Sandwich Review

It's Double Trouble time. Once again. Super actor Govinda with a unique flair for brilliant comic timing is back in a tasteless family drama `Sandwich' (Earlier named `Hum Do Hamara Ek') that has been in the making for the last seven years. Directed by Anees `No Entry' Bazmee, it's a rehash of Govinda, Tabu and Karishma Kapoor hit film of late nineties `Saajan Chale Sasural' where the hero has two wives. How he shuffles between the two is what the (regressive) story is all about.

The producers of `Sandwich' should have taken a hint from the makers of another long-in-the-making dud `Shaadi Kar Ke Phas Gaya Yaar' starring Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty that had been in the making for some time. And when it finally released, it sank without a trace of hope. In an era of slick products with progressive storylines, there's no space for a film with massive continuity problems (Govinda's hairline, hemline, waistline and puffy-and-not-so-puffy-face continues to fluctuate throughout the film). The worst part is that Govinda's voice has been dubbed by more than two different people and is a big ear sore. Moreover, the listless bhojpuri type of music (Credited to surprise surprise Sandeep Chowta and others) is another big let down, considering Govinda films always carried a catchy music score (Especially when he was doing well as an actor).

Sher Singh, Shekhar, all in one. Well, that's what Govinda's character (Or the lack of it) is all about. He is a scriptwriter-cum-car-salesman. Destiny has two wives in store for him. One Sweety (Mahima Chaudhry) stays in his Punjabi village while Nisha (Raveena Tandon), the filthy rich city slicker makes sure that she gets her husband all for herself. Marriage to Sweety is a compromise-turned-love-affair as she happens to be the sister of a man who agrees to marry Sher Singh's handicapped sister. While saat-phere with Nisha happen due to an incorrigible situation where she refused to marry Vicky (Raj Zutshi) in the vivaah-mandap as she is made-only-for Shekhar.

A hurt-n-distraught Vicky kills Nisha's father and Shekhar is left with no option other than accepting familial responsibilities. The story fast forwards after seven years. Both wives have a son each. And the two step-brothers happen to be twins. Sweety lands up in the city to live-in with her husband. The director makes sure that the two kids are in the same school. Wives meet as friends. Then the aana-jaana at each other's houses starts taking place. Sweety's Sher Singh and Nisha's Shakhar gets caught in his own web. His filmi friends Satish Shah and Mushtaq Khan try their level best to bale out their friend. And then Vicky returns from the ashes of death. The plastic surgeon has made him the carbon copy of Shekhar-Sher Singh (Apart from the face, the voice, the Dunlop of weightiness, hair and height have also been changed). If you are terribly bored listening to an age old story, then it goes without saying that the rest of the film is spent in clarifications, intrigues, some maar-dhaad etc etc.
 
As a director, `Sandwich' won't make any killings for hot-shot writer-director Anees Bazmee who has given hits like `Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha', `Deewangee' and super duper hit `No Entry'. He wouldn't wish to be associated with this soggy `Sandwich'. The plot is hackneyed and tasteless. Some lines are well written and do elicit a few chuckles. But that's about it. And the humour is kept alive to a certain extent by Govinda of yore whereas his facial jugglery (In some parts) is a treat for the sheer conviction in carrying off a listless story on his `heavy' shoulders. Out of the two heroines, Mahima Chaudhry seems more interested in the film and has given her hundred percent. Raveena Tandon seems to have lost interest in the film midway and that excessive make-up doesn't make her boredom look any better. Raj Zutshi in a cameo is effective, Satish Shah and