A twelve-year-old boy wishes to grow BIG overnight. Why? Certainly not to fit into his unloving foster father’s shoes. But to be able to romance his 21-year-old crush who lovingly calls him a bachcha!
Aftab Shivdasani, who hasn’t been able to break into the BIG league in Bollywood, turns writer and producer with Aao Wish Karein, a rip-off of the Tom Hanks’ 1988 Oscar nominated film ‘Big’. But Shivdasani is no Mr. Hanks and ‘Aao Wish Karein’ not a patch on ‘Big’.
12-year-old Mickey is a regular kid in a picturesque hill town nursing a massive crush on the local beauty Mithika (Aamna Sharif) who is 21. Age no bar for love but when Mithika calls Mickey a kid, he’s heartbroken and wishes to grow up overnight.
Pops up Hitchcock (Johnny Lever), dressed up like a pirate from some slum, to grant Mickey’s wish. Presto! The boy of 12 turns into a young man (Aftab Shivdasani) with bulgy biceps. Thereafter he woos his ladylove with gifts, surprise treats and his kiddie antics. But is this love story headed to its logical conclusion - marriage?
The trouble with ‘Aao Wish Karein’ is that it chugs on two tracks and therefore keeps getting derailed every now and then. Is it a movie for the kids or for grown ups? One can’t make out. Perhaps for neither. The tracks involving the kids in the film are aplenty but not the kind that would send the bachcha log in the theatres giggling. And the romantic track between Aftab and Aamna just doesn’t work out for the grown ups.
Aftab tries too hard and ends up overplaying his character. Aamna has too many Kodak moments showcasing her silky hair and facial features in slow-motion. Johnny Lever as the wisecracking Hitchcock (not Alfred) is over the top.
The film’s music and cinematography aren’t bad but director Glenn Baretto just isn’t able to recreate the magic and fairy tale flavour of the Tom Hanks starrer. That movie entertained. This one’s a BIG bore.
