Shola Aur Shabnam

It is very difficult to choose which is the best film of the Govinda- Dhawan combo but this one will always have a special place. The film had action and a great story, but more than that it had great comedy. This film is like Manmohan Desai's film where there is no logic in most places, out of the world scenes in which you don't want to believe in but yet that is what cinema is all about, presenting things that aren't there and yet make them believable. The first half of the film is one of the greatest first halves of Indian cinema for it being highly entertaining. There are one comedy scenes after another. The first half has no build up of characters rather hero's attempt to woo the leading lady, Divya Bharti in which his friends help him. The main cherry of the cake was taken by Anupam Kher who brilliantly performs the comedy role of Colonel I.M. Lathi. The scene where Govinda fools him by calling him disguising as Sridevi of whose Lathi is a big fan is just iconic. I have myself seen that scene so many times yet it leaves me laughing every time. The second half is a serious one and this the comedy part ends. It is more like a Rambo where Govinda is running here and there trying t save himself from the goons who have destroyed his family. Gulshan Grover perfectly portrays the villain and Mohnish Bahl is just Mohnish Bahl, just like he plays the villain in every movie. I personally feel that Mohnish Bahl has no range as an actor but he has a likeability factor which is the thing I love most about him. David Dhawan excels here in direction too and does not show any redundant scenes. Having a background of an editor he is master at taking only relevant shots and that makes the audience entertained. The movies that Dhawan did in the 90s all had a string of comedy scenes in them one after another which would not help the story so much as much as they would entertain the audience and after the interval, the story would move so fast that you won't have time to find the faults in the film and frankly they don't matter. When you are in for a Govind and David Dhawan movie then you are in for enjoyment and not for art purposes. One of the best films of Indian cinema and one film that needs to be watched by many.