In my unsuccessful quest of finding a buddy to watch Sachin Yardi’s Kya Super Kool Hain Hum with me, I came to realize a few things: I seem to be the only one openly admitting to wanting to watch this film, and that many people take their superior taste in cinema quite seriously. But I was out to prove many wrong and find a gem that folks were too proud to appreciate. And as someone who enjoyed this film’s predecessor, Kya Kool Hain Hum (specifically three scenes which involved Naseeruddin Shah, a cigarette butt and a cat) and films such as Masti and the Golmaal series, I was excited to watch a laugh riot. But as the film progressed, each scene took my hopes down a notch to the point that I became what is considered sacrilegious in a movie theater: a passive viewer.
Kya Super Kool Hain Hum (KSKHH) is produced by ALT Entertainment, the edgy, urban youth oriented offshoot of powerhouse Balaji Productions. If you have seen the trailers you know the makers have made it loud and clear that the film is well, loud. Very loud. KSKHH doesn’t shirk from what it’s selling, which is adult comedy positioned to outshine all the films made in the genre.
It’s quite the task to describe a film that has no story (and this is no exaggeration), so I shall be polite and call it a film driven by characters …straight into the ground. Adi (Tusshar) is a struggling actor who makes a living doing tacky infomercials while his friend Sid (Riteish Deshmukh) is a small time DJ trying to make it big, but must instead rely on cheesy garbas to provide him with work. These are guys who want to be idols, but are instead, idle (this joke is straight from the film). Paired opposite to the men are the beautiful ladies Simran (Neha Sharma) and Anu (Sarah Jane Dias). Simran is deemed sweet and carefree because she owns a car but prefers riding in a bus (yeah, I don’t buy it either) and Anu is a model who suffers a wardrobe malfunction on the ramp, yet at best is annoyed with all the media coverage (ain’t buying that either).
The rest of the cast comprises of characters that, despite their whacky descriptions, are quite boring. Anupam Kher plays Mr. Marlo, Anu’s delusional father who believes his pet pug is in fact his mother. This was perhaps judged as unexciting so to add spunk, a bunch of little people suffering from progeria (the disease seen in Paa) were thrown in to dance around Kher with much glee. The most lovable character Sakru, Sid’s pet pug, is the center of a terrible climax comprising tens of dogs mating at a doggie wedding. No, I’m not making this up.
I enjoyed Chunky Pandey’s brief appearance as the Baba 3G who manages to stand on one leg while lying face down (the photo of the feat is hilarious) but screen presence and good comic timing cannot compensate for dialogues comprised of insipid cell phone jokes.
Tusshar and Riteish work well together and are likable, but sadly are not given well-written scenes to make them shine. Tusshar seems to know this and compensates by saying dialogues a little louder, and making his expressions much more exaggerated—a strategy that fails him. Riteish plays his role at the same pitch he does in most of the films he stars in and has a good sense of timing, but he’s memorable only if his dialogues are (think Masti and Bluffmaster).
Both Neha Sharma and Sarah Jane Dias look great on the big screen with Neha bringing in a dash of cute and fresh, and Sarah Jane adding saucy and sultry to the mix. Both do the best they can in half-baked roles, but Dias shows some promise than Sharma with her confidence and spontaneity.
The three songs in the film, which come out of nowhere and highlight poor editing choices, are nothing more than cues for bathroom breaks. ‘Dil Garden Garden Ho Gaya’ manages to get stuck in your head even though you wish it wouldn’t. ‘Shirt Da Button’ has a promising melody but the uninspiring lyrics ruin any chance of magic. ‘UP Bihar Lootne’ is a reboot of the famous ‘item song’ from Shool and it’s safe to say the original is far superior.
I was looking forward to very naughty, creative dialogues written to catch me off-guard, but was often met with gags suitable for children. Take, for example, Sid claiming a Mrs. Godrej must be cool because she makes fridges, and Adi making a celebratory toast with a piece of toast.
The makers of this film set out to push boundaries to the max, but instead torture most every scene with back-to-back puns, incredibly cheesy jokes and long beats that milk every moment for what its got. When a film has to work this hard to make the audience laugh, it comes across as desperate and lacking. It only works if it’s effortless and if anything, this movie made me miss the Govinda-David Dhawan comedies that made the most crass of jokes charming!
All the double entendres and puns in the world are of no good if they aren’t cleverly strung together. In the hopes of creating a super spicy dish, the makers add so much poor quality chili and pepper that the customer ends up with a concoction that’s inedible, unsatisfying and ultimately, not worth purchasing.
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Shivani’s family has been in the US since 1963, yet she remembers watching Dilip Kumar before Mickey Mouse. Her obsession with Indian cinema continues to this day and she is known by various names, including IMDb (Indian Movie Database) and Taran Tripathi (after the film trade analyst). She lives in both New York City and Twitterland (Shivani510)…follow her on Twitter and see her obsession is not an exaggeration.
Peta Jinnath Andersen is a freelance and fiction writer. Born in Sydney, Australia, to a Fiji-Indian father and Scottish mother, she’s a bit confused about her background, but loves it all the same. Currently living in the US, she has just had her first child, and is busy studying hard in an effort to learn more about her Indian heritage – including taking Hindi lessons – so she can teach her son about just what it is that makes an NRI special.
on July 28, 2012
at 5:40 am
Per expected lines, in that case! hehheh
on July 29, 2012
at 12:54 am
Thank you for saving my money and time!! Can’t wait to read your next movie review. (Ek Tha Tiger). I enjoyed reading your film review.
on July 29, 2012
at 4:53 am
Hey thanks for the review..you just saved me some money. I had loved the first movie a lot…and had lot of hopes from this one. But when I saw the songs I had guessed it is going to be tacky and horrible…
on July 29, 2012
at 3:14 pm
@kumud Thank you for the compliment, and glad I could help! As far as the review of Ek Tha Tiger is concerned, I’m not sure how objective I can be–I’m a huge Salman Khan fan
on July 29, 2012
at 3:24 pm
@Lazy Pineapple Thank you for the comment–the adjectives you used are quite apt. I would have suggested renting it instead, but your time and money would be better spent watching Kya Kool Hain Hum again!
on July 29, 2012
at 3:40 pm
@Rickie Khosla Looks like quite a few people read your preview, hence me being unsuccessful in finding a viewing buddy!
on August 8, 2012
at 2:55 pm
Thank god I watched movie first and then by chance ur review. Indian critics are like on a campaign to criticise badly about any movies released in India and infact it’s a good idea why dont u post some reviews about Hollywood or other famous movies too then we can have a comparative study of u dealing Hindi vs Hollywood movies coz I want to see how u feel about those movies.
Now first of all understand the market for which movie is produced. Don’t say TATA’s cars are inferior just bcoz u drive mercedes u need to understand whats the target customer for which product is made. so many times a badly criticised movies make good money even collection of KSCHH so it proves that the film makers knows what their viewers want but critics don’t know what their readers like. I think that’s why they call u critics coz u always criticise.
To all people who did not watch this movie pls watch it and u won’t regret it.
It’s not best but worth every penny of ur ticket if u like Hindi movies.
on August 8, 2012
at 6:43 pm
@Roy: I think it’s unfair to generalize by saying all critics are determined to always write negative reviews of Indian films. That is certainly not the case. There are lots of good films made in India and those are reviewed accordingly. At the end of the day, a review is one person’s opinion. It’s up to you if you choose to agree or not. The review is not part of a secret conspiracy to attack Indian cinema.
Secondly, Shivani’s review above makes a very good point, that the film is just not funny. There is nothing wrong with masala films or films aimed at mass appeal. But they have to at least work in terms of story and comedy. If KSKHH is supposed to be a comedy, it doesn’t even accomplish that. I think Shivani was fair in her review of the film as she also highlighted the good parts of the film.
Finally – box office collections of Hindi films is a very complicated business. These days, the opening weekend collections (Friday-Saturday-Sunday) are all that matters. That is why filmmakers pump more and more money into marketing and publicity to entice everyone goes to see the film at least once in the opening weekend. Once that is accomplished, they make their money. It says nothing about the film’s longevity at the box office. Usually from Monday onwards, the box office collections of most films go down. Only those films that actually deliver in content sustain good collections.
on August 8, 2012
at 10:29 pm
@ Pulkit I have nothing against any critic. Infact most of the time they are right coz our Indian movies generally lack script or story. Infact I want to say sorry to Ms. Shivani if my comment is demotivating. NRI is a good platform for independent writers and I love most of the writing here as it is from among us and I get a touch of common man in most of the writing. I loved Ms. Shivani’s latest piece about life in Dubai and Mumbai. As I lived in both the cities so I could very well relate to story and I loved the humour in story telling.
Now, I reacted that way coz majority of critics always criticise Hindi movies yes they do praise too but that’s 1 in a 100 or you tell me Pulkit how many movies had a good review from critics in this year. What I meant was lets accept what kind of movies work for Hindi cinema viewers and judge the movie as per that.
I accept it’s critic’s personal views but when ur personal views affects public’a opinion then a social responsibility is automatically levied on u of being fair and non partial. Critics do affect public’s decision of watching a movie or not, which affects the movie’s collection so the critics should have a sense of responsibility when they are writing especially on a public platform.
And if u think that KSKHH is not funny then u better stop watching Hindi movies coz ur expectations r too high.
on August 9, 2012
at 3:05 am
@Roy Thanks for sharing your perspective and adding to the conversation.
I understand where you’re coming from, but Pulkit beat me to the punch and articulated many of my thoughts. This year started off very well with films like Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Paan Singh Tomar, Kahaani, Vicky Donor, Shanghai, Ishaqzaade (which many critics didn’t like, but I really enjoyed)…that’s quite a few! As far as feeling Hindi films are inferior to Hollywood, well, I’d be the last person to say so. Indian cinema has a rich history and a very unique place in the world and deserves a certain reverence…that’s why I call it Hindi cinema, not Bollywood.
I saw KSKHH in a cinema hall and aside from some laughs, most of us were silent and shifting in our seats. Quite the opposite of my experience watching Vicky Donor…people were coughing from laughing too much. If a writer/director’s work isn’t up to the mark, it isn’t the audiences’ responsibility to lower their own standards. As far as box office collections are concerned, KSKHH was panned by most critics, but still got an excellent initial. Critics can offer their opinion, but at the end of the day a person should spend their hard earned money however they want to. Even the most terrible reviews cannot keep me away from a Salman Khan film.
Also, the wonderful piece on being single in Mumbai&Dubai was written by Lekha Menon, not me.
on August 9, 2012
at 6:32 am
@ Shivani I liked ur first line ‘I understand where you’re coming from, now I m thinking why I bothered to comment ur post. When a reporter asked Mrs. Jaya Bachhan about Indian critics, her reply was ‘R there any in India? ….:)
I m sorry Ms. Lekha, I loved ur post.
on November 8, 2012
at 8:39 pm
So glad I stumbled across you review! I was planning on watching this movie over the weekend and now I’ll probably deprioritize it amongst so many others that I need to catch up on:) I still want to catch this one at some point but I am glad I’ll be less disappointed going in with less expectations!
p.s A new reader to the NRI and a follower to your articles immediately!
on November 8, 2012
at 9:53 pm
@Richa Welcome to The NRI! 2012 has been a good year for Hindi cinema. Take a look through our film reviews… I’m sure it’ll better help you plan your weekend. Enjoy!