Bharat146;s Bhagwan

The medium may be a different one, but ad man and king of stage slapstick Bharat Dabholkar8217;s maiden venture in celluloid, God Only Know...

The medium may be a different one, but ad man and king of stage slapstick Bharat Dabholkar8217;s maiden venture in celluloid, God Only Knows, does not stray very far from his usual brand of Bottoms Up humour.

Having teamed up with model-actress Ananya Dutt to form Why Not Productions, this one is a two-hour take-off on everything, from politics to sex, with 40 minutes of nach-gana.

In his bid to be hat ke, Dabholkar has the cast plucked from the creme de la creme of Marathi stage.

With all the songs in English, the film doesn8217;t seem to be aimed at the mainstream. Despite a sizzling take-off on Britney Spears by a sequin-and-leather clad Sharbani Mukherjee, and cameos by Jackie Shroff and Johnny Lever, it8217;s still a niche audience who will pick up the rather obvious punch lines.

The story is about a politician who dies and goes to heaven. There, the cellphone-wielding Gods have a go at making the politician8217;s wish to eradicate evil come true8212; of course they end up making quite a mess.

If that isn8217;t enough to get you going, there8217;s a Hinglish qawali 8212; an ode to shady politicos. Sample this: 8216;8216;Wine, women and petrol pumps, we will pay your scandal bills8230;8217;8217; and we owe it all to remixer Jatin Das and pianist-composer Louis Banks, who, by the way, has his own cameo as an angel in the film.

If one were to go by what funny man Dabholkar who in his spare time takes care of his piranha and half wolf says: 8216;8216;It8217;s a laughathon. If you want to watch theatre or a film that leaves you with thought provoking ideas, then I would not recommend my film. But if you want to leave your worries on the doorstep for two hours and let your mind relax, then this is just what you need.8217;8217;

Dabholkar8217;s confident the movie will do well at the box-office. 8220;It8217;s certainly cheaper than going for a play and judging by the response my plays have got I8217;d say it will break even,8221; says the director. 8220;Anyway it was a great experience8230; at the end of 30 days shooting I am happy.8217;8217;

Well, now that just leaves us.