24 April,2015 10:51 AM IST | | Shubha Shetty-Saha
Unlike the 1959 Gurudutt classic 'Kagaz Ke Phool', 2015's 'Kaagaz ke Fools' is so regressive and dated that it just might have made some sense back in the 50s
'Kaagaz ke Fools'
U/A; Comedy
DIR: Anil Kumar Chaudhary
CAST: Vinay Pathak, Mugdha Godse, Raima Sen
Ratings:
The 1959 Gurudutt classic 'Kagaz Ke Phool' was so ahead of its time that it tanked at the Box Office, and later got elevated to world cult classic status.
Ironically, and perhaps reflecting the sad state of Bollywood's growth, in 2015 we get a film titled 'Kaagaz ke Fools', which is so regressive and dated that it just might have made some sense back in the 50s. Purushottam (Vinay Pathak) is an honest writer, but his work doesn't get published because the publishers want masala. His whiny wife (Mugdha Godse) wouldn't let him rest in peace until he gets ambitious. The husband is driven away by the wife's constant nagging, straight into the arms of the bad world of gambling, alcohol and a Devdas' Chandramukhi-like call girl (Raima Sen).
Pathak has become so repetitive and mechanical that it's becoming difficult to tell one role of his from another. Sad for an actor who recently showed us what he's capable of in 'Badlapur'. Saurabh Shukla is around with no significant contribution, as if to merely give Pathak company. Someone needs to tell Godse that shrieking doesn't equal acting. As far as Raima is concerned, she seems to be sleepwalking through the film.
Well, if nothing, the film makes us painfully aware of the difference between a phool and a fool.
