Karzzz

But they soon subsided not only because Ghai cleverly admitted to copying, having out-cheesed the original effortlessly. It was also because Karz8217; was a cracker of an entertainer: as the born-again hero, Rishi rocked, there8217;s never been a crueler, classier vamp than Simi, and if ever there is a compilation of classic movie themes, the haunting Ek Hasina Thi8217; is sure to top the list.

This Karzzz8217;, despite the extra zees for luck, is a blot. Except for the names of the characters, which are exactly the same, nothing else is: the treatment is sloppy, even by Satish Kaushik8217;s standards, and the acting is plain execrable.

For those who8217;ve come in twenty eight years after the fact, this is how it goes. Pop star Monty Himesh starts having visions8212;of a man and a woman, a huge mansion in the hills, a kali ka mandir8217;, and an airplane going up in flames. It8217;s a case of punarjanam8217;, a psychiatrist declares sagely. And whoosh, we are launched into a series of flashbacks, unravelling how Monty is actually rich businessman Ravi Varma Dino re-incarnated, and has come into the world to wreak revenge on the murderous, greedy-for-his-millions- wife Kamini Urmila.

Himesh adds a hair transplant and a smile to his extremely-limited repertoire in his last year8217;s debut Aap Ka Suroor8217;, he had appeared throughout in his till-then trademark baseball cap, and scowl. A badly-made up Urmila dons skin-tight gowns, large tracts of her chest gleaming with bronzer, gold trousers, and scarlet lipstick. She also sounds distressingly like Archana Puran Singh when she simpers : hard to think that she was once an A-list actress.

There8217;s also a new girl, Shweta director Indra Kumar8217;s daughter getting a brief look-see: all she has to do is to gaze adoringly at Himesh. That must have been tough.

Even the climactic song-cum-whodunit denouement, which has been lifted completely, is mangled. In between, you can hear Rohini Hattangadi, who plays the dukhiyari maa8217; utter lines like these : mere kaleje ke tukda8217;, she goes, mere laal8217;.

Moral : if you can8217;t make, don8217;t re-make.