part certainly helps.
The cast of secondary characters is stellar. Supriya Pilgaonkar and Rajit Kapoor are memorable even in their small roles as Kavya’s parents. And though Suniel Shetty ends up disappointing in the role of a chilling, I-onlymean-business guy who is supposed to be brutal, Darshan Kumar makes for quite a riveting villain. The songs disrupt the narrative and do nothing to take the story further. But it’s quirky, if you like that kind of thing — and the screenplay makes it a fun watch, if you don’t mind a few glitches.
Known for his path-breaking children’s films, Amol Gupte’s latest offering Sniff - offers sweet insight into the world of kids.
This is the story of Sunny Gill (Khushmeet Gill), a boy who cannot smell. Following an accident in a school lab, our hero is suddenly cured. Now, he cannot only smell the roses and the pickles made in his family’s factory, he can even smell things up to two kilometres away. When a car is stolen from his housing society, he must use his superpower to solve the case.
Set in Mumbai, the film is a microcosm of India. There’s the Punjabi family (Sunny, his dad, sister and grandmother, the last played by TV star Surekha Sikri), a Bengali family (Sushmita Mukherjee playing a cop and her husband) and some Maharashtrian families, all living together.
The talented actors add to the authenticity of the narrative.
When Sunny’s sister sneaks out for secret meetings with her boyfriend and a neighbour (Putul Guha, playing Sushmita’s husband) chides the young couple, you feel the youngsters’ irritation. Amid the humdrum dramas of everyday life, Sunny and a group of friends set out to solve the crime. The kids are a treat to watch. They are genuine and believable. There is little drama, though. And despite multiple attempts at it, little comedy either. Despite the flaws, the kids will enjoy it, and it is likely you will too. SWETA KAUSHAL