BOMBAY TO BANGKOK
January 18, 2008
Actors: Shreyas Talpade, Lina Christianson, Vikram Inamdar, Yatin Karyekar, Naseruddin Shah, Vijay Maurya, Manmeet Singh, Naseruddin Shah, Jeneva Talwar
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Producer: Subhash Ghai, Elahe Hiptoola, Rahul Puri
“Bombay to Bangkok” traces the journey of Shankar (Shreyas Talpade) from Bombay to Bangkok. It is a story about a small-time crook in Mumbai (Shankar) who steals some money from a local Don (Naseeruddin Shah). Now that he has the money; Shanakar is worried for its safety. Thus, he masquerades as a doctor and finds escape into a team of medical practitioners headed for Thailand for relief work. Unfortunately, amidst all the confusion, Shankar looses his moneybag. While he is struggling to restore normalcy in his life, his world turns upside down in Bangkok where he meets a lovely Thai girl, Jasmine (Lena) who works in a nightclub. Sadly enough he cannot communicate with her because she is a Thai and he is not conversant with the language.
A ray of hope comes his way when Jasmine comes to Shankar’s hotel looking for a doctor. Shankar posing as a doctor gets caught into a whirlpool and Jasmine gets involved in his adventures as the duo attempt to escape the Don and his son.
“Bombay to Bangkok” brings Nagesh back to the genre of comedy. In this light entertainer, he goes a step further in his creativity and incorporates every possible masala to make this movie a true comedy of errors. The plot is well carved and quite interesting. The movie could have come nearer to a super success had it not been for the lack for tuning in its screenplay. But Nagesh’s veteran execution of the plot does make quite a difference, even though the overall impact is missing.
Shreyas Talpade is a real talent and his performance in the film reiterates this fact. Lena looks good but there is a general disconnect between her dialogue delivery and expressions. Naseeruddin Shah’s presence is hardly felt.
The music is soothing but nothing worth humming. Although various scenes do raise giggles amongst the audience, the overall zing for comedy is sadly missing. Nagesh has shot the movie in Bangkok but has failed to capture its spectacular beauty in his lens. The movie remains confined to the outskirts of the metropolis.
In general “Bombay to Bangkok” has a few enjoyable moments but that is all about it. The film could have been a huge success but lacks behind. Thus, it is no wonder that it has failed to make a noticeable impact at the box office.
