Entertainment Review

Sajid-Farhad have built a career out of writing uproarious dialogues and scripts for films like Golmaal 3 and Chennai Express. They are Rohit Shetty’s proteges and that is evident from the trailers and song promos. And Entertainment is also the return of Akshay Kumar after delivering his first smash hit in some time – Holiday. The producers have highlighted the fun part and the animal loving part of the film and that has created buzz. So how funny is Entertainment really?

Story: Entertainment is centered on Akshay Kumar’s character Akhil and his hilarious antics with his friend Krushna. Akhil is the son of a poor father played by Darshan Jariwala and he has to make ends meet to earn money. So he suffers a jolt of sorts when he finds out that his real father is a multi-millionaire called Pannalal Johri (Dalip Tahil). But then news comes that Mr. Johri has passed away in Bangkok. Akhil and Krushna land up in Bangkok to claim their inheritance when they find out that Johri has given all of his property to his dog Entertainment. The film derives its name from that of the dog and thinks take a funny turn when Akhil and his buddy Krushna try to put one over Entertainment the dog. Things get even more interesting when Karan Arjun (Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood) arrive on the scene to complicate the matters.

Entertainment
Entertainment Movie Review

With a film like Entertainment, the viewer goes in expecting non-stop fun and hilarious jokes and gags. And Sajid-Farhad deliver on the promises to an extent. The jokes are funny but if you are not used to their brand of humour then you might not like the jokes. The script could have taken a Humshakals-ish turn but they managed to steer clear of such mindless buffoonery.

The technical aspects of the film are not something that viewers will be particularly looking to investigate when they go the see Entertainment as long as it looks good and makes them laugh. Having said that, Entertainment looks good, has high production values for its genre. The music of Entertainment has become a hit what with two big chartbusters like Johnny Johnny and Veerey Di Wedding. The Atif Aslam track sounds clichéd.

Entertainment works so well because of the return to comedic form for Akshay Kumar and his chemistry with both Krushna and Entertainment himself! An actor like Akshay with unmatched comic timing makes a huge difference to the end result. Interestingly, his chemistry with Tammanah fades in comparison with Krushna and Entertainment. Krushna is rip roaring in the film. And it is such a joy to see normally serious actors like Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood enjoying themselves so thoroughly. Johnny Lever, Darshan Jariwala, Dalip Tahil and Mithun Chakraborty provide ample humour to the film with their own performances. Tammanah is decent. Entertainment works because the cast seem to have had a lot of fun while making it.

Entertainment lives up to its title and works well because of the funny jokes, gags and situations. The director duo make a ridiculous premise work beautifully and their experience of working with Rohit Shetty comes in handy. Akshay Kumar and the whole cast had a lot of fun while making it and so will the viewers while watching it. But if you have a problem with the slapstick type of humour that Entertainment promises, please steer clear.

Box Office: Entertainment will take an above-average opening at the ticket counters but will continue to grow throughout the weekend and should post a respectable lifetime total.

Positives:

  • Hilarious gags, and jokes
  • Akshay Kumar and the whole cast are in fine comedic form
  • The music is chartbuster with two songs being big hits
  • Kids and families will love Entertainment

Negatives:

  • Sometimes the gags get too ridiculous
  • The lead actress could have had more to do

Rating: ★★★½☆

Advertisements

55 Comments

  • Wow this critic @mihirfadnavis who his very strict when it comes to reviewing movie said he actually liked Entertainment and said it is the best Akshay comedy after Hera Pheri.
    And I don’t remember the last time he gave a good review to Akshay’s film
    Then Entertainment is full of Entertainment for sure

  • His Review on First post

    Entertainment review: It’s sheer genius and Akshay’s funniest film since Hera Pheri
    by Mihir Fadnavis Aug 8, 2014 12:52 IST
    #Akshay Kumar #BuzzPatrol #Hera Pheri #MovieReview #Prakash Raj #Sonu Sood

    The deadly duo of Sajid-Farhad has had a deadly hand in creating some of the deadliest films ever made – Dhamaal 2, Golmaal 2 and 3, Housefull 2, Singham, Bol Bachchan, the Chashme Baddoor remake, Policegiri and even Chennai Express. These films aren’t just horrendous, they’re a scourge on this planet. We need something like the Guardians of the Galaxy to rid us of such bubonic atrocities.
    Having been exposed to all of the aforementioned titles over the past few years and losing both my tear ducts in the process, I walked into Entertainment with a loaded gun, in case I felt the need to end my misery once and for all.
    But as the first five minutes of Entertainment flashed before my eyes, my pupils dilated. I couldn’t believe it – I began smiling, and then laughing uncontrollably, and then clapping at the jokes. Before I knew it, I had turned into the apes from the opening scene of 2001 A Space Odyssey, genuflecting and worshipping that large black slab we call Bollywood.
    Brace yourselves for the shock of your lifetime: Entertainment is sheer genius. It’s the funniest Akshay Kumar film since Hera Pheri.
    Courtesy: Facebook Courtesy: Facebook
    Once in a while, Bollywood churns out a classic comedy. It’s either a genuinely funny film (like Hera Pheri), or a movie that is so bad that it’s great fun (like One Two Three). Entertainment is a multilayered landmark that commands both those qualities and adds a third layer – it satirizes all the awful Sajid Khan-Anees Bazmee movies and even takes potshots at everything that is wrong with desi cinema and television.
    To demonstrate the above points, here are some samples of comic excellence from Entertainment.
    a) Tamannaah is acting in a television soap opera. She holds an aarti plate. It’s Karva Chauth and she is ready to bless her husband who tells her he’s in love with someone else. The camera dramatically jerks around three times and Tamannah expresses over-the-top shock. “Hamari Ekta humein Shobha nahi deti,” she tearfully says. A brilliant takedown of idiotic desi soap operas.
    b) A DVD store is called ‘Mere paas CineMAA Hai’ and the owner is Jugnu (Krushna Abhishek), the geekiest of film geeks. Upon seeing a happy Akshay Kumar, Jugnu asks “Kahan chale Sonakshi Sinha taan ke?” Later, when Kumar escapes death, he says “Prabhu Deva ki Mahima Chaudhary thi jo tu bach gaya.” To cheer his morose friend up, he says, “Itna Pankaj Udhas mat baith.”
    c) Johnny Lever plays a lawyer named Habibullah, but is often mistakenly called called Dracula and Gorilla by others. In one instance, he tells Akshay Kumar, “Mai aapse do minute guftgoo karna chahta hu.” Akshay asks, “Guft? Goo?” And the scene transitions to a slow zoom and shows us a pen stand shaped like a toilet.
    d) The Ring is parodied here. The TV is turned on and Entertainment (the dog) walks through the screen into the real world, complete with extra long hair falling over his eyes and red contact lenses.
    e) Three inscrutable lawyers in the film are called Sanjay, Leela and Bhansali.
    In case you haven’t picked it up, the not-so-subtle references, celeb bashing, potty humour and wordplay are all meta – the film is completely self aware. But there’s more to it than that. In Entertainment Farhad-Sajid actually deconstruct the meaning, fabric and setbacks of entertainment in Bollywood.
    The dog in the film is called Entertainment. It’s a statement by Farhad-Sajid that entertaining movie audiences constantly is a bitch. In the film, Kumar is helpless when his character Akhil’s family property is inherited by a dog. It’s a metaphor for how the quality of entertainment in Bollywood has gone to the dogs. Akhil repeatedly tries and fails to kill the dog and take over. It means Farhad-Sajid have been struggling to produce a worthwhile comedy, because audiences seem to only want Housefull sequels, Grand Mastis and Salman Khan movies.
    In one scene, Entertainment (the dog) falls in a crack in a frozen river. A distraught Akhil slams his hands repeatedly on the ice, screaming “ENTERTAINMENT! ENTERTAINMENT!”, till they bleed. You get my drift? Entertainment is slipping away and the hands of Bollywood writers bleed when they try to recapture the fading art form.
    Later, a rehabilitated Akhil apologizes to Entertainment (the dog). “Tu sahi hai, mai galat tha,” he says. “Mujhe rasta dikhane ke liye thanks.” It’s Sajid-Farhad giving in to the demand of the public and the producers – there is no point making smart, original comedies. Generic, loud, crass, vulgar, regressive comedy is what makes money in Bollywood.
    Habibullah informs Akhil, “Entertainment ka kehna hai ki maalik ka beta naukar nahi ban sakta.” That’s Sajid-Farhan telling us that the son of a star should only be a star, and star sons will always rule Bollywood.
    Farhad, Sajid and Kumar feel guilty about being part of films that were offensive to women. So in one scene, a villainess beats Akhil up, but he refuses to hit her. Instead, he lets Tamannaah do the deed. “Aurat ka bojh aurat hi utha sakti hai,” he says, as Tamannaah literally lifts the villainess up.
    The sibling villains of the film Karan (Prakash Raj) and Arjun (Sonu Sood) are about to punch each other. But they look into each others’ eyes. “Ye bandhan to pyaar ka bandhan hai” starts playing; the scene cuts to a black and white flashback showing a widowed mother feeding two kids. Cut back to the present as Karan and Arjun weep and hug each other while the song continues to bellow in the background. Later Karan and Arjun brashly take over a ‘Johri empire’, a sly hint at Rakesh Roshan taking over Bollywood with his dreadful movies in the ’90s.
    All of this hard work in writing would have been futile had the film been tackily shot, just like the films it parodies. Surprisingly, Entertainment is technically great, even the scene transitions are well done. There was a lot of noise made about Darren Aronofsky’s Noah having a path breaking CGI shot where hundreds of animals exit the frame to go to the ark. In Entertainment, hundreds of dogs enter the frame and one bites Sonu Sood’s crotch. Dear Farhad and Sajid, please shut up and take my money. I bow to you in reverence.

  • Entertainment is a nice film, awesome comedy by Akki after welcome. It would have easily collected 150cr if entertainment released mid sept like grand masti, anyway 100cr possible. Dog lovers shouldn’t miss it

  • @indicine: Why is — thrashing this movie by giving 1/5? Overall the reports seem to be great ! Will bad review affect the film? Hope this movie does well ! Cheers :)

  • 3.5 stars

    As for me- I will give this film a miss so its all about next weekend for me now. Good luck Akki Sir with this one…! ;-)

  • Good to see akki starrer movies getting good reviews with holiday and entertainment.. I am sure his next movie will open big now.. Good luck to akki and entertainment team and also to his fans..

  • Tamanna should stop doing bollywood film n save us from watching 3rd class acting( i twice suffer humshakals n entertainment).

  • 3.5 stars is good . One interesting fact for all Akshay fans : Entertainment releases today 8th August the same day 6 years back in 2008 Singh is Kinng was released on 8th August 2008 and was loved by audiences and was also appreciated by critics . Singh is Kinng was Superhit at the Box Office . Let’s see what is the Verdict of ‘Entertainment’ ? Best of Luck i hope Entertainment becomes a huge success. I will watch on Entertainment on Sunday with my family on Raksha Bandhan .

  • 3.5 stars…!!!
    You gave 3.5 to HF2 also and it was a nice comedy…
    Great to see Entertainment getting good review…
    Akki is king of comedy for sure..it is a decent family entertainer and one should not find logic in such films..just go n relax ur brain..

  • Excited to watch it ..I think some people want this movie to be a dud just for Kick to breathe in a few more crores.

  • This film should hopefully end tamanna’s disastrous run in bollywood…
    Currently 53 on indicine review scale,which i think is more than sufficient for a slapstick comedy…
    I don’t care about b.o collections for this film,i know i will enjoy it coz i have liked his previous comedies like garam masala,welcome,hf2,heyy baby,herapheri etc.

  • Not watched yet. But I will watch it for Tamannah ma’am tomorrow. She is very beautiful but Sona Ma’am is the best actress of the century for her performance in Looetra and Nawaz Sir, best actor for Tiffinbox…..

  • @Anand I was going through wikipedia page of Tamannah and there i saw her brother’s name was Anand….lol

Leave a Comment