Filmi Review

Here’s bruised almighty

Cast: Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lots of Clouds
Direction: Rumi Jaffry




Right away, you want to converse with God. Do you wear white suits with pink accessories? If you do, sir, well.. er.. who’s your designer? Must give him a talking-to.

This copy of Bruce Almighty (and believe it or not also Ugly Betty) marks the debut of writer Rumi Jaffry as a director. And he seems to have kept it a well-kept secret. After seeking Almighty Tussi.. you’ll understand why.

It’s about Salman Khan wearing shirts more flowery than the Shalimar gardens. He also tries polka dots and frills. He’s a TV host who cannot earn his bread, butter and gosht. So, he rants against god who gives him magic powers for 10 days. The script then becomes like Prakash Mehra’s Jadugar meets Gogia Pasha. Especially since he plays the age of 28, Salman has a blast.

Others don’t. Especially Sohail Khan, Salman’s rival, who in one scene shakes his legs violently, knee-downwards to indicate that he’s scared. Frequently, the Khan brothers break into Hello Brother frantic antics. Help!

Priyanka Chopra is like a carrom board striker, being hit here and there. She stops to break into a number about red chunariya though, which you thought went out with hoola hoops. Anyway.

Then there’s Rajesh Vivek who plays a street beggar ordering takeway food from Royal China. Wow. Dalip Tahil looks too happy just to be there. And oops, you nearly forgot, Amitabh Bachchan who shows up as God barely for five to eight minutes. Thank God! At the end, he delivers a mini-bhashan about how all of us sitting in the auditorium are bonded by fellow feeling. The trouble is that there was no one else in the auditorium for rows and rows, except for you, the ushers.. and hopefully God.

And you’re not sure if He would approve of those white-pinky suits.