Movie Review: Apna Sapna Money Money - Page 3

Apna Sapna Money Money

Director: Sangeeth Sivan
Producer: Subhash Ghai
Starring: Jackie Shroff, Suneil Shetty, Ritesh Deshmukh, Riya Sen, Celina Jaitley, Rajpal Yadav, Anupam Kher
Music Dir: Pritam Chakraborty
Singer: Sukhwinder Singh, Mika Singh, Amit Kumar

Money, money...funny, funny... This time it's not a rich man's game anyway. Its money that makes the world goes round with misadventures of love, lust, passion and deceit. The quest for money and the desire for true love get embellished on celluloid. Santosh Sivan may not be David Dhawan or Priyadarshan but he fulfills the promise of delivering dependable comical caper.

The Hollywood classical comedy -- 'It's a mad mad world' has been an inspirational lift to both Hollywood and Bollywood and even this time the film faithfully traces its comical passions and escapades. It's not easy to be ethical or contemporary when it comes to urban cinema but with immaculate timing and airtight scripting it may work. Priyadarshan's 'Maalamal Weekly' proved a landmark where village bumpkins run after the proposed "lottery" amounts followed through hilarious comical journey of comical roller coaster rides.

Sivan's attempt is somewhat similar and works on a slapstick mode where melodrama, humor and romance are accommodated with tons of eye candy glamour. Bollywood has grown up with such genre for few decades and survived with grace and splendor for years. Though it has been spiced with raunchy flavors of sex comedy, it still dominates. 'Apna Sapna Money Money' has its pros and cons but it has more plusses than minuses and this is where the film clicks.

Santosh Sivan whose comical aesthetics broke the jinx for trusted TV baron Ekta Kapoor in 'Kya Kool Hain Hum' makes second dent of slapstick comical entertainer with this endeavor. This time he is doing it under Mukta Arts banner with a bunch of reliable and promising star cast to deliver the needful. 'Apna Sapna Money Money' comes from the baggage of the most bankable genre of "comedy" with the men in form (Santosh Sivan and Ritesh Deshmukh).

In an era where cerebral comedies like 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', 'Pyar Ke Side Effects' and 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' have excelled, this one comes with old slapstick formula and composition of all sub genre of comedies. Likewise the film triggers with one plot followed by many sub-plots that form the base for the bumpy comical ride. Sivan's fun filled adventures try to encapsulate formulations of slapstick, situational and romantic comedy into one packaging. It may not be nursed with stylish star cast or rip-roaring musical flavors but has decent credits to make things work on screen.

'Apna Sapna Money Money' tries to satirize the aspirations and dreams of today's young generation with chunks of whimsical and hilarious acts by dozen characters. Sivan's last attempt 'Kya Kool Hai Hum' was a cool inspiration of Hollywood's 'American Pie' and to a large extent of the much acclaimed sex comedy series "Confessions Series". This time he prefers an old age formula of nonsensical humor where a bunch of characters chase for money while adapting to silly comical antics. It brings out the man-in-command (Riteish Deshmukh) with his numerous con acts where he undergoes gender and age change and in between there is soft and subtle blend of love chemistry. Santosh Sivan even tries to spice it with flavors of "spoof" comedy with Rajpal Yadav aping Big B's attire of "Sarkar" through his weird silly acts.

This comical extravaganza starts with boy next door image of Arjun Fernandez' (Shreyas Talpade) love for sweet and simple Shivani (Ria Sen). The biggest roadblock in their love is Pt Shastri (Anupam Kher), Shivani's orthodox father. Love blooms against all odds and it has the ground support of dusky beauty Julie (Koena Mitra), Bobby Mohabbati (Bobby Darling) and Titli. Julie nurses ambition to be a pop star and dreams of pop videos but wakes up to normal life everyday.

Kishen (Ritesh Deshmukh), a shrewd con man, deceives Rana (Chunky Pandey) and his "Nepali" clan with fake chit fund company. Shastri compels Shivani to marry boy of his choice and thereby invites bridegroom's father Sarju Maharaj (Sanjay Mishra) for marriage. Kishen eludes from Rana and gets into the character of Sarju Maharaj. Carlos (Jackie Shroff), a dreaded underworld, works from Bangkok and has Sania "Badnaam" (Celina Jaitley) as her associate and crime-in partner in India. Inspector Mane (Suniel Shetty) suspects Sania for her unlawful activities but fails to unveil her reality to his senior (Avtar Gill). Carlos has plans to smuggle out diamonds worth fifty billions through Sania but there are obstacles that lead to many mistakes and unwanted blunders.

Kishen dons the attire of an old man to deceive Rana and then gets into the female get up to help his friend Arjun. Kishen is so picture perfect in his con act that Shastri falls in love for his female attire. Chote Sarkar (Rajpal Yadav), a self styled don along with his associate (Sunil Pal), coordinates with Carlos to get diamonds from Sania.

Things turn upside down; Mane gets hold of Sania and they hunt for the lost diamonds. Kishen wants money for luxuries, Julie wants money to make her dream of pop star come true, Arjun and Shivani want money for ailing Titli but the diamonds elude them. The eventful misadventures come to a screeching halt when Carlos along with his gang gets arrested. The curtain falls on a happy note with love winning over lust for money.

The film completely belongs to impressive Riteish Deshmukh with his silly but hilarious comical con acts. The actor shows great maturity after 'Kya Kool Hai Hum' and 'Masti' in con acts and also in getting into different get ups. His old age transformation may not be surprising but his seductive female acts tickle funny bone. Riteish has grown as an actor after his dismal debut 'Tujhe Meri Kasam'. His promising phase started as a comical actor in 'Masti'. This would strengthen his status as reliable actor in comical flicks.

Ace comedian and brilliant actor Anupam Kher comes up with another fine act when he shows his versatility and prowess of a dependable comedian. The prankish "lota" sequence may not be rib-tickling but his romantic confrontation with Riteish is worth watching. Koena Mitra is improvising as a lead actress after her first lead act in 'Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena'. The actress displays her sensuality with her raunchy moves in songs like "Gustakh Nigah" and "Money Money" with flair. Ria Sen breaks her mould of dare bare actress and gets into the "bhartiya nari" image with a tinge of comical flavors.

This time she abstains from excessive body displays and focuses on her acting skills. It may not be her finest performance but one of her most promising performances till date. Shreyas Talpade is a surprise package altogether with his sensitive act. The actor showed it through his body language in 'Iqbal' and then in his imposter acting in 'Dor'.

He maintains his confidence on screen with fine dramatic moments in the end. Sadly, the weakest link seems to be the tried and trusted actor Jackie Shroff in his loud and unimpressive funny acts. Jackie falters with comedy again with mismatched timing that fails to connect with his attire. Suniel Shetty also has low acumen for comedy but his confrontations with Avtar Gill in the police station draws applause. Sunil Pal, new comical talent, gets his first major role after his miniscule performance in 'Phir Hera Pheri'. He has limited screen presence in the film but delivers his part well. Chunky Pandey is a complete surprise in his "Neplai" make over and comes out with fine performance in his villainy acts.

Pritam along with Vishal-Shekhar has foot tapping music on his sleeves and it works efficiently on the characters in the film. "Jai Jai Money" thrusts on the comical passion in the film with gallops of glossy entertainment in "Gustakh Nigah" and "Sania Badnaam". Remo's choreography is apt for the situation and builds up tempo on the screen. Pankaj Trivedi's screenplay is crisp and offers witty one-liner in funny roller coaster ride. T Ramaji's cinematography is flashy and trendy and will find many takers among urban audiences in glossy numbers like "Sania Badnaam".

Director Santosh Sivan rides on the torrential comical wave with success and delivers a visual treat for multiplexes. Once again it's proved that competent star cast wins over the much hyped star cast in comical flicks. Sivan is decent this time with less raunchy acts than in his previous 'Kya Kool Hai Hum'.

He has been modest in planning out the length of the film with the able support of efficient star cast.It may not be as prosperous as 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai' or Kya Kool Hai Hum' but will bag success for Mukta Arts banner after the debacle of 'Shaadi Se Pehle'.It will fare best in multiplexes as it has the ingredients to entertain urbanized youth. If the box office barometer is to be believed then it has an edge over 'Vivah' and 'Deadline --Sirf 24 Ghante' as comedies have been the flavor of the season. A good word of publicity will strengthen its prospects. The movie has succeeded to be a reliable "fun-filled" time-pass for audiences.

www.mag4you.com

Apna Sapna Money Money
Dirty dozen!
Dirty dozen!

RATING - Timepass
Starring: Ritiesh, Shreyas Talpade, Suneil Shetty, Chunkey Pandey, Jackie, Celina, Riya Sen & Koena

Bole To: Usually corny, occassionally funny but at times incredibly funny!

STORY: Well, a whole load of widely varied characters are after some diamonds, but they remember that only in the last hour or so, and spend the first half fooling around.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW: As per laws of probability, if you crack a 100 jokes in 2 and half hours, odds are atleast 15-20 of them will turn out funny.

REVIEW: OK, so it's loud, corny, silly, over the top, lewd, but at the end of the day, well, it makes you laugh. And if it can do that, well, all evil is forgotten. Sangeeth Sivan started his career making something he wanted to - a psychological thriller. Everyone was so thrilled by the idea they decided not to watch it. He decided to hell with risks and make something outright commercial. KYA KOOL HAI HUM was lewd and much criticised, but it was funny and it worked. So here he repeats the same formula, and to play it completely safe, ensures that his leading ladies are revealing substantial amounts of skin at all times, so atleast the male audience will go back with something to cheer about. The plot has so many subplots it's pointless to follow whats happening. And its OK if you don't because all the humour comes from the dialouges and specific situations. Chunkey Pandey and his nepali gang, Jackie Shroff and Suneil Shetty are hilarious, because they are genuine, and don't try cliched paths to humour.

BOTTOMLINE: 20-25 good laughs in 2 and half hours isn't a bad bargain.

By Sreeram Ramachandran

www.mtvindia.com

Apna Sapna Money Money belongs to the genre of comedy films, but unfortunately like a lot of comedies this one too does not have any rational or logical plot. But that does not really deter the audiences and this one won‚„t too. The premise basically consists of everyone running after some hidden diamonds for their own personal reasons, most of the reasons of course not even making sense. But then this film is just that, a time pass comic caper with plenty of obscene jokes that are funny at times, a few gags that entertain, confused characters and a whole lot of crazy drama that makes the audiences just go with the flow. Director Sangeeth Sivan has used a bit of Priyadarshan‚„s style where everyone seems to be chasing the other especially in the climax and he has used his earlier style of adult comedy seen in his Kya Kool Hai Hum. Well this film will definitely have its takers; the film may appeal to masses who want to watch a time-pass entertainer.

Apna Sapna Money Money has been produced under Subhash Ghai‚„s banner Mukta Arts and has been directed by Sangeeth Sivan. The star cast consists of several characters like Ritesh Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade, Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Chunkey Pandey, Rajpal Yadav, Suniel Shetty, Celina Jaitley, Koena Mitra, Riya Sen, Bobby Darling and others. The story has been written by Sivan, the screenplay has been done by Pankaj Trivedi and the music has been composed by Pritam.

Shreyas Talpade (Arjun Fernanadez) is a mechanic and is in love with the crazy Shastriji‚„s (Anupam Kher) daughter Shivani (Riya Sen). Arjun like everyone else in the story is in need of money, his childhood friend Krishna (Ritesh) is a compulsive gambler and recently fraudulently conned Rana (Chunky Pandey) who in turn is after him for his money. Krishna is the master of disguises and so successfully tries to evade getting caught by constantly changing his get ups. Julie (Koena Mitra) wants to be a renowned pop singer and for that she needs money like the rest of the people. Jackie Shroff plays an out of action don and Celina Jaitley (Sania Badnaam) is the gangster‚„s moll, her mission is to bring the diamonds worth 50 crores to her boss. Inspector Maane (Suniel Shetty) is on to Sania and tries to catch her, but she wisely hides the booty in Krishna‚„s bag before she departs. Now Krishna is off to meet his cousin Arjun. There is also a wannabe gangster Chote Sarkar who operates from a tabela who also gets roped in and is now on the lookout for the diamonds. Everybody lands up at the same place and everyone is chasing some one or the other.

Sivan‚„s brand of comedy is entertaining in parts and pieces, there are plenty of double meaning sex related jokes and gags which some may find appealing enough, the disguises by Ritesh are pulled off quite well, the scenes between Ritesh and Anupam though crass at times does entertain, there are some truly funny though crude one liners heard throughout the film, though the script defies logic and sanity the screenplay does have its engaging and appealing moments. The humour is not innovative but manages to make you smile. The screenplay has a balanced dose of skin show, jokes, gags and plenty of characters that keep you entertained with their antics. Not an A list comic caper, but one that you can watch and enjoy during the moment.

Apart from Sivan‚„s comedy being termed as crude and crass with the adult jokes, Sivan apparently uses the style of several other reel comic capers like Phir Hera Pheri, Malamaal Weekly, Garam Masala along with his own style and serves up a mish mash of his own. Also there‚„s definitely no rational plot and there are too many characters which tends to make you lose track of the sub-plots and there is quite a bit of chaos and confusion. Unfortunately even the climax is a tad disappointing and does not have that extra zing. Also the editing and pace of the film could have been fine tuned.

Pritam‚„s music is fairly average and nothing to rave about. But the numbers like ‚œPaisa Paisa‚„ and a few others are entertaining to watch during the film. Cinematography by Ramji is engaging enough and although the dialogues have double meanings, they are invariably funny. Sivan‚„s Apna Sapna Money Money is a mad comedy that manages to entertain the masses; it‚„s a light film that has been made solely for the purpose of dishing out entertainment to the common man. It‚„s a film that does not preach but definitely manages to make you laugh. There are many characters so though each gets a limited scope the actors perform their roles with ease.

Ritesh Deshmukh definitely stands out in this crowd as he has some of the best lines and the best gags. He performs each of his disguises extremely well and his comic timing too is exceptional. Anupam Kher‚„s versatility as an actor comes across and he is fairly competent. Rajpal Yadav is once again extremely hilarious, Chunkey Pandey gives a fairly decent performance after a long time, Jackie Shroff is fair, Shreyas Talpade delivers an average performance and so does Suniel Shetty. The girls have even lesser scope, Celina Jaitley reveals loads of skin show but her performance leaves much to be desired. Riya Sen is fair and Koena Mitra still has a long way to go. The rest of the cast is able in their performance.

Sivan‚„s Apna Sapna Money Money will definitely appeal more to the masses and can be termed as mad cap comic entertainment. But this one definitely is not for families, but strictly for those who enjoy adult comedy and don‚„t take too much offense by the on screen antics. Go with no expectation and you come away thoroughly entertained. At the box-office it‚„s the kind of film that will definitely get more than what it deserves. A time-pass comedy film.

Reviewer: Rachel Fernandes
Score: 2.5/5

Gurkha's honour, I thought I was a goner!
By: Upala KBR
November 21, 2006

Chunkey Pandey might be getting bouquets for his performance as the Nepali don Rana Jung Bahadur Singh in Apna Sapna Money Money, but not everyone is pleased with the performance.

Or so he thought, when on Sunday afternoon, Chunkey was accosted by 15 Nepali gurkhas in Jaipur.

Says Chunkey, "I had gone to attend the polo match organised by Cartier. It was to organise funds for Indian elephants, but little did I know that I would be picketed instead!" he rues.

Fan frenzy

A regional paper had carried news of the event along with the names of the people who would be attending, including Chunkey. When Pandey left from The Rajputana Palace hotel to go to the event, he was waylaid by 15 Nepali gurkhas who stopped his car.

"Screaming and shouting, they forced me to get out, lifted me up and started throwing me from one person to the other singing Nepali songs all the time! I was terrified and thought that I was a goner. I thought that this must be some ritual they do before sacrificing the bakra," says Pandey, in good humour.

After that little tamasha, they put him down and told him that they were huge fans of his!

"They told me that they liked my performance in Apna Sapna Money Money. They had seen the film more than thrice and felt that for the first time in Hindi cinema a Nepali character had been portrayed correctly.

They posed for pictures with me and finally let me go. They were just showing their excitement at having finally caught up with me! I almost died that day!"

Language no bar

Chunkey says that Subhash Ghai, designer Falguni and director Sangeeth Sivan conceptualised his character. "Subhashji's is very fond of Nepalis after Manisha Koirala! The language was something I picked up from my maid, who is part Bengali, part Nepali.

She looks after my younger daughter Raisa. Even Raisa is familiar with that language, so I have to talk to her in the same language or she doesn't understand me," Chunkey jokes.

The Nepali don's role in Apna Sapna Money Money was something that he got purely by luck. "Sangeeth had come to Aftab Shivdasani when we were doing Darwaza Bandh Rakho. Aftab refused the role so Sangeeth asked me if I would do it. We developed it a lot."

Chunkey's upcoming films are Arjun Rampal's I See You and Firoz Nadiadwala's Fool and Final.

Says Chunkey, "In I See You, both Arjun and I play TV anchors, while in Fool and Final I play a diamond thief. It's a feel-good film."

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