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By Joginder Tuteja, October 9, 2009 - 14:23 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Mahesh Manjrekar, Seema Biswas, Riya Sen, Sachin Khedekar, Raj Zutshi, Master Ashwin Chitale, Gulshan Grover, Hardik Thakkar, Meghan Jadhav, Ayeshka Kaduskar
Director: Girish Girija Joshi
Producer: Kartikeya Talreja, Basant Talreja
Music: Bapi-Tutul
Lyrics: Amitabh Varma
THE FILM
Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiya attempts at being a fun outing even though it aspires to deliver a serious message around environment preservation. But does this idea work? Not really. The film appeals in bits and parts, and that too only in the first half but the second half turns out to be a big yawn.
Even at the face value, the idea around an entire film centered on saving a tree doesn't sound exciting. Ok, so if a film maker is trying to make a short film for festivals or a documentary then it may still be commissioned. But one has to give it to the producers (Kartikeya Talreja, Basant Talreja) for actually giving their green signal for 100 minutes long feature film to be made on this topic. Where exactly is the audience for such a subject? And how could even that select bunch of audience be enticed enough to play on the film that doesn't really boast of any star value whatsoever?
Of course, director Girish Girija Joshi may have believed that roping in Amitabh Bachchan for a voiceover and Mithun Chakraborty as a spearhead for the film could be a lucrative enough. However, first and foremost that is not really good enough and secondly even Mithun's role hardly adds on to the relevance of the film's plot which deals with saving a tree house made by a bunch of five kids.
In fact Mithun's character doesn't add anything at all to the film's narrative and his only contribution is towards the last five minutes of the film. However, even that bit of value addition could have been extracted out of the one of the kids in the story.
The film is not a kid film and neither was it publicized as one. In fact if one talks about the publicity and promotion, there wasn't any at all. Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiya was released all of a sudden and the song promos featuring Riya Sen were misleading, to say the least. She appears in just 2-3 scenes and they too are short lived.
As a construction worker who is being wooed by Mahesh Manjrekar (playing the role of a contractor), she has a zilch role in the film. For comparison sake, her Heroes (where she had a miniscule role as well) could well have been her Mughal-E-Azam moment!
So what really works for the film? Well, a few scenes in the first half of the movie where the kids get together to encounter Mithun Chakraborty, only to become his friends as the reels progress. The sequence of events leading to the son of a construction worker (Seema Biswas in a forgettable role and performance) joining hands with the four kids and building a dream tree house are nicely done.
Also, the Sarkar Raj meets 'Krishnan Iyer M.A' (from Agneepath) impersonation by kids brings on some smiles as well. Introduction of Gulshan Grover is good too and it is nice to see him carry off a role well which is nothing more than a caricature of dozens of his performances from his earlier years.
However, after the interval point, when the battle lines are drawn between the kids and Gulshan Grover, the drama doesn't quite pick up. Monotony sets in and the end becomes a little too convenient. Frankly, one expected a little more meat in the story around it's culmination but that doesn't really happen.
While Mithun is just passable in the film, the only actor who does try to bring in some relief to the proceedings is Mahesh Manjrekar. However, if you are expecting yet another 99 or Wanted kind of a performance from him then it won't be fair since he can't do much to go above the script.
PACKAGING
DVD of Zor Lagaa Ke Haiya comes in a regular plastic case along with a free DVD of Bhoothnath. A valid and a good combination.
DURATION
The film's duration is 110 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
None
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 149/=
CONCLUSION
Overall, Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiya is a barely passable affair that doesn't really warrant a must watch. Even on TV, there will certainly be many more exciting alternatives to explore before one ultimately settles down to watch Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiya.
 
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