I have never been a huge fan of Rohit Shetty’s brand of cinema, but enjoyed watching two of his films. The first in the Golmaal series and his last release Singham, which had tremendous entertainment and repeat value.

But those in-between films like Golmaal Returns, All The Best and Golmaal 3, especially the later, were outright unbearable. If you enjoyed watching those films, don’t bother reading the review further, go ahead and book your tickets.

Others, read on..

Starring Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin, Prachi Desai and Krushna Abhishek, Bol Bachchan is an action comedy, inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1979 classic Gol Mal.

Story: In an attempt to save a drowning kid, Abbas Ali (Abhishek Bachchan) breaks into a forbidden temple and gets himself into trouble. One of the strongmen in the village, Prithviraj (Ajay Devgan) saves his life and hires him as an accountant. But to hide the fact that he is a muslim, Abbas’ friend (comedian Krushna) names him Abhishek Bachchan! What ensues is a comedy of errors and mistaken identities. How will Abbas hide his real identity?

Bol Bachchan Review

The problem with Bol Bachchan is that the entire film comes across as forced. For instance, Prachi Desai’s character runs away and finds herself abducted by her own evil-brother. Why? Just to include an action sequence in the first half. For the second half, she decides to do a repeat act. Escapes, gets abducted, the lead men arrive just in time and bash-up all the 100 goons without breaking a sweat.

Much like the situations, the comedy is forced too. In an attempt to make you laugh, Rohit Shetty tries too hard, includes every trick that has worked for him so far. There is a parallel plot from the original Gol Maal too, unfortunately, this isn’t a patch on the 1970’s classic.

Ajay Devgn does well, his broken english dialogues were funny. Abhishek entertains with his eunuch act. Apart from that, Bol Bachchan has very little to offer.

Comedy Circus star Krushna Abhishek is too loud and hams throughout. The ladies get little screen-time and manage to look pretty. Arsani and Neeraj Vohra are over-the-top but funny in a few scenes.

Overall, Bol Bachchan is silly, absurd and easily Rohit Shetty’s worst. We suggest you rent a DVD of the old Gol Maal instead. Whether you like the cinema of the 70s or not, be rest assured, you’ll love the Amol Palekar – Utpal Dutt film. It ranks high with Andaaz Apna Apna as one of the best comedies to come out of Bollywood.

Rating: One star