Keyur Seta
Mumbai, 07 Oct 2016 15:21 IST
The film suffers from an unconvincing second half and climax.
Film: Tutak Tutak Tutiya
Rating: 2/5
Mainstream Hindi cinema has hardly done justice to the horror comedy genre in the modern era. Priyadarshan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) is probably the only film of this genre to have gained unanimous acceptance among the Hindi film audience in the last decade. The last film in this genre, Great Grand Masti (2016), failed miserably. Director Vijay’s Tutak Tutak Tutiya fares better than GGM, but fails to rise above a certain level.
Krishna (Prabhudheva) is a 34-year-old bachelor working in Mumbai. He is desperate to get married to a modern girl, but keeps getting rejected. He is suddenly forced to rush to his hometown in Coimbatore as his grandmother is seriously ill. As she is eager to see Krishna married before dying, he is hurriedly married off to a girl from the village, Devi (Tamannaah Bhatia).
Krishna struggles to live with her in Mumbai as he doesn’t love her. But as she has been good to him, he takes her to a film awards ceremony organised by his office. During the party following the ceremony, he is shocked to see Devi performing to a party number in modern clothes. Filmstar Raj Khanna (Sonu Sood) sees her and decides to cast her in his next film. But how did a sanskari Devi transform into an ultra-modern girl?
The film doesn’t start off positively whatsoever. In the very first scene, Krishna desperately approaches a new joinee and straightaway asks if she is single without even asking her name or introducing himself. His family members are shown rejecting girls with dark skin. But when their eyes fall on Devi, they instantly select her as if nothing else matters. Soon enough, Krishna tries killing his grandmother by removing her oxygen mask so that his marriage gets delayed. Now, why would the audience feel for Krishna and his family?
Thankfully, the film picks up after the initial 30 minutes as the main plot is revealed. From here onwards, the proceedings keep you engaged till the end, although some gags aren’t so funny. The fast pace makes sure that the duration of 127 minutes is passed without trouble. The mystery factor also keeps you interested as you leave the hall temporarily at the interval.
These positive points, however, don’t prove enough to provide a feeling of satisfaction as the film suffers from the second half syndrome. There are two major drawbacks here. Firstly, although one shouldn’t expect complete logic in such films, there are major flaws that are simply unacceptable. The final culmination plays a vital part in such mysteries and this is what affects the film the most. The twist in the end that solves the mystery is not only unconvincing, but unintentionally hilarious.
Music plays some part in such commercial entertainers. But in this case, ‘Chal Maar’ is the only impressive track. The rest fall flat. Manush Nandan’s camerawork is decent. He is helped by the high production values that enhance the visuals.
The performance of the lead pair helps the film. It seems Prabhudheva hasn’t aged at all after the 1990s. He scores well in his comic timing and is decent during serious scenes too. Needless to say, he impresses with his dance. Bhatia succeeds in the difficult task of playing two diverse characters. This is the first time she has got the opportunity to showcase her acting skills in a Hindi film.
Sood has more of an extended cameo. With his character being one-dimensional, his performance falls only in the average category. A fine actor like Murli Sharma doesn’t get much scope. He also overdoes on few occasions. The rest of the supporting cast is passable.
Overall, Tutak Tutak Tutiya makes a decent promise in the first half, but breaks it post-interval. This, coupled with minimal publicity, will make sure the film goes unnoticed at the box-office.
Director: Vijay
Producers: Sonu Sood and Puja Entertainment
Writers: Vijay
Cast: Prabhudheva, Tamannaah, Sonu Sood
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Genre: Horror Comedy
Duration: 127 minutes