Bollywood’s take on horror films is often funnier than scary, either due to B-grade performances by relatively unknown actors or because of a weak storyline that fails to make an impact. Of course there have been exceptions like Bhool Bhulaiyaa, in which director Priyadarshan, not only weaved together the concepts of parapsychology and supernatural folklores smartly to give audiences the chills but also added the right amount of humour to keep it light-hearted. Similarly Bhoot, which was inspired by countless Hollywood films, scared the hell out of people thanks to Urmilla Matondkar’s phenomenal acting. Falling into almost the same category is Raj Nimodoru’s latest movie Go Goa Gone, although it cannot be classified as a horror flick. This recent Bollywood venture actually picks up on a rather western genre of ‘zombie’ comedy and surprisingly does justice to at least half of the concept. Given Bollywood’s track record, this can be considered more of an achievement than a failure.
Is it horrifying? Not really. Is it funny? You bet! The movie is hands-down hilarious in the first half, with a dwindling plot in the second.
The film revolves around two characters Hardik (Kunal Khemu) and Luv (Vir Das). Both of them are stoners living with their friend Bunny (Anand Tiwari) in his apartment, who is quite the opposite. They are even employed by Bunny in his own office where they spend most of the time smoking weed and checking out random “foreign” girls on Facebook instead of working. The movie moves on to show how Luv gets rid of his doping habit for his girlfriend only to find out that she has ditched him, whereas Hardik’s about to be fired from work just when Bunny gets an offer to go to Goa for a presentation.
Till this point, the film runs smoothly with back-to-back, cleverly penned one-liners that force you into spells of laughter. After a long time, Bollywood has treated us to a genuinely entertaining screenplay that is well-written and perfectly timed by Nimodoru. The chemistry between the characters, Hardik and Luv, is what drives the narrative and keeps the audience amused. This is also by far actor Kunal Khemu’s best performed film.
Moving on, Bunny decides to take a road trip instead of his business class ticket, for the sake of his beloved friends, only to find out that he will be stuck with two people who are merely taking the trip for drugs and women. It is only a matter of time until they find out about a party happening on a nearby Island, organised by members of a Russian mafia. What follows are drugs, zombies and Boris –The Zombie Killer, played by Saif Ali Khan.
A blonde-haired character that has a fake Russian accent and often curses in a desi manner makes Saif’s performance even more hilarious. However, as soon as Boris becomes the macho man saving a bunch of Indian kids following his introduction, the film takes an awkward turn and all you are left with are, weird sounds and fury that signify nothing.
The cleverly-written, hilarious one-liners and the amusing story-telling soon fall prey to a very uninteresting and hollow climax that certainly did not match up to the brilliant build-up of the film. However, keeping the flaws aside, Go Goa Gone will keep you glued to your seats. The credit for it goes to the crazy soundtrack that offers an ideal combination that you can expect from a zombie-related comedy and also to the witty one-liners.
Had the film-makers paid just a tad bit more attention to the plot and structure of the narrative, this could have been by far the most entertaining film of 2013. Nonetheless, it is definitely a must-watch.
Verdict: Expect pure entertainment instead of horror. Friends will not be able to control their laughter though families will surely ease out of the theatre. All in all, the movie is a joy ride palatable only for the young and adventurous.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2013.
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