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The detective and the damsel

Syed Firdaus Ashraf

Imagine a detective -- you would think he is smart, intense, observant, with a cigar in his mouth and revolver in his hand.

Think again. Raju (Govinda) belies all such description. He is talkative and fun-loving, he is more of a jumping jack than a sleuth. And, he is more interested in his romantic life than in his job.

But, of course, he has a mission. Mission, did you ask? Yeah -- the mission is to catch his friend's (Nirmal Pandey) wife redhanded while she is supposedly flirting with other men in Europe.

It turns out that the friend's wife, Anjali (Ritu Shivpuri), is smarter than the two of them put together. She sends her friend, whose name is also Anjali (Rani Mukherjee), for the trip to Europe where our detective is supposed to catch her cavorting with men.

Both Nirmal and Ritu want a divorce and the judge gives them one month to prove who is responsible for the souring of the relationship. That's how Raju comes into the picture.

But why does Anjali agree to go to Europe? Simple -- her parents want her to get married. She is entirely opposed to the idea of an arranged marriage and hence, packs her bags for Europe.

Interestingly, our desi Bond wannabe has never seen his friend's wife and has, rather conveniently, lost her photographs. He makes a mistake, thinking Helen Brodie is the one, though she actually happens to be a drug-pedlar. So he trails Helen falls for Rani who is in disguise.

The trip to Europe is like a comedy of errors. There are three more couples -- Satish Kaushik and Navneet Nishan, Paresh Rawal and Tanaz Currim (strangely pairing that), Avtar Gill and Himani Shivpuri.

All the husbands are less interested in the beautiful landscapes of Europe and more in flirting with others' wives. Besides, these couples have another job in hand: to ensure that Raju gets his girl.

Well, he does get her only to find out that she is the same woman he is supposed to spy on and the very reason he is in Europe. His heart is broken, since he has no clue that it's a case of mistaken identity. The rest of the film is about how the detective gets the girl back into his life.

As far as the music is concerned, except for the title track, Hadh kar di aapne, no other song is worth humming. Music director Anand Raj Anand has not done his job well -- which is a major shortcoming in the film.

On the whole, Hadh Kar Di Aapne is entertaining and keeps you interested in the script. There are some funny moments, like the one in which Govinda gets beaten up by big African couples. Satish Kaushik and Govinda together are quite hilarious towards the end of the film. Paresh Rawal does not have a well-defined role, but still, he makes a mark.

There are two Johnny Levers in the film -- Lever Jr as Nirmal's lawyer and Lever Sr as Ritu's lawyer. But for once, the comedian is out-of-his-depth and seems to be running out of ideas. Would you believe it he actually seems boring? Very disappointing indeed.

There are a lot of inexplicable situations in the film. Like there is no justification as to why Govinda puts in an appearance in six brief roles -- as grandfather, grandmother, mother, uncle, what have you! Completely unnecessary, we thought.

Nirmal Pandey is shown to be a tycoon whose job is to hang around with his lawyer, converse with Raju on the cellphone and occasionally attend business meetings with phirangs. There is no mention of the nature of his job. Ritu Shivpuri too has a sketchy role.

Now, about the much talked-about Govinda-Rani pair: the two look quite good on screen together. Their natural style of acting is what makes Hadh Kar Di Aapne worth a dekko -- that is, if you need a break from your boring, humdrum life!