There probably has never been a more problematic film than the not-so-cleverly titled No Problem. Anees Bazmee makes only one big bold statement in the film that you can take home at the end of the day, and that is that he needs to stop making films seeing as he has completely LOST IT! As you sit through the painful comedy, you can feel nothing but pity for all those involved.
Bazmee tries to pack in stupidity at an insane level, hoping entertain the audiences at some point. There are stylish and dangerous robbers (Sunil Shetty and gang), two petty crime-committing criminals (Akshay Khanna and Sanjay Dutt), a banker who’s been wronged (Paresh Rawal), a useless cop (Anil Kapoor), a split personality wife (Sushmita Sen) and a pretty face to complete the package (Kangana Ranaut). If that doesn’t sound like a huge mess, I don’t know what does! The ultimate aim perhaps was to combine this long list of characters and multiple story lines in a hilariously entertaining comedy adventure; however what comes out as the end result can only be described in one word, ‘disaster’.
The director has given us two stupendously successful comedies in the past, Welcome and No Entry. However, even with the mindless comedy in both of those films, they also had some sort of a story line that flowed and had credibility. Two things that No Problem lacks. Even jokes have been borrowed from here and there, the most obvious of them being the scene in which Kangana and Akshay meet and Kangana boasts above her beauty, a scene clearly lifted off from a scene in Trivikram’s Telugu blockbuster ‘Athadu’.
It seems that comedy writers have gone on a limb to assume that mindless comedy is exactly what the first word of the phrase says: mindless. However I must quash this misconception and perhaps give them the contact details of Rohit Shetty (director of Golmaal series,) who seems to be the only director to be able to successful write and direct so called mindless comedies. I would also refer Mr Bazmee to Abhinav Kashyap (director of Dabangg) if he’s stumped about how to make a masala entertainer. Whoever he chooses to take advice from is his choice ultimately, but without serious reconsideration of his writing I truly beg him to not return to the film scene anytime soon!
The real mystery is what the actors associated with No Problem saw in the script. There’s no doubt that they’re talented in the serous and comedy genres, however what they must have been narrated would have to have been another film all together to justify why they took onboard such a film. Anil Kapoor disappoints by being the uber-stupid cop when we know he’s capable of much better things! Akshay Khanna, who claims to be extra choosy, perhaps needs to change the criteria he applies when choosing films. The same applies to Sushmita Sen. Kangana Ranaut openly claimed that she was desperate to entertain people and step away from the psychotic characters she usually plays. One does hope she makes better choices in the future because if this is the kind of film she wishes to step in to, we’d much rather see her in 10 more suicidal roles!
Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal have been part of one of the most iconic comedies in Indian cinema’s history, Hera Pheri, so one would have hoped they’d have a better eye to know which script is worth their time. Sanjay Dutt ought to retire if this is the kind of cinema he’ll continue to endorse. Its like he’s given up on the film and didn’t even bother acting. Ultimately they all have acted to their levels of ability however one simply cannot get themselves to appreciate their work when what they’re a part of is so flawed.
All in all the word disastrous seems like an understatement for No Problem. Aneez Bazmee has delivered much better films in the past when he was revamping Hollywood films like French Kiss and Primal Fear and giving us a much more improved Indian versions in the form of Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha and Deewangee. If revamping Hollywood films is what will stop him from writing his own disastrous comedies than here is a plea to him to return to that! In the meantime, keep your holiday season jolly and stick to a re-run of a classic Christmas movie on TV rather than waste your precious time and money on this one.
