What happens when four young, fun loving boys [Shreyas Talpade, Jaaved Jaffrey, Ashish Chowdhary and Vatsal Sheth] begin a crazy house hunt which takes them through a series of ultra comical hurdles in a bid to find that one roof that can tolerate and shelter their combined problems?
In the search for a new accommodation, these crazy friends manage to convince their crazier landlord Ballu (played by Johnny Lever) to keep them as paying guests but, Ballu has one condition i.e. he wants only couples.
They give in to his conditions but how-they are all bachelors! Who will play their wives?
The new drama triggers a serious of confusions that builds into the rich complexities of mistaken identities and a climax of comic wizardries.
Paying Guests
Maxabout Review
This comedy is more of a tragedy... for its viewers!
Friday, June 26, 2009
The film is set in Bangkok and apart from the country, none of Bangkok's location, nor locals are used in the film. So why Bangkok in the first place?
Also, if it was all about Paying Guests, Mumbai could have been the ideal location. In these times of recession, the film would have been completed in half the budget here. Recession, however, is not on the minds of the makers, I guess. But yes, the three friends are definitely facing a cash crunch and are on the lookout for a house to stay in. They have lost their jobs and the owner of the house they are staying in (an Indian) has kicked them out of his house. To add to their woes, a cousin of one of the friends joins them.
Comedy is serious business and Paritosh Painter ought to know this by now, since he has successfully directed a number of plays in the past. Sadly, PAYING GUESTS stands on a waferthin plot, although Paritosh tries hard to add meat to the skeletal body. The film doesn't have the power to hold your attention for the next 2 hours, although it does [intermittently] make you smile or break into a guffaw.
They finally manage to find a house (another Indian) where they have to pay no deposit, which suits them fine. However, Johnny Lever and Delnaz Paul, the owners, have one condition. They will let their house to only married couples. Therein begins the comedy when two of the friends dress as women to gain access to their new home.
There is
no solid script, just happy coincidences meant to tickle your funny bone. And tickle it does. If you just want to relax and have a good laugh, Paritosh Painter's PAYING GUESTS would do just fine. But be prepared for some unnecessary jerks in script and songs added for the heck of it.
After the usual introduction of the four main characters, the film goes top gear in comedy. Aashish Choudhary, Shreyas Talpade and Jaaved Jaffery are the three friends. They are later joined by Vatsal Seth. Neha Dhupia, Sayali Bhagat, Riya Sen and Celina Jaitley complete the pairings.
The climax - in a theatre, with every character doing a spoof - is a straight lift from JAANE BHI DO YAARO.
The comic timing of Talpade, Choudhary and Jaffery is superb and it does keep you in splits. But apart from that, there is nothing of note. Shreyas is the best, followed by Javed, then Ashish and then Vatsal - in that order. The leading ladies don't have much to do, but Celina and Neha are most noticeable. Riya and Sayali Bhagat don't get any scope. Johny Lever is in form and so is Delnaaz Paul. Chunkey Pandey is alright, while Inder Kumar is wasted. Asrani stands out, while Viju Khote and Paintal are okay.
Paritosh Painter had an interesting idea on hand, but the writing plays the villain here. Sajid-Wajid's music is a ear-sore. Barring 'Jack & Jill', the remaining songs lack energy. Visually, the film looks good, with the locales of Bangkok and Pattaya adding freshness to the enterprise.
Painter sketched this film just to amuse, I guess.