Rascals Review

David Dhawan gets wild, wacky... and naughty! Hes back to the spicy films he churned out with amazing regularity [and with great success] in the 1990s. RASCALS sees the original badshaah of non-stop laughathons revisit the genre, after a hiatus. Let me describe RASCALS in few words: funny, outrageous, hilarious, uproarious and most importantly, entertaining. In fact, the title as well as the promos of the film had prepared us well in advance about what to expect from this film.

Be forewarned. RASCALS is strictly for the hoi polloi, those who relish masala entertainers with glee, those with an appetite for movies that transport them to a different world in those hours spent in the dark auditorium, those who swear by movies that defy logic, motive and intellect. Do you think you fit into this description of a moviegoer? If you do, RASCALS is just for you.

At the same time, RASCALS is definitely *not* for those who tilt towards realistic/pragmatic cinema or for enthusiasts of meaningful/significant cinema or those who disregard masala films. No, nope, naah... this ones austerely not for them!

Dhawans new outing is about two con men who take potshots at each other, trying to pull the others pants down with hilarious gimmicks, duping one another or people around them. Most con artist movies are comedies and Dhawan makes it sufficiently clear in the promos that RASCALS would be a fun-fest thats aimed at pleasing the masses.

Theres talk that RASCALS is the present-day adaptation of Dhawans Anil Kapoor - Govinda starrer DEEWANA MASTANA and like that film, RASCALS will have a similar finale. Well, RASCALS is an entire new film in terms of story, setting and of course, gags and punches. The storyline is non-existent, but what works is the electrifying chemistry between the two lead men -- Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn. When two actors share a terrific rapport in real life, it automatically spills over on screen too, if they share screen space. Thats one of the reasons why the give and take between Ajay and Sanju adds to the fun quotient in this film. Borrowing from Tom and Jerry kind of situations, the actors contribute a great deal in living up to the title of the film.

On the flip side, in the second half, there are some unnecessary sequences that only add to the length in this over the top comedy.

Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn play two cool conmen trying to outdo each other. The competition reaches an all-new level when both fall for the same girl, the pretty and petite Kangna Ranaut, and both men constantly attempt to outmanoeuvre each other to win her.

Like I pointed out earlier, the plot of RASCALS is non-existent and Dhawan relies on a series of bizarre set-pieces in which one con man tries to overpower the other and this continues right till the penultimate moments of the film. A number of sequences are outrageously funny, mainly in the first hour. Its only towards the second hour that the films dips, the jokes aren as funny and the pacing slows slightly. If I had to put my finger on whats non-appealing, it has to be the portions in the church, towards the pre-climax. Thankfully, the climax gathers steam and brings the film back on track.

Dhawan is in familiar zone and therefore, it doesn take much of an effort to get it right. Writer Yunus Sajawal keeps you completely involved thanks to the series of incidents that follow one after another and the witty one-liners [dialogue: Sanjay Chhel] only act as sone pe suhaaga. In fact, the dialogue would draw a lot of whistles and claps from the aam junta. The soundtrack [Vishal-Shekhar] is energetic, complimenting the content of the movie. Tik Tuk, Gaye Guzre and Shake It Saiyaan are hummable.

Sanju and Ajay work together with an exuberant and high spirited ease and that, surely, is a joy to watch. Even though Sanju has been doing comedies ever since the beginning of his career, it has only been in the last few years that Ajay has discovered his funny bone, courtesy films like GOLMAAL series, ALL THE BEST and DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI. The comic timing of the two actors is simply fantastic!

One is surprised at the inclusion of Arjun Rampal in a madcap entertainer, albeit in a small but significant role. Arjun contributes to the comic portions of RASCALS. Kangna makes a conscious effort to break her dramatic and tragic roles image, which explains why she is working predominantly in light-hearted films now. She carries off her part with effortless ease. Lisa Haydon looks alluring and acts reasonably well. Chunkey Pandey is excellent, Satish Kaushik leaves a mark in a cameo and Hiten Paintal lends able support.

On the whole, RASCALS is a madcap, over the top, zany entertainer aimed at the masses. Its hilarious and outrageous from commencement to conclusion. If this kind of humor appeals to you, then there are chances that you will relish this one!