Rohit Shetty’s ‘Cirkus’ may be his worst work until now. It fails to utilise any one of Ranveer Singh’s dual roles in the movie.
Should Rohit Shetty apologise to Ranveer Singh fans for wasting such a talented actor in such a mindless comedy? Should he apologise to his fans for making such an outmoded and dull film in the first place? 16 years ago, his Golmaal was successful. But Shetty appears to be stuck in the past. His comedy reaches a new low with Cirkus, and it’s unfortunate that Ranveer had to be a part of it. Some trailers can be extremely deceptive.
Cirkus begins in the 1960s, when two pairs of orphans are adopted by two different families, one in Bangalore and the other in Ooty. However, Dr. Joy Jamnadas (Murali Sharma) switches one twin for the sake of an experiment in which he hopes to prove his theory that “upbringing” is more important than “bloodlines.” Roy and Joy (Ranveer Singh and Varun Sharma in dual roles) are doing their own thing as kids and then as grown men in different towns. Roy in Ooty is married to Mala (Pooja Hegde), whereas Roy in Bangalore is dating Bindu (Jacqueline Fernandez). Joy is content with simply being the third wheel wherever his brother goes. Unfortunately, this comedy of errors falls flat.
The first half is so mediocre that you can easily get away with a few power naps. When the chaos of everyone trying to make sense of things sets in after the intermission, it becomes even less funny. Everything is too loud, garish, and unappealing. In the name of period comedy, everyone is dressed in outrageous 1960s clothing, complete with tacky headbands, printed fabrics, strange accessories, and bizarre hairdos.
There are numerous characters in the film. Each one is more colourful than the other. And everyone is exaggerating beyond belief. There are some bad men as well, men who appear to be extremely funny but fail to make you laugh. Rather, they become annoying after a certain point. With so much going on and everyone trying so hard, comedy is nowhere to be found.
Ranveer, in a somewhat restrained performance, does what he has been briefed to do, but the impact is completely lacking. He’s clearly trying to be funny, but his jokes just don’t land. “The electric man,” as he is affectionately known in Ooty for his ability to withstand any voltage of current, never lets us feel that current in his performance. Varun, who has mastered the art of comedy and has exceptional comic timing, fails to add any value to this period piece. Shetty did not consider utilising that side of him instead of making him appear completely bland and out of his element. Pooja, whose most recent Hindi film was Radhe Shyam, requires serious acting lessons. Her screen presence is so forgettable that you instead notice the set decor in the scenes she features. Jacqueline is no better and is just a prop, adding some glam quotient.
Sanjay Mishra, who plays Bindu’s loudmouthed and annoyingly fashionable father, appears to be the most promising of the bunch, but his screeching accent makes him a headache. Then there’s Momo (Siddhartha Jadhav), a local thief, but Cirkus reduces him to such a poorly caricatured character with a weird hairdo who’s only making funny faces. Momo idolises Polson Bhai (Johnny Lever), who adds nothing to the table other than being a member of this silly gang of bad guys. It doesn’t end there. There are at least ten more supporting actors, each with a minor role to play, and Rohit makes them all look amusing even when they aren’t.
Cirkus contains few scenes that elicit genuine laughter. Deepika Padukone’s cameo in the song ‘Current Laga Re’ may make up for lost fun, but it’s too little, too late.
The film ‘Cirkus’ is inspired by “The Comedy of Error,” William Shakespeare’s play. Only watch it if you are a huge Ranveer Singh fan and have the guts to watch him get so wasted.
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