Bheja Fry

A very deftly made film, Bheja Fry lured me back to the darkness of the cinema hall. I endured and managed to survive Eklavya- The Royal Bore. I had decided not to go to the movies for some time for anyone who's seen the film would agree that it's not an easy task! In case you haven't seen it already, Bheja Fry is about a bunch of rich folks who meet every Friday and bring along a ‘talent' to entertain them. This talent is the dumbest and the most idiotic guy with a gift; the film starts with a talented guy who can spit almost 10 feet or something like that. Rajat Kapoor's rich man is all set to win the wager this Friday when he lays his hands on Vinay Pathak's Bharat Bhushan. The man fancies himself to be a genius like his namesake but is blessed with arguably the most pathetic singing voice. In addition he's the idiot that all the villages in this district reported missing. What transpires thereon is a series of misadventures on the fateful Friday night when life comes a full circle for all the players.

Bheja Fry is short, sweet and laced with some great performances by Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor. The script plays along perfectly thanks to the great timing that ensure that the one-liners are delivered with much aplomb.

The good thing about Bheja Fry is that it’s the second film in recent times that has proved the ‘old-as-hills’ theory of the script being of paramount importance. Mixed Doubles, Rajat Kapoor’s film about a husband and wife deciding to indulge in swapping, and now Bheja Fry both were made under a crore and share the same producer. Both had relatively non-starry actors and both worked just great. Anurag Kashyap, one the most talented scriptwriter seen by Hindi cinema in recent years, has boldly announced the second coming on the Hindi New Wave with Bheja Fry. I won’t that far but I definitely liked the film and believe that if director Sagar Bellary manages to have a decent follow up, we could be looking at a talent who could be the second Nagesh Kukunoor. I found Bheja Fry to be almost as effervescent as Hyderabad Blues.

Now the bad part. Bheja Fry seems to be a ‘remake’ of a French comedy called Le Diner de Cons (The Dinner Game) so much so that when you read the original's plot outline you'd see even situations as the rich guy's back getting hurt have been 'adapted' in the Indianized version.

When it comes to films, why is that we feel it’s our prerogative to just pick up whatever the hell we like- plot, scene or the whole damn film- and unabashedly indulge in plagiarism? I have no issues with copies, inspirations or remakes; giving a new take on old things can be fun but why not pay some credit where it’s due? One saves so much of time and money by choosing not to invest in originality, might as well pay a little amount and do it officially. But that’s a different issue. No wonder no one takes Hindia cinema seriously anywhere in the international market. Thank God we have a Mahesh Bhatt. Bhatt saab can convince us that 'who the F@#% needs Hollywood's approval...we are a nation of a billion people and we are a very important stage in our artistic evolution just like man needs pornography.....blah blah blah"

You’d probably think that on one hand I applaud the film while on the other hand I’m of the opinion that copying is bad so where do I stand? I still like the film and would happily recommend it to everyone. Have you seen the other shit that’s around- Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana, Mr. Hot Mr. Cool, Kya Love Story Ha, Raqeeb, Namastey London, Hat Trick, Nishabd, Salaam-E-Ishq, Delhii Heights and not to forget the one to pip Ta Ra Rum Pum in the best title category, Shakalaka Boom Boom including a double i’d Delhii Heights!