My Friend Pinto Review Another Disastrous Comedy!

The comedy genre has now started to become scary! In the past two weeks, Bollywood has already come out with three senseless torturous comedies in the form of Rascals, Tere Mere Phere and Hum Tum Shabana. All three have failed miserably at the box office. And this week, Bollywood its ready for its next comedy My Friend Pinto released on 14^th October 2011. However, one can hope to expect more from this flick considering the producers are renowned entertainment brands – Sanjay Leela Bhansali and UTV. So does My Friend Pinto prove to be any different? In simple words, No Way! 

Twenty-something Michael Pinto has grown up in a small Goan village, believing everyone in the world to be simple, kind and honest, just like him. His world revolves around a doting mother, a passion for music and the memories of a childhood friend, Sameer, who left Goa for Mumbai many years ago and hasn't replied to his frequent letters ever since. Pinto's talent for music is only matched by his knack for finding trouble in the unlikeliest of places often resulting in the most outlandish and hilarious situations. When Pinto's idyllic world is shattered by the sudden demise of his mother he decides to head to Mumbai in search of the only friend he knows. Will Pinto find Sameer or will trouble find him first? Will Pinto and his crazy antics survive the big bad city or more importantly, will Mumbai survive a phenomenon called Pinto?

When would filmmakers understand that comedy is no funny business! My Friend Pinto is another example of a disastrous and tedious comedy. The biggest fear for any comedy film-maker is the absence of laughs among the audience, and that's definitely the case with My Friend Pinto. The comedy falls absolutely flat. Leave alone laughs; it doesn't even make you smile. Just like the usual slapstick comedies, this film chooses to eliminate the concept of 'sense' in its proceedings. The comedy is absolutely dumb and ridiculous. However, the problem also lies in the fact that one might not be expecting a senseless comedy from My Friend Pinto. That's not at least what the promos suggest! The humor seems entirely forced. For instance, Prateik Babbar dangerously climbs from one window of a building to another on maybe the 15^th floor, just because he gets locked in the balcony. Why? Couldn't he just wait for someone else to come home and open the door for him? There are many such forced comic attempts which fail to tickle the funny bone. Also, Prateik Babbar's character of 'Pinto' just doesn't work. The whole careless innocent guy thing has been done to death! One just can't relate with the dumbness of his character. Also, there are just too many storylines jumbled together making the film an even more tedious watch. The only part of the movie which works is the scenes with Shruti Seth and Arjun Mathur. Only if the movie was just about them!

Be it the direction, screenplay or story – it's a poor job by Raghav Dhar. From characterization to forced humour, all of it simple fails to interest the audience. In fact, the characterization of the main character itself seems ridiculous. Also, in spite of having countless storylines, not much scope is given to any. The main focus seems to be only on Prateik Babbar. After an extremely criticized performance in Aarakshan, this was Prateik Babbar's chance to show his acting ability. Also, this is his first solo hero film which adds up to the pressure. However, Prateik fails to impress once again. Attempting to look innocent and nave, he turns out looking dumb and panzy. Also, that fake smile throughout doesn't seem to charm anyone. Kalki Koechlin also fails to contribute much owing to her minimal screen time. Nevertheless, she's refreshing in her bit. The stars (if any) of the film are Shruti Seth and Arjun Mathur. It's only their storyline which might interest the audiences. Makrand Deshpande, Raj Zutshi, Amin and Karim are simply irritating! Divya Dutta doesn't get much scope.

Overall, My Friend Pinto is another failed comedy attempt. Definitely worth a miss!

Rating: *

Author: Rishitu Amarnani