hello-dvd review

MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: Sohail Khan, Sharman Joshi, Gul Panag, Isha Koppikar, Amrita Arora, Sharat Saxena along with Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif (in special appearances)
Director: Atul Agnihotri
Producer: Paul Parmar and Funky Media
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics: Jalees Sherwani

THE FILM

Remember the dialogue 'Main Samay Hoon' from B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat that wooed millions of TV viewers couple of decades back? There was this gentle, noble and almost surreal voice which caught people's attention the moment it started a fresh episode of the TV serial. Now imagine a similar voice being heard from the other side of your cell phone as you are hanging mid-air in a cab that has just met with an accident?

While you are truly unsure about what's going to happen to you next, your reaction to a call from GOD is expected to carry an element of uncertainty around it. However, the protagonists of Hello are not just convinced that the call is from God [blame it on the oh-so-spiritual-voice and perhaps the fact that the phone is missing half it's components], they also begin chatting along in 10 seconds flat as if their number has been captured from a Facebook account or 'Find Your Friends' feature.

Well, the point is that everyone is just so convinced and, are so comfortable/relaxed about talking to God as if it was their next door neighbor calling. Come on, show some surprise, some fear, some respect, some something!

This is the very point at which Hello completely fails. Not to forget the angelic sermonizing that happens in that two minute conversation where the protagonists are taught the importance of self confidence and courage-to-fail! Hello (pun intended) is exactly the word that you feel like telling these youngsters who go nod-nod in agreement and lo! Everything is just about normal in scenes to follow.

Alas, what follows is straight out of 'Munni Padti Diamond Comics' era! A fake email is sent from the 'this-is-the-boss-we-hate' mailbox, he [Dalip Tahil] is accused of sexual harassment, the man who is running a multi-million organization worth 3000 odd people bows down like a cartoon without a fight and worse, the very phones of call centers are used to make hoax calls to the entire USA over a period of next couple of hours in order to ensure that they call back for technical support.

Hello (yet again), in my dictionary, this is clear case of fraud. Satyam anyone?

All of this may have well made Hello a really laughable film if not for some a reasonably engaging first half. The characters are introduced well and the one whose presence is quite entertaining on screen is Sharman Joshi. The actor is part-Style (goofy) and part Life In A Metro (emotional/looser), something that keeps your attention on. He and Gul Panag have some nice moments together, especially the ones where they are trying to make out in a car and falling off the seats!

Sohail Khan gets his wild antics on but is happy with his 'supporting act' role. Isha Koppikhar is decent in what she does but her role doesn't stretch beyond a certain point, hence making it sound incomplete. Worse, her tiger-print tights make one wonder that which call-centers actually have females wearing such costumes! As for Amrita Arora, it's a sacrilege to maker her don a 'behenji' avtar, especially since her 'Dilli Ki Sardi' act is impossible to forget!

Which brings us to two and a half scenes of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. Well, Salman at least has a song to his credit (quite energetic on screen). Otherwise, the two stars are just for the glamour quotient and that too is restricted to a mere 7 odd minutes. What is truly nightmarish is to see a haggard looking Salman Khan with an unkempt hair and eyeballs that seem to be popping out due to (presumably) excessive alcohol. Katrina Kaif looks angelic though and it is impossible to keep your eyes away from her when she is on screen.

PACKAGING

The DVD comes in a neat plastic packing with the cover design succeeding in catching attention.

DURATION

The film's duration is 128 minutes

SPECIAL FEATURES

The DVD doesn't come with any special features

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1

PRICE

Rs. 299/=

CONCLUSION

So where does that leave Hello? Well, in plain and simple terms it is watch able for the first one hour but only declines towards the concluding reels. If you are feeling truly bored, are a fan of Sharman Joshi and don't mind some silly antics for half the duration of the film (remember to put off the movie after the interval), then play it on at home.

rating 2 out 5