• Tejas Nair
    Tejas Nair
    258 reviews
    Top Reviewer
    3

    Subhash Kapoor's previous feature Jolly LLB (2013) was a brilliant satire on the Indian judicial system which everyone could relate with. This time around, his topic is a current affair, but the execution is damp.

    Starting by setting a stage for the two main characters, the film throws a couple of jokes (bad they are) at us with an intention that we don't walk out in the first ten minutes. Spurious haired Guddu (Sadh) teams up with his stout brother Rangeela (Warsi) to undertake petty, criminal jobs to fend themselves and God knows who else. Suddenly, they get entangled in a million-rupee deal involving the niece (Hydari) of an orthodox supremacist (Roy). And then the plot experiences a paradigm shift where nothing makes sense even if it is about addressing stark social issues like honor killing and rape.

    The jokes warn us what to expect, but the warning turns invalid as you sight the reservoir of predictability the story is going into. There is enough substance and thrills to chew in the first half, but the second half goes haywire into some alien territory and never comes back. Before you know, the credits roll, and you will think at least it was not a drag.

    It is basically a dynamic revenge story turning into a bloody drama with one badly handled twist. The Bihari language may interest some, but that's about it. Attempt at humor is average.

    Warsi is good, and so is Sadh. Mouse-faced Hydari and the newcomer are average mostly because all they do is eat a bullet or an abuse. Roy is typecast as a vindictive villain with a fine performance.

    BOTTOM LINE: Guddu Rangeela may be gudd (good) at heart and preaching and rangeela (colorful) in depiction, but it is definitely not near a good concoction to what it could've been.

    VERDICT: 3 stars out of 10. Below average.

    Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

    Violence/Gore: Medium | Vulgarity: Mild

    July 05, 15