‘The King of Bollywood’: Slapstick and satirical 27th Sept 2004
14.45 IST
By Nitika Desai
The King of Bollywood , starring Om Puri and British model Sophie Dahl , is a satirical take on an ageing superstar in Bollywood, who, although well past the prime of his heydays, still believes that he carries the charisma to play hero to the young actresses in films.
At the center of the plot is an ageing star KK (Puri) who keeps an entire wardrobe of wigs and gaudy outfits, and sports them unabashedly as a constant reminder to himself (as well as to others) that he is still able to play hero in films.
KK is surrounded by his loyal and meek secretary Ratty, and an astrologer Guruji, who is always coming up with auspicious dates for movie mahurats and the numerological alterations in names and titles – something so commonplace in present day Bollywood.
Sophie Dahl plays Crystal Chaurasia, a 24-year-old, gorgeous NRI documentary filmmaker of partly Indian origin. She came to know about KK when she was just a child when her grandma used to show her the videos from KK’s films at bedtime. Crystal comes to Mumbai from UK to make a documentary on the life and times of KK.
‘The King of Bollywood’ is a finely made spoof on Hindi film industry. The film takes a humorous dig at the way films are made in Bollywood by taking a tongue-in-cheek look at what usually goes on behind the scenes. But the comedy in the movie is very slapstick. At the same time, the film deliberately incorporates some of the clichéd and browbeaten plots that have remained a part of Hindi films for ages.
RSS
‘The King of Bollywood’: Slapstick and satirical
