Golmaal 3 Review

It's still hard to believe Golmaal is a franchise. Films that are moderately funny in patches shouldn't get a franchise with nothing except the main cast and crew linking them. And yet, Rohit Shetty proves us wrong with Golmaal 3 - the third film in the franchise and the fifth in the continuing cycle of unfunny films starring Ajay Devgan. Yep, he sure does love his films that way.

There was always a certain charm in watching a Rohit Shetty film, if only for the hand-cut aesthetic that he possesses. The stunts, the sets and the set-pieces always had a raw quality to them that was refreshing to even the most jaded Bolly-watcher. Practical and low-cost effects employed in the service of entertainment - it was entertaining to watch a large crew go about fulfilling visions without the budget.

With increased success, and of course budgets, Shetty has gone from a can-do director to a lifeless husk who limply points his camera at things that purport to be funny but aren't, and relies on slick little set-pieces to fill the gap. Unremarkable and utterly forgettable in every way, Golmaal 3 is a mediocre film that cannot be saved by some very funny moments by Mithun, and an energetic Tusshar Kapoor.

Shetty's Hrishi-da fixation finds a new outlet this time beyond the name and the referential (All The Best had the entire cast sit and watch Chupke Chupke) - he takes the basic premise of Khatta-Meetha and sets it in his Shetty world of colourful bikes, Goan beaches and mute Tusshar Kapoors.

When neighbourhood tom-boy Kareena Kapoor hooks up Ratna Pathak Shah and Mithun Chakraborty's single parent characters, the oft feuding brothers - sons respectively of the two septuagenarian lovers - are forced to live under one roof and contend with each other's antics. Pitting Ajay Devgan and Shreyas Talpade against Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor and Kunal Khemu as the newly-living-together step-brothers was what Shetty banked on to get the laughs.

Crass jokes about sodomy aside, there is nothing new that these actors bring to the table. Mithun is a revelation however - his turn as the harrowed father of wayward sons is genuinely funny and full of reverential humour that touches upon Disco Dancer, Commando and even Agneepath. This isn't just fan service; this is also the funniest part of the film.

The rest of the film, burdened as it is by Johnny Lever and Mukesh Tiwari's nefarious doings on top of eight actors doing their thing to bring out the laughs, fails to fly, and instead crashes and burns often, and with amazing accuracy.

This isn't a Diwali gift, as suggested by the promos. This is the Diwali hangover after a night of gambling and drinking writ large on celluloid - some fun moments that can barely be remembered after 6 hours. Watch if you dig Mithun being funny and you don't have tickets for something better.

Also Read: Golmaal 1, Golmaal 2