2008 marked the year where all dance floors, weddings and events were dominated by one phrase “Ain’t nobody like a Desi Girl.“ Fast forward to 2011 and we are being told to “Make Some Noise for the Desi Boyz.”
Desi Boyz stars a pair of mega eye-candy, Akshay Kumar and John Abraham, with glamour quotient provided by Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh. The film marks the directorial debut of Rohit Dhawan, son of experienced comedy director David Dhawan and the viewer goes in expecting a light-hearted comic caper.
Desi Boyz is set in 2009 where Jerry Patel (Kumar) and Nick Mathur (Abraham) find themselves in a tough spot due to the aftermath of the recession. Dejected with the inability to support themselves and their family financially, they take a shortcut by signing up with Sanjay Dutt’s male escort service, Desi Boyz. However with all shortcuts, their secret lives are soon made public and they find themselves in trouble again.
With Desi Boyz you get Bollywood’s first bromance. The movie focuses on Jerry and Nick’s friendship and Akshay and John share a fabulous chemistry without falling into the gay humour pitfall that some other movies have resorted to (i.e. Kal Ho Naa Ho). Both actors are extremely pleasing to the eye and thus give full justice to their roles as male escorts. Their comic timing is good and there are several one-liners that obtain a chuckle from the audience. Akshay shows he is the more experienced actor, especially in his scenes with Veer. Omi Vaidya is amusing in his cameo as Deepika’s suitor and later as the advocate.
As a result of the focus on the men, Deepika and Chitrangada get sidelined with inconsequential lines. Deepika continues to be wooden but thankfully doesn’t have much to do except look pretty. Chitrangada has an even smaller role and only makes an appearance post-intermission. However, both ladies look great. Overall the film carries an appealing look, supplemented by beautiful visuals of London.
The movie’s soundtrack by Pritam is a plus point with all the tracks being catchy and staying with you post-movie. Highlights include the title track “Make Some Noise for the Desi Boyz” (with picturization that will appeal to the ladies) and the Pitbull-Give Me Everything inspired “Subah Hone Da” (featuring Bruna Abdallah).
Desi Boyz isn’t a revolutionary film that will be sweeping all the Filmfare Awards next year. However, it is light-hearted and keeps you sufficiently entertained. After the disappointment of Rockstar, Desi Boyz is worth a trip to the cinemas this weekend. Albeit, the girls might be a little more partial to this one; we would wholeheartedly support someone opening a Desi Boyz franchise in Dubai very soon!
Dollz Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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Synopsis:
The year is 2009. The world has been struck by the financial meltdown. But Nick Mathur and Jerry Patel don’t feel a thing in their comfortable pad in London.
Nick feels smug with his successful investment banking job, the new bonus in his pocket and his beautiful fiancé, Radhika, by his side, while Jerry is so used to scraping the bottom of the barrel and living off his best buddy Nick, that recession feels like home. But life has a way of pulling the rug from under our feet.
Nick and Jerry stop smiling the day Nick’s company decides to downsize and unceremoniously fires him. And Jerry is informed by the Social Services that his nephew Veer, whose local guardian Jerry is will be placed in a foster home unless he gets a steady job.
Desi Boyz is the story of two men who are forced to do something extremely bizarre which gives them instant gratification but the repercussions tear them apart and its aftermath which tests everything including their friendship.
Directed by debutant Rohit Dhawan and produced by Eros Entertainment, the film released worldwide on November 25th, 2011.
As much of a Bollywood fanatic I may be, I’ll be the first to admit we don’t do serious movies well. There are very few thrillers or realistic dramas that have done well in the past. However, every so often a director takes a risk and a gem is released. One such gem was the 2008 thriller drama, A Wednesday. Now director Neeraj Pandey returns with his second film, Special 26, starring Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee and Jimmy Shergill in pivotal roles.
