Jodi No.1 (2001)
Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Twinkle Khanna, Monica Bedi
Director: David Dhawan
Music Director: Anand Raaj Anand Himesh Reshamiyya
Synopsis: Yet another dire attempt at comedy from the moronic David Dhawan
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

Govinda and Sanjay Dutt teamed up previously in David Dhawan's Haseena Maan Jayegi, a reasonably successful comedy. Jodi No. 1 is an obvious attempt to cash in on the same winning formula.

Veeru (Govinda) and Jai (Sanjay Dutt) are two small-time conmen who survive through a succession of petty scams until Jai accidentally kills the brother of a local gangster. With the mobster (Ashish Vidyarthi) now determined to eliminate them, the duo flee Mumbai and eventually land in Goa.

Along the way, Jai steals the clothes and belongings of an NRI travelling on the same train and assumes his identity. The pair promptly install themselves in the household of Rai Bahadur (Anupam Kher), posing as the expected NRI with the intention of robbing him before making a swift getaway.

Unfortunately for them, Rai Bahadur has fallen on hard times and instead looks to the pair to rescue his failing factory. Their first task is to secure an important business contract, something Veeru somehow accomplishes through one of the most preposterous presentations ever committed to film, impressing not only the selection committee but also Tina (Twinkle Khanna), an executive involved in awarding the tender.

Love duly blossoms and we are subjected to the obligatory songs and dances, with a rather bulbous Govinda and the permanently haughty Twinkle Khanna adding what little colour they can to the beautiful Swiss locations.

Meanwhile, Rai Bahadur's daughter Rinki (Monica Bedi) falls for Jai and before long we have two happy couples—until the gangster finally catches up with the pair in Goa.

The question now is whether these two petty crooks will rob Rai Bahadur and disappear with the money, or whether they will discover their consciences and become respectable citizens.

More yawns.

Haven't we seen all this countless times before? There is little point recounting the remainder of the story because it is wafer-thin. David Dhawan seems to believe that by stuffing the film with comic situations he can disguise the lack of substance, but the strategy simply doesn't work. Scenes are stretched well beyond their natural lifespan in the hope of extracting laughs, but the result is mostly tedium. There were the occasional scattered titters from the audience, but watching Jodi No. 1 becomes more an exercise in enduring boredom than enjoying comedy.

The songs appear at random intervals and merely prolong an already overlong film.

Govinda and Sanjay Dutt never recreate the chemistry they displayed in Haseena Maan Jayegi, largely because the screenplay is so weak and derivative. Govinda remains one of Hindi cinema's finest comic performers, but even he struggles to inject life into such uninspired material. His exaggerated Punjabi accent also becomes increasingly irritating, and apart from a few flashes of his old sparkle, he is well below his best.

Sanjay Dutt is perfectly capable of comedy, but he too is defeated by the material.

Twinkle Khanna contributes little beyond appearing in a handful of songs and once again demonstrates that acting is not among her stronger attributes. Monica Bedi, meanwhile, is completely wasted. One wonders how she graduated into mainstream productions at all, as she possesses neither the screen presence nor the acting ability to leave any real impression.

The music is forgettable and, if Govinda insists on dancing with his customary enthusiasm, one wishes someone had persuaded him to shed a few pounds beforehand. His expanding waistline becomes something of an unintended distraction.

David Dhawan perhaps needs to rethink the kind of films he wants to make.

I also found myself wondering whether this was intended as a loose send-up of Sholay. The parallels are rather striking. The two central characters are named Veeru and Jai. Both are petty crooks. They initially intend to rob Rai Bahadur before eventually finding their consciences. Rai Bahadur's daughter falls for one of them. There is even a line referring to someone arriving looking like Gabbar Singh but leaving looking like Asrani from Sholay.

Perhaps these similarities are entirely coincidental, although they are certainly intriguing.

On the other hand, I rather doubt David Dhawan or his writers intended anything quite so clever.

If it was meant as a spoof, it misfires completely.

One to avoid.