Sunday

ONCE AGAIN a bad attempt to recreate a GOOD OLD movie. Watch Home at Seven (1952), much better.

After a successful "Golmaal" Rohit Shetty's latest venture is Sunday. With an impressive star cast of Ajay Devgan,Arshad Warsi, Irfan Khan and Ayesha Takia, Sunday looked pretty strong in its promos. I was quite excited about the movie after watching the promos, my only fear was Tushar Kapur, but I thanked god when his name appeared as Special thanks. Well it's difficult to give a black and white review of Sunday. You can't call it an outright winner and not a complete waste of time either. It will definitely fall among the better category of humor of recent times. But still you will have some disappointments. Sunday is a comedy-thriller where the thrill part is a major let down. Sehar (Ayesha Takia) is a dubbing artist (thank god not an Advertising professional or journalist an innovative profession for sure) living in Delhi who is unable to recall the accounts of one Sunday. She remembers going to a night club on Saturday and going for a movie on Monday but one Sunday is missing. Ayesha Takia desperately wants to find out what happened on that day, well if one is chased by reckless goons who wouldn't. Strange people acts weirdly around her after that one missing Sunday. Ajay Devgan is a Cop and prospective fiancée of Sehar. A Taxi driver (Arshad Warsi) and a struggling actor ( Irfan Khan) are looking for Sehar and asking for 420 rupaye. Ajay Devgan tries to solve this mystery one missing Sunday. The real hero of Sunday are Arshad Warsi and Irfan Khan, the timing is impeccable, the chemistry is outstanding and when they both are together on screen they give you moments which will make you laugh out loud. The jokes are very situational and it's the sheer brilliance of Arshad and Irfan who instigate a touch of excellence. The first genuine hilarious scene comes in with the entry of Irfan khan and after that both of them never go down. One scene when Irfan Khan is dressed up as Ravana and the scene where Sehar scares the hell out of both of them are moments of great fun or the HR parody. Most of the other actors look desperate to make you laugh. Ajay Devgan's new found love for flaunting his cleavage is beyond my understanding and somehow he was not at all fit for the role. All the time it looks like he is fighting hard to be funny but not quite there. Ayesha Takia was not given the responsibility to make you laugh. Her job was to look pretty all the time and scared sometimes. It was nice to see that she lost some weight after her Miss Thunder Thighs and Hooters appearance in No Smoking, still there is a long way to go. Vrijesh Hirjee's accent might make you smile for the first time after that he just drags. Many side characters are put in for no good reason. Sunday is confused, there are few scenes which just appear out of no where and they don't make any sense. Arshad Warsi's emotional revelation of his kidney problem is one of the most stupid thing Rohit Shetty could have done. But good thing is every time after all the mayhem and stupidity Arshad and Irfan come on screen to clean up the mess. In the second half Sunday changes tracks to be a thriller still there are good doses of laughs. But the thriller part is the most ridiculous suspense you could have ever imagined. When the whole mystery breaks you feel like why it all started in the firs place. Casting that cute little bump as the villain clearly shows budget constraints or may be Rohit Shetty was smoking "Classic Milds". A major let down on the movie is its screenplay. Sunday is full of worthless song placed in the worst possible situations. To add to the agony the music is nothing but great. Rohit Shetty fumbles in all the romanticize sequences and the chemistry between the lead stars never builds up. In the end I will say if you have some extra cash and some extra cash give Sunday a try for the sake of Irfan Khan and Arshad Warsi's outstanding performances. Otherwise even if you miss this unlike Sehar you are not missing anything.

I am gonna give Sunday 2.5/5

Sunday : In a straight review Sunday is not what you expect after seeing the promising promos. It's a mixture of thriller and comedy sequences. Whereas the comedy sequences are highly enjoyable, there is no thrill in the suspense and murder mystery element of the script. The film is said to be a remake of a HIT Telugu film ANUKOKUNDA OKA ROJU [2005]. The Telugu original must be more enjoyable fare as it was a big hit but the Hindi version lacks the right punch needed for a blockbuster. In fact director Rohit Shetty seems confused in whether to make a comedy film or a fast paced thriller. Many plots and characters are deliberately inserted, which are clearly spotted by a average film-goer too. For instance :

1. Ajay Devgan's character of a ice cream eating cop is the most unimpressive one. He just plays the role and doesn't seem to be interested in the movie at all.

2. The murder mystery has no surprise element in it as some unknown character just enters the climax as the main culprit.

3. The most disappointing thing is that Irfan Khan, an actor of endless capabilities has got no definite role and he is just included in the movie to add to its project value. He has no involvement in the script and is just wasted as a comedy character. However it is his own brilliance that he again comes up as the best thing in the movie with his excellent comic timing.

4. Even Arshad Warsi, is not given the mileage he needed and he is also just another character in the script.

5. The action sequences on the actual locations of Chandni Chowk, Delhi and the item number of "Esha Deol" are clearly added as the last moment insertions. The director could have easily avoided them.

6. Ayesha Takia working as Cartoon Dubbing artist is given unwanted footage. She just acts in the movie as a routine work.

The script surely has a new concept, but is not handled in a promising manner. Music is also below average.. The only enjoyable moments in the movie are the scenes with Arshad Warsi & Irfan Khan. They both are highly entertaining together and the viewer keeps waiting for them to come on screen again. In all, Sunday is certainly not a good thriller movie but can only be seen once for the comedy by the talented pair – Arshad Warsi & Irfan Khan.

I was pining high hopes on Rohit Shetty after I watched his highly deserved, less-acclaimed "Zameen". Sunday seemed more suited for two- episodes suspense thriller on telly. The plot is paper-thin and execution is bad. And if this is a direct copy of the Telugu movie "Anukokunda Oka Roju", then shame on you Rohit!!!

The comedy track between Irfan Khan and Arshad Warsi does evoke a few laughs. The senti OTT, lend me a shoulder story of Arshad Warsi is unwarranted.

Performance wise, all were good. Ajay Devgan, Ayesha Takia, Ifran Khan, Arshad Warsi etc. But in all honesty doesn't deserve such a huge ensemble.

Ajay Devgan and Mukesh Tiwar's gay poking are not in good light.

Songs are good. The suspense was bad (read childish!).

Having watched the promos of this movie, I was looking forward to watching this movie.

Sohar Thapar has a big problem and that is she forgets what she has done, sometimes her belongings and sometimes that she has to meet people. But one night, after leaving a disco with her friend Ritu, she wakes up only to see that it is Monday. But what is worse for her is that when she goes into the city, she accidentally meets a taxi driver who, she thinks, is following her. But he only asks her for the fares that she owes him. She also meets ACP Rajveer Randhava, who, she is informed is a suitable person for her to marry. However, she soon finds out that he is a corrupt Police officer. But then then she faces more serious problems when she realises that she is not able to remember what had happened to her on "Sunday." She asks ACP Randhava for his assistance.

After the success of "Golmal," this is Rohit Shetty's second venture with Ajay Devgan. The movie also stars Ayesha Takia, Arshad Warsi, Irfan Khan, Ali Asgar (of Balaji Telefilms's Kamal of "Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii) and Deepak Qazir (of Balaji Telefims Bapuji of "Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii" and "Kasauti Zindagi Kii".) Tushar Kapur and Esha Deol make a special appearance for item songs. What this film has highlighted is the situation regarding date rape drugs, which in forensic science, is very hard to trace when taking a sample after being raped. But this is a comedy / thriller movie genre and Ajay Devgan and Ayesha Takia are okay in this movie. But the two actors, that have saved the movie from being a total disaster are Arshad Warsi and Irfan Khan with their comedy.

In some ways this movie has been a disappointment and more so after watching the promos, which to me, indicate that the PR and the marketing of the this has operated in the most appropriate manner.

Conclusion: Disappointing but can be viewed with family.