Ek Aur Ek Gyarah Review

A sudden and inexplicable decrease in neuronal activity seems to be the only reason I can think of to explain why I found myself watching Ek Aur Ek Gyarah. And that might well be David Dhawan's defence when he's put on the stand for his crimes against intelligent filmmaking.

The supposed sequel to Jodi No. 1 is no jodi at all. Tara (Govinda) and Sitara (Dutt) are a couple of small-time crooks who find themselves mixed up with bigtime Bob, Cobra (Ashish Vidyarthi). They earn his wrath and seek refuge in the house of cop Ram Singh (Jackie Shroff). Now why is it that our poor filmi men in green, right from constable to commissioner, are named that? Anyway, bygones.

Cobra's big bro "Panther" (Gulshan Grover) is Ramu's nemesis, and most efforts are directed towards showing how he can't escape Ramu's jail if his life depended on it. Come to think of it, it sorta did. I just had to put that "Panther" bit in inverted commas - it's rather funny watching a grown man running around with arms wide open going "Panther... ehahaha... Panther... ehahaha!!!"

Moving on swiftly (unlike the movie), our boys meet the girls and all sorts of happiness happens. I think Amrita Arora was my only source of happiness - she's cute! There's an absolutely brilliant and original sequence where Tara is in a wheelchair (don't ask) and the girls try and get him to walk again, whipping his legs to see if he feels pain. Films like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Johar Mehmood... could take a leaf out of this fine scene. By the way, you DID know we happily celebrated National Sarcasm Day recently, right?

Thennnnn, Tara and Sitara go through all the usual shenanigans, free the baddie, recapture the baddies and shake a leg, too. Though my attention sorta perked up only when the girls were reciprocating. The usual motley crew of Tiku Talsania, Viju Khote, Himani Shivpuri do their thing. Peace and Happiness.

Beyond doubt, this is a Govinda vehicle - he bravely carries the whole thing and makes up for our lackluster che-footer as well. Dhawan-and-only must always be given a very long rope, but it does have ends, you know. I wonder... poor Mr. Grover's ratio of Punches Successfully Landed : Received must be comparable to the scriptwriter's imagination - very, very small. But credit where it's due - the film does have its funny parts and can make you laugh, which is a good thing.

I truly believe the girls had some sort of acting talent, but it is all their other talents that are put to much more use. The timing between Govinda and Dutt, even through their Punjabi put-on accents and characters, is still there, and does have its laugh-out-loud moments. Vidyarthi too is given his 45 seconds of talent showcase. Messrs Shroff and Grover were probably in this for the money or as a favor..

The best thing about EAEG (actually, the sound that makes sort of describes my feelings) is that it gives you sufficient time to ponder about what Stephen Hawking said about black holes in your teacup. I am now doing what I should have done with those 3 hours... cheers!