Paisa Vasool (2004)
Cast: Manisha Koirala, Sushmita Sen, Sushant Singh, Makrand Deshpande
Director: Srinivas
Synopsis: Intended "Laugh Riot" falls rather flat on its face!
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

 

Having crossed the threshold of thirty, Bollywood heroines have traditionally found themselves relegated to playing sisters, bhabhis or mothers. As younger faces arrive, experience and talent are often cast aside in favour of what producers presume audiences want—fresh faces and very little else. Celina Jaitly was one such newcomer, all bikinis and precious little substance, seemingly destined to add a string of forgettable films to her résumé before quietly disappearing. Of course, she was hardly alone. It is a story repeated endlessly, and not one unique to Bollywood. Hollywood has long operated by much the same rules, with only the occasional Meryl Streep managing to defy an industry that remains very much a man's world.

So what do established actresses do? Increasingly they turn to producing or directing in the hope of creating stronger roles for themselves and better cinema in general.

Hats off, therefore, to Manisha Koirala for attempting something a little different by producing a film centred on two female protagonists rather than the obligatory romantic triangle. Unfortunately, what may have seemed amusing on paper translates into a rather limp and vapid comedy that never quite finds its spark.

Baby (Sushmita Sen) is a bold, outspoken and brash dancer struggling to make it in the film industry. Apparently she is considered too tall for Bollywood's leading men—a joke that raises one of the film's few genuine chuckles. Searching for accommodation in Mumbai, she crosses paths with the timid, bespectacled Maria (Manisha Koirala), an emotionally battered wife who now scrapes a living running a small bakery. Against all probability, the two become instant friends and Maria invites Baby to move into her home. It is thoroughly implausible, but this is intended as light-hearted comedy, so realism is hardly the order of the day.

In a setup vaguely reminiscent of Hera Pheri, they accidentally overhear a telephone conversation revealing that a wealthy man has hidden away three crore rupees. Suddenly inspired, the pair hatch an amateurish plan to blackmail him. Baby dreams of a glamorous future while Maria longs to escape her dreary existence, so they plunge into crime with astonishing confidence for two complete novices.

The money is delivered.

Unfortunately, so is a corpse.

The courier turns up murdered, yet the two women remain curiously undeterred and press ahead with their increasingly absurd scheme.

It is a premise that could easily have produced an entertaining caper had the screenplay possessed sharper wit or the direction injected more pace into proceedings. Instead, director Srinivas plays everything surprisingly straight, allowing the film to meander from one uninspired scene to the next. Moments clearly intended to provoke laughter—such as Maria's hilariously inept attempt at making a threatening phone call while Baby looks on in horror—barely raise a smile. For a film that deliberately breaks away from convention, the script desperately needed to be funnier and considerably more inventive. Apart from the occasional self-referential joke, there is very little here to engage the audience.

Sushmita Sen once again proves herself far better than the material she has been given. She is effortlessly charismatic, completely natural and injects what little life the film possesses. It is frustrating to see an actress of her calibre continually wasted in projects that fail to make full use of her considerable screen presence.

To her credit, Manisha Koirala never attempts to overshadow her co-star despite also producing the film. She generously allows Sushmita to dominate most scenes, although her own performance as the timid Maria leaves little lasting impression.

The music is similarly ordinary and quickly fades from memory.

On the whole, Paisa Vasool has very little to recommend it. I managed the occasional smile, but an outright laugh proved far more elusive.