Producer: Ganesh and Ratan Jain

Writer, director: Sanjay Chhel

Stars: Mallika Sherawat, Paresh Rawal, Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: One

Plot: A small-town drama company helps RAW agent to foil terrorist plot.

Verdict: Inane script and flat jokes prove to be an undoing.

Box office Prospects: Sad!

Creative Quotient:

Sanjay Chhel known for his spunky sense of humour and hugely entertaining punny lines doubles up as the writer-director of the film but fails miserably at both. For starters, his storyline suffers from a heavy hang-over of Kundan Shah's 1983 hit - Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron which dealt with a similar plot of corruption and drama company getting embroiled in a murder mystery.

He even borrows historical characters of Akbar, Salim and Anarkali from Jaane Bhi…, who had evoked guffaws back then. But sadly, in it's modern avtaar the story staggers on illogically, humourlessly and lethargically.

Mallika married to an ageing actor Paresh Rawal are the lead players of the nautanki version of Mughal-e-azam in a coastal town of Goa where Dawood is about to land a cache of RDX.

Rahul Bose, a secret mission agent, ends up falling for the heroine of the play. Gazal singer Kay Kay Menon (borrowed straight from Sarfarosh) joins the gang of buffoons and he's supposed to be a double agent! Well, the writer manages to bump him off and for no apparent reason Rahul Bose walks around Kay Kay's corpse on roller-skates on the streets in the dead of the night! The plot weakens and tries your patience. Even the puns that Chhel pulls off in the film aren't very funny.

Technical Expertise:

Directorially the film has nothing much to offer, a slow moving tale with forced humour and sexual innuendos that hardly have the spark. Chhel takes a total beating as he pitches in a final entry as Dawood himself. The setting of the film is entirely handled like a tacky theatre production thereby squandering away powerful performers of the likes of Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon. Rawal's part is so repetitive that it gets on your nerves. Bose pitches in a truly bored act and while he's supposed to be having an extra marital fling with Mallika and he even get to lip lock her - their on-screen chemistry is non-existent.

The sole bright spot is in the form of Kay Kay who plays the light-hearted, flirtatious character with complete conviction. He looks the part, only if he weren't bumped off unceremoniously just after two songs!

Sex kitten Mallika uses push-up undergarments to her fullest advantage, skin show is full on but her oomph doesn't work this time. Her make-up isn't too complimentary.

Screenplay and dialogue writers Chhel and Sunil Munshi deserve to be rapped for their shoddy work. Cinematographer Madhu Ambat's frames are mostly functional are Jeena Shetty's sets. On the whole, this is not a film you want to waste your precious money and time on.