Coolie No. 1 Movie Review: Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan’s film is stuck in the ’90s

GBNEWS24 DESK//

It was in 1995 that filmmaker David Dhawan helmed Coolie No. 1, co-starring Karisma Kapoor and Govinda in lead roles. The film, which was itself a remake of the 1993 Tamil film, Chinna Mapilla, has now been remade again. Confused? Well, the film’s remake trail is far simpler to understand than what’s actually shown in the film.

In simpler terms, Dhawan has remade his own remake film with the same title that he used back then. 25 years on, it’s not just the title that is stuck in a different era but also the storyline and the dialogues.

Anyone slightly aware of the storyline of the actual film would know that it’s essentially about a few men, out of which some want to prove one another a point, some are dying to get married and some are just eying money and plots.

The film begins with a rich businessman named Jeffery Rosario (Paresh Rawal) insulting Pandit Jai Kishen (Javed Jaffrey) after the latter has travelled to the former’s house in a bus accompanying a family, who wants their son to marry Rosario’s daughter, Sarah Rosario (Sara Ali Khan). Miffed by Rosario’s insult, Jai Kishen decides to teach him a “lesson” and vows to get his daughter married to someone exactly opposite of what Rosario wants, basically someone who is not “stinking rich”.

Enters Raju (Varun Dhawan), the No. 1 Coolie (porter). He’s everything that the ’90s heroes were – righteous and respectful of the elders and eager to marry. One thing leads to another and now Raju wants to marry Sarah. Thinking this to be the perfect opportunity to seek revenge from Rosario, Jai Kishen asks Raju to pose as a millionaire to woo the Rosario family. He does end up marrying Sarah but eventually, his identity as a coolie is exposed. To save his marriage, he cooks up a story of having a twin brother, who is working as a porter. But if one’s lying to save one cover from blowing up, it’s natural that a chain of lies is about to follow and that’s what happens in the film.

When a film is being remade, one would expect for it to either match what was created before or to have a certain element of surprise. Unfortunately, Coolie No. 1 falls flat on both fronts. The film seems 25 years too late. A story of a righteous man, who is not righteous enough to not build his family on a lie is a passe or at least should be now. The jokes, which fail to humour, lack creativity and a punch that could have worked well in the film’s favour. The chemistry of the lead pair, which could also have been a plus for the film, isn’t that impressive either.

Varun, in his double role as Raju Coolie and Prince Raj Pratap Singh, is earnest. The actor has put in a lot of effort and it’s visible on the screen. His character has a decent mix of traits and has given the actor a chance at another massy performance. But sadly, he doesn’t have a story relevant enough to fall back on. Plus, darkening his face because he’s playing a poor porter isn’t relevant and does nothing to add to the plotline. For Sara, who plays Sarah, there’s almost the same substance to her character as the difference in her real and reel name.

The film’s cast also includes Jaaved Jaffery, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Anil Dhawan, Sahil Vaid, Rajat Rawail, Bharti Achrekar and Shikha Talsania among others. While there’s no doubt that each of them is an able performer, there’s very little to work with when the film’s basic idea and tropes are still stuck in the ’90s.

The makers try to add recall points by using a few signature background scores from the original film but alas, it only reminds you of Govinda’s flawless comic timing and Karisma’s unadulterated screen presence. Karisma and Govinda’s pairing had a certain innocence and undeniable chemistry that lit up the screen. Further, what late Kader Khan and Govinda shared on-screen remains unparalleled and was one of the major factors that had worked for the film’s benefit.

For a comedy film to be remade over two decades later, it’s important that it has a backbone of jokes that are relevant and sensitive. Body-shaming, lisping and stammering aren’t elements that induce chuckles and that’s something the makers should have taken into consideration. There’s also a mention of coronavirus in one of the jokes.

The few points, where you might grin a bit, are the references to other Bollywood names. For instance, Raju wearing oversized glasses and calling it a trend since Karan Johar and Ranveer Singh also wear similar styles. But other than that, the only thought that will crowd your mind throughout the film’s runtime might just be – why was there a need to remake this film?

A lot about Coolie No. 1 feels jaded. Even for those who might want to rely on madcap cinema for a few no-brainer chuckles amid the pandemic, the film’s idea seems to be stuck in the ’90s with nothing new to offer.