Shu Thayu…Saheb…Tamne Shu Thayu
Jignesh Vasavada
2.5 Stars
Expectations are sure a huge burden to carry. The shoulders of Krishnadev Yagnik and team sure seem strong to have been sculpted to carry the same.
So, when Shu Thayu was announced, it was a weighed with the huge burden of the comeback team of Chello Divas (yes, the same film which has more than 25 different versions disguised as Urban Gujarati cinema). Did it really carry the burden well, or are the team themselves saying, Shu Thayu?
Read on, but not before my mandatory 10 observations.
1. Has Malhar lost age and Kinjal gained glamour? My God, what good and nice looking pair!!!
2. The premiere was like a rich wedding party with a proper colour theme. You could actually see bystanders asking, Shu Thayu?
3. Looks like the sequel of Chello Divas is such a huge burden that they even gave Michael the same quantum of role as in the original film.
4. So, there is progress. Helmets are visible with bikes. Only that the heroine’s head is cheaper and less important than the hero’s because only he is wearing the helmet.
5. Every scene is a magnificent product placement. You can actually count the brands, the locations and the products that make their appearance and disappearance.
6. Malhar desperately needs a dialogue (delivery & content) makeover. The stereotyping is also stereotyped.
7. What is By Swear of your mom? I assume, Maa Naa Sum? Dal is lentil soup (for the puritan English speaker) not curry.
8. Over-ambition or pure confidence, the film has sub-titles with the hope of targeting non-Gujarati audience.
9. The producer seems to have used the Karsandas location for a hospital, looks more like a swasthya kendra with MRI facility.
10. So, what is finally the heroine’s name, Deepika, Dipali, or Dipli? You keep wondering all the time.
The madness begins from the word go. The loud gets louder and the overacting gets exaggerated and the film commences. But then you have been promised an unFORGETable laugh riot, so you begin adjusting and taking in, as Manan expresses his love and intention to marry 3D (Deepika/Dipali/Dipli) to her father. A street smart, smart alec fast forwards us through his funny journey of love and acceptance and manages to get a yes and the film begins.
Few situations later our man hits his head on the stone and the audience too feels the pain, all the way to the end. The injury is multi-pronged, the dialogue writer’s head too seems to have been hit, the screenplay writer’s head too, the location guy’s head as well as the gag writer’s head. All of them suffer amnesia/loss of memory, speed, innovation, flow and the product goes for a toss.
In the state of forgetfulness and foolhardiness, Manan’s reception and marriage take place (yes, in the same order) and his friends help him through the entire journey.
What was being built up for a laughter riot, emotion of friends, ingenuity and love turns laborious, unbearable and sometimes funny. There are occasions of laughter and some real good slapstick but most times you are engulfed by the lack of innovation in the scenes and dialogues. The film gives you fun in installments like the Reception sequence, the initial falling in love scene, most of the interactions with Mitra Gadhvi and the friends.
Malhar sometimes even seems to be mumbling dialogues. While he does put on good acts, it just does not add up, after all there is only this much you can do with 4-5 dialogues that have been written for you. Mitra Gadhvi (Chikna) excels in a great performance. His character, his performance, his timings are just spot on. Aarjav Trivedi, drooling in his delivery is pretty artificial, Yash does a good job while the beautiful, glamorous Kinjal Rajpriya is under-utilized. Rest of the characters have a forgettable outing.
The screenplay, the story, the dialogues fall very short of expectations not giving us enough meat to chew on for the 2hrs plus something time. Music is present but nothing stands out. Songs, have good lyrics but not very hummable, at least not in the first go.
Krishnadev Sir, Chello Divas rocked, Karsandas super rocked, even Vandha Vilas, I personally found it hilarious, but Shu Thayu forces me ask, Saheb, Tamne Shyu Thayu?
