Trailer 8212; Duplicate

Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Sonali Bendre, Farida Jalal, Gulshan Grover and Mohnish Behl

Showing at: Liberty

As if one Shah Rukh Khan wasn8217;t enough, Duplicate 8212; as the name suggests 8212; dishes out two. One a weepy, belan-rolling chef, the other a tongue-lolling criminal. Sandwiched between these two characters is great cinematography by Sameer Arya, classy costumes and lovely locales. So what if the story is gooey 8212; and a bit like fudge?

Babloo Shah Rukh The Good is a dreamer who wants to become a world-class chef, leaving behind the family tradition of pehalvani 8212; his mother8217;s Farida Jalal fondest wish. He meets Sonia Juhi Chawla, the banquet manager of the hotel where he works and falls in love. All he wants after that is the happily ever after routine.

On the other hand, Manu Shah Rukh The Bad is a jail escapee out for vengeance against his three former partners who cheated him. He uses Lily Sonali Bendre, a nightclub dancer, whois madly in love with him, for whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

The old tale about two lookalikes, mercifully unrelated, and the obvious mix-ups is a rerun here, with both actresses playing their somewhat meagre roles to perfection. Sonali displays a beautiful body and face. Juhi giggles through the film, as usual and Farida Jalal excels with her flair for comedy.

The climax is as predictable as Shah Rukh8217;s seven facial expressions. He must make an effort to get out of his usual pattern, it is getting boring now. While he pulls off the good guy role on the strength of his spontaneity and sense of timing, Manu8217;s menace fails to impress.

The film could have done with a tighter structure and shorter length 8212; the second half seems to drag. And Anu Malik8217;s music has nothing to write home about 8212; the lone hummable number being Mere mehboob, mere sanam. But if you are a fan of Shah Rukh8217;s trademark histrionics and like his brand of comedy, you might just want to take a look at this not-so-funnyflick.