Not that Akshay Kumar's tongue-in-cheek humour does not amuse me anymore, but this time he wasn't the reason why I watched 'The Shaukeens'; the reason was, in fact, Lisa Haydon. She may not have a hold as a mainstream heroine in the Hindi film industry yet, but her striking performance as an ultra bohemian girl in 'Queen' was reason enough for me to be thrilled for her next movie.
While Lisa's character in 'The Shaukeens' appeared to be more or less on the lines of her role in 'Queen', it was the trio of veteran actors Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor and Piyush Mishra that added an unusual flavour to the film which is not a sex comedy, but a 'sexed-up' comedy. Weaved around the not-so-spiced-up sex lives of three elderly men, the film takes off and lands smoothly, leaving us with reasons enough to suggest others this adult (but not vulgar) comedy movie. Here I list out 5 reasons that work for this slapstick comedy film.
1. The 'shaukeen' trio: The trio of Lali (Anupam Kher), KD (Annu Kapoor) and Pinky (Piyush Mishra) is reminiscent of "ye teri bhabi hai"-type dosti where a group of guys chase the same girl and everyone from the group attempts all possible means to woo the girl. The only difference here is that the 'Shaukeen' trio is of old-timers and not of boys in their early twenties.
Failing miserably in their sex lives, these elderly men go out of their ways to win Ahana's (Lisa Haydon) heart - of course, with some hanky panky and a bit of deceit. Known for their impeccable comic timing, Annu Kapoor and Anupam Kher once again managed to tickle our funny bones, and it was a treat to watch actor-lyricist Piyush Mishra in an unusual comic role.
The chemistry between the three makes it a popcorn film.
2. Mockery: How can this element of humour not be a part of the movie which has the king of comedy Akshay Kumar paired with the witty Cyrus Broacha. While Akshay Kumar plays himself in the film, Cyrus is seen playing Akshay's business manager.
'The Shaukeens' ridicules a few subjects within a format of a satire. Lampooning the Rs 100 crore film clubs, the movie portrays how the quality cinema is relegated to the sidelines, paving a way for the meaningless and nonsensical films to become blockbusters. One of the dialogues in the film aptly summarises the fate of good cinema. "Achhi film ko kya chaatna hai, achhi film DVD pe dekhne ke liye hoti hai," says the director (Manoj Joshi) of the movie that Akshay Kumar is seen shooting in 'The Shaukeens'.
The film also takes a dig at the self-proclaimed fashion designers. Ahana, who is playing a designer in the movie, assumes herself to be ahead of times in the fashion world and creates things out of used products. Everytime she meets Akshay, she gives away one of her creations to him, with no idea how all of them are looked down on by him.
3. Dialogues: If not for any other reason, you can watch the movie for its rib-tickling dialogues. The movie has a spate of funny dialogues that are backed by the effortless comic timings of the three 'Shaukeens'. Have you ever heard anyone referring to Bangkok as "ayaashi ki rajdhani"?
Hinting at how the fat revenue works more in favour for a film than National Awards, Akshay Kumar in one of the sequences is told by his director, "Kya ukhad lenge national award jeet ke. Do minute ka interview on Doordarshan, bas." For more such mirthful dialogues from 'The Shaukeens', click here.
4. Akshay Kumar and his comedy: Even by playing a cameo in the film, Akshay Kumar adds a punch to 'The Shaukeens'. Reiterating what is already known, there is no match to Akshay Kumar's comic timing. He knows the art of turning an otherwise not-so-funny dialogue into a comic one. You can give this movie a shot if you are an Akshay Kumar fan.
5. Social media addiction: You may be a Facebook addict, but are unlikely to compete with Ahana in terms of living on Facebook, its display in public, and its aftermaths in real life. In what appears to be the case, Ahana's happiness can only be measured by the number of Likes on her Facebook posts. The more the number of Likes, the merrier she is! It was fun to watch Ahana comparing the number of Likes on her current and previous posts, and how the more number of likes on her ex's status messages would become the source of her worries, thereby spoiling her mood and botching up the entire day.
Though the film is about the 'Shaukeens' of girls, it, in a chain of events, bemocks the 'shaukeens' of Facebook who absent-mindedly spend most of their time stalking people on Facebook and comparing their lives with their own, leading to low self-esteem in them.
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