Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Movie name: Hello
Directed by: Atul Agnihotri
Cast: Katrina Kaif, Arbaaz Khan, Isha Koppikar, Amrita Arora, Sharman Joshi
Showing at: City Pride Satara Road, Fame Akurdi, Mangala, Inox, Gold Adlabs,
E-Square, City Pride Kothrud One night in a call centre, there comes a phone call. Really, a phone call in a call centre, cries Salman Khan playing himself, in mock amazement. Pretty laptop-toting story-teller Katrina Kaif smiles mysteriously, and begins her yarn. And as yarns go, it isn8217;t too bad. The trouble with Hello, based on Chetan Bhagat8217;s mega-seller, is that isn8217;t too good either.
It8217;s a dark rainy night, and Shyam aka Sam Sharman Joshi is hurting because the love of his life Priyanka Gul Panag has said yes to a rich NRI. Varun aka Vrroom Sohail Khan has his eye on Esha Isha Koppikar, but all she wants is to become a model. Radhika Amrita Arora tries to please her horrible mom-in-law by day, and pops anti-depressants by night because her husband is a two-timing cad. And Military Uncle Sharat Saxena is upset because his US-based son wants to have nothing to do with him.
These sad sack call-centre agents rattle around in a large room with work stations placed miles apart. That8217;s a total wrong number. Except for a barmy systems guy, and smarmy boss Dalip Tahil, there doesn8217;t seem to be a soul else in Atul Agnihotri8217;s scheme of things: He8217;s clearly not aware of all those rows and rows of super-busy souls-sitting elbow-to-elbow, nattering the night away on their headphones and mikes-that seem to be more the norm in these nocturnal work hives echoing with faux American accents.
You could also call Hello a case of six characters in search of a zingy script. Bhagat8217;s novel is not literature, but manages to capture some of the hurly-hurly of New India8217;s preoccupation with instant money, getting ahead and greenbacks. The film8217;s canvas is largely empty, so the good turn by Sharman Joshi gets lost. As does some genuinely funny banter and the Khan family8217;s full turn-out Salman with his shirt off, girlfriend Kat in a cameo, bhai Arbaaz in a walk-on on account of Agnihotri being the Khans8217; brother-in-law.
Even that thing that call centre types are allegedly indulging in all the time-making out on down-time in the back of convenient SUVs , pictured here on Sharman and Gul-lacks fire. It8217;s tepid, just like the movie.
