368. Gujjubhai - Most Wanted; movie review

GUJJUBHAI - MOST WANTED
Cert 12A
157 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat, drug references

One of the OCD-like pleasures of the everyfilm challenge is ticking off movies which have been hanging around at the top of my missing list for many months.
Such has been the case of Ishaan Randeria's comedy, Gujjubhai Most Wanted, which has been one of the biggest Gujarati box office hits ever.
Anyway, it has emerged on DVD so I snapped it up and was left, not for the first time, with the question of whether political correctness exists in India.
Indeed, I shouldn't really single the sub-continent out. I could have said the same having seen a Turkish comedy.
I digress.
Thankfully, sticking with Gujjubhai - Most Wanted until the end of its nearly two and a half hours makes it clear that the writers do not categorise all Pakistanis as terrorists and that women do have value after all.

Anyway, the slapstick comedy stars Siddharth Randeria and Jimit Trivedi as a bungling father and son who somehow drift from conning a property developer out of lots of money to being at the centre of trying to bust a terrorist plot.
They are chancers but few of their actions is intended - particularly getting involved with the security services and most end in frantic misunderstandings.
There is a smashing comedy rapport between Randeira and Trivedi even though their characters initially disapprove of each other.
And there are a couple of neat ongoing gags which surround the son's desire to be funky ("call me KD") and their dependence on each other to extricate themselves from their many scrapes when they simply run out of flannel and nod to each other, saying "your turn."
The rest of the cast are largely incidental but I did have a chuckle at the antics of mother-in-law (Purvi Vyas) and wife (Tejal Vyas) who are oblivious to what is going on with the menfolk.
I can see why Gujjubhai - Most Wanted has been such a success despite its political incorrectness. Its leads are amiable but not too daft and its humour is quickfire.
Of course, what I don't have is context so humour will never resonate as well with me as it does with a native speaker.


Reasons to watch: Amiable comedy
Reasons to avoid: It will be just a bit too daft for some

Laughs: Chuckles for me rather than laughs
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10

The big question - Does political correctness exist in India?

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