Partner Review

You wanna 'Partner'? Of course I wanna do that! And why not? After all the fun, masti and mazaa that David Dhawan, Govinda and Salman Khan bring on screen for those rocking 150 minutes is something that I won't trade for anything else on the screen!

Let's not even get into the debate of who is better out here? Is it Govinda who shows that some-men-never-change as he gets into an impromptu 'Sarkaile Lo Khatia' act? Or is Salman who gets topless at least 3 times in the film and even takes a dig on himself saying that 'he is always ready for such a thing'?

As a cupid, Salman's job is to get two hearts meet. But doing so for Govinda, whose heart roots for his boss Katrina, is one humongous task. Reasons are aplenty. In spite of being an IIM Ahmedabad graduate, he doesn't know how to attract the attention of someone towards him. What knows is to blow a whistle, dance in as 'desi' style as possible, shed uncontrollable 'khushi-ke-aansoon' while blowing his nose the hardest way possible, walk into his MNC office while forgetting to put his pants on, worry about kissing in v/s kissing out and above all require coaching classes even for 'how-to-have-a-honeymoon'!

So is the 'idiot' from BHEJA FRY? Is he the nerd from JAAN-E-MANN? Is he the Mr. How-do-I-propose from KYA LOVE STORY HAI? No, none of them. He is plain and simple Govinda. And when it is Govinda, he is simply unique!

The uniqueness is demonstrated in the way he carries some of his DEEWANA MASTANA antics to PARTNER. Remember the jumping-while-walking act? Or the childish way of speaking some dialogues? All of that makes one relive the nostalgia that one has from Dhawan and Govinda combo that had given 10 odd hits and superhits.

Salman has his own style quotient that only enhances further in the presence of Govinda due to sheer contrasting factor. His now-famous westernized accent works in a big way for PARTNER while his comic timing, especially in the scenes with Govinda, brings the house down. As someone who shares a love-hate relation with his disciple, he creates a cracker of an atmosphere that doesn't have a single dull moment.

Sanjay Chhel's dialogues work wonders for the movie as more often than not, they are laced with wit and humor. Salim-Sulaiman's background music is of the kind that you are used to hearing in Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra films. Funky and exciting. Cinematography gives the film a young and vibrant look throughout.

Any roadblocks? Well, a couple of them. Beyond a point, the Salman-Lara track just doesn't lift the proceedings. Ok, so finally he manages to woo his 'Mumbai Massala' tabloid gossip journalist but the single mother angle followed by all the misunderstandings towards the end is just so irrelevant to the plot. Moreover the 'chota don' act by Rajpal Yadav falls flat. Surprising, because one would have expected nothing but the best with Rajpal doing a spoof on DON. Except for a stray laugh or two, there isn't much that the 'don' angle works for the film and in the end disappears completely.

Even Rajat Bedi-Aarti Chhabaria episode in the latter reels of the films threatens to take the sheen away from the rollicking outing one had been having with Govinda and Salman. Pray why include extras when audience can't have enough from the leads alone? Agreed that the story's culmination may have required some dramatic angle to be pushed in, but why at the cost of comedy? To cut the long story short, save for the climax, the penultimate 20 minutes are plain disappointing and should have come to the notice of a merciless editor.

Thankfully, the film reaches an all time high with an extended climax that again brings back the euphoria of the fantabulous first haf. You know you are in for something special as Salman-Lara and Govinda-Katrina cele