When a movie bears the stamp of David Dhawan, you already know what brand of entertainment to expect.
To embellish slapstick kitsch with witty humour is Dhawan's signature style. And his latest movie, Shaadi No. 1 - his fifth film with producer Vashu Bhagnani - is one such typical Dhawan comedy about imperfect characters caught in funny situations.
However, the movie is far from reaching the topnotch entertainers (like Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan and the recent Mujhse Shaadi Karogi) that Dhawan has given in the past. It is perhaps the absence of the director's favorites (Salman, Akshay and Govinda) that makes the comedy less effective in 'Shaadi No. 1'.
The film tells the story of three couples - Raj (Fardeen Khan)-Bhavana (Ayesha Takia), Veer (Zayed Khan)-Diya (Esha Deol) and Aryan (Sharman Joshi)-Sonia (Soha Ali Khan).
The three out-of-work husbands get little time and respect from their respective wives. As a desperate step out of their misery, the three men try to commit suicide. But even death won't have them.
Having failed in their own suicidal attempt, they then save a businessman from ending his life. The businessman, Mr. Kothari (Satish Shah), gives the three men a plum offer to join his business. The three readily agree. But Kothari has another problem that the three men can solve.
Kothari is worried about his three daughters who refuse to accept the idea of arranged marriage. He wants Raj, Veer and Aryan to woo his daughters and then dump them to show that love affairs do not last long.
The three husbands head off to France to hit upon Kothari's daughters - Madhuri (Riya Sen), Dimple (Sophie Chaudhary) and Rekha (Aarti Chhabria). They succeed in wooing the three sexy girls and in the process they also fall in love with them.
When the three men return home with their newfound love, they are confronted with Lucky Bhaiyya (Sanjay Dutt), a distant relative of their wives.
Lucky Bhaiyya has a moral wisecrack for every situation. He also seems to know the porridge that the three husbands have been cooking outside their marriage. And now he is all set to spoil their extra-marital jamboree.
Raj, Veer and Aryan decide to bump off Lucky. But the man would come back from the dead to set things straight.
Shaadi No. 1 begins on a very promising note. The sequences showing the three forlorn husbands pitying their worthlessness are pretty much hilarious. Even the portions showing the three men with the three girls in France, and then double-timing the gals with their wives in India, are funny.
But the effect of comedy begins to wear off in the second half when things not only become predictable, but the humour also becomes too clichéd. Sanjay Dutt fails to pack in the punchy humour expected of him, but the fault is not his. The writers have not created and developed his character well enough. Lucky Bhaiyya looks more like a mandolin-wielding clown who comes to rescue in the time of need.
The conclusion to the story, the strange finale, only dashes the high expectations raised by the first hour of the movie.
Over the years, Fardeen Khan has bettered himself in comic roles. Shaadi No. 1 does not have any sidesplitting stuff from him, yet the actor manages to tickle the funny bone at times.
Zayed Khan looks more comfortable handling comedy. His timing is better and his facial expressions, funny enough. Sharman Joshi is just about adequate. His looks and body language has a hint of affectation.
Among the heroines, Esha Deol and Ayesha Takia breeze through their roles easily. Soha Ali Khan's performance leaves much to be desired. The three other girls - Riya, Sophie and Aarti - chip in their share of oomph.
In a nutshell, Shaadi No. 1 is no roller-coaster laughathon. The movie does have a few funny moments, but not enough to make it an entertainer par excellence.
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