DVD Watch: Aagey Se Right: The Most Underrated Gem of the Year
I picked the DVD from the counter where so many more were lying around. I asked my usual questions to the store owner, “Is this the original copy?”, “Pukka”, “Copy to nahi hai”. This is not because I am a pukka usoolwalah and wouldn’t watch pirated DVDs, it’s just that I have been burned in the past when my experience was completely destroyed because of the pirated DVD. So, only original for me now, even if that means waiting for 6 months after the film release. And in this case, I am glad I asked and made sure because this is a gem that should only be watched in theatre or on original DVD.
Looking at the cover, I didn’t have any expectations. I am not one of those who watch a film purely based on reviews but I do get impacted by the promos and the buzz around the film. In the case of ASR, there was absolutely no buzz and reviews were lukewarm at best. Raja Sen at Rediff gave 1.5 starts to the film, urggg. I haven’t checked Taran Adarsh, but I am sure he must have trashed it as well.
There was Shreyas Talpade on the cover. I didn’t even notice Kay Kay, until I started to watch the film. Usually my expectation from a Shreyas film is low, I expected a well intentioned but badly made and half baked film. That’s how this one also started, with a terrorist warning and the terrorist arriving by boat, packed with dry fruits and stuff, a smile crossed my face, ok, the director is trying to be topical and realistic based on the news reports about 26/11, let’s see how far he goes. And then, the film took a complete u-turn and I knew I am in for a really well made comedy. I saw the early signs of it with Shreyas’s entry and right in next scene when he loses his gun, but the film really took off with the entry of Vijay Maurya.
Who is this Vijay Maurya? Never heard of him? I had to pause the film to check the casting and learned that his name is Vijay Maurya. Turns out he was in Socha Na Tha and if I remember correctly he was the side kick friend to Abhay Deol and he was good there too. His very first dialog in ASR cracked me up , “Kya yah wafadar hain?”, asks KK. “Nahi, wafadar nahi, bharose ke hain”, replies Vijay in a south Indian and Mumbaiya mixed accept. The writers didn’t let up after that at all. Vijay did well but lot of credit goes to the writers. The dialogs are crisp and very situational. There is no forced comedy.
Looking back, I was thinking, why didn’t anyone else think about it earlier. I mean about putting together a Mumbaiya speaking south Indian don with a urdu speaking terrorist. Vijai Maurya has the best of the lines but KK proved a perfect foil, playing his role with a serious terrorist face, starting with a unique combination of menace and ignorance that gradually gives way to innocence and stupidity as he falls in love. KK is not trying to do any comedy anywhere, not even in the scenes where he is trying to practice his tapori slangs. He is dead serious and if you Mr. Audience get the comedy out of it, it’s your problem. It’s also very generous of KK to let actors junior to him take the best of lines and scenes.
Shreyas does his job well. But he has this Jimmy Shergil type problem of constantly underplaying his role. Both of these actors are very competent and deserve credit for the kind of scripts and films they support but sometimes I wish they cranked it up a notch when needed. But I like Shreyas, he is never unwatchable or completely bad and usually better than the scripts given to him.
Mahi Gill doesn’t have much to do and doesn’t do anything to make it into a role. Even the lines given to her such as “SMS karo a 420420” don’t quite register until late into the film. Shenaz Treaserwala looks gorgeous I am a fan since her MTV days. Her MTV stint was such a while ago, I wonder how young she still looks. There are two other actos who have a decent role as the loser lover boy and his girlfriend who is commissioner’s daughter. They do an adequate job but don’t make much of a difference.
Real hero of the film is it’s writing. The writers of ASR have a really khurafati mind. The design of Don’s adda like a Disney ride where a woman on the screen welcomes you and the don himself introduced you to his corporation S.L.T. which stands for Socha to Locha. The different departments in his adda with one for “Lost and Found” for guns where you are expected to deposit Rs 150 and write your name on a register, that kind of silly stuff that makes ASR what it is.
The temple scene where the don wants to do a mandawali with God is just hilarious stuff. I wish it could be longer and they could go on and on with it, it was that good. The way the Don explains his rationale, the expression on the Pandit’s face when he gets guns and cash and the whole idea of trying to break the coconut with a bullet is just too damn good. I was wondering why they didn’t follow through on that, may be they got scared of the controversy that could be raised by the religious political parties. Vijay Maurya’s delivery of each and every dialog was pitch perfect, writers must be very proud of him, The beginning of the sequence where the Pandit says – “Aaiye sajjan”, and the Don responds – “Sajjan Nahi Shetty”.
The whole sequence about teri bulbul or meri bulbul between Vijay Maury and KK or the scene where the don gets upset with KK for falling in love instead of spreading terror “Atank watank phaialne kya, yeh kya bulbul ke chakkar mein pad gaya” or the scene where Vijay Maurya teaches KK how to win the girl over in a tapori style, are all worth repeat watch.
I hope this gem gets its due one day. And I think it will, over time through word of mouth. AAA wasn’t appreciated when it came out. When AA first came out, humor kind of look forced, every body was trying to be funny in every scene. But over time people realized that no matter how many times you watched it, it still made you laugh and the scenes and characters that looked foolish and caricaturish first time such as that of Crime Master Goga on first watch, made you laugh even more during the repeat watch. It may not be as big as AAA, but I am sure it’ll get noticed and appreciated over time. I watched it 3 times already and don’t mind watching it again.
Tags: DVD Watch, Recco
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
That lowered my skepticism related to movie and will defintly watch now .
I was in the DVD store as well and this one was lying on the top of the pile which I nonchalantly put it way to pick up other “gems”. I do get influenced by reviews, unless of course that has a star cast for which I don’t mind spending my $2 buying (!). With this review of yours, I am definitely going to watch this one. May be movies like this are made for DVD watching??
Siva,
Do let me know what your experience was. I want to know if it’s just me going crazy over it or there are others getting it as well.
This seems to be a pleasant coincidence. Saw it over Roku on Sunday and 40 minutes into it went ballistic on PFC trying to grab anyone and everyone to tell them what a laugh-a-riot this was… though the style of comedy may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Shot a letter to the writer, exchanged emails, called Nikhil V almost forced him to see the movie right away.
So what went wrong?
Firstly I wasn’t enthused when I saw the poster or read the one line summary. The poster just does not convey what a riot the movie is.
This is the story of the cop and his Hanuman stickered gun and those two elements should have been on the poster. As per my thoughts Kay Kay Menon, who represents the terrorist track should never have been on the poster, because it dilutes greatly the comic focus the story shoots at.
Many a times I felt this was a near Jaane Bhi Do Yaroonish comedy and the internet reader is the right audience for this one… this should have been marketed heavily to the internet crowd. I’m surprised no one (from the movie’s team) came on PFC, to generate some mass off the community here. Nothing. Nada. It was only after the movie’s release that we got to hear from Abhijeet Deshpande, the writer here http://passionforcinema.com/aagey-se-right/
Not without flaws but for me it has so many laugh off the chair moments that these minor issues are easily forgotten, forgiven. The introduction to Vijay Maurya’s factory/office scene, the different deparments there, the “NO” tags on the park gate, The slick use of language to twist it into a punch line… amazing…
UTV faulted here in the marketing, no doubt. This could have been another close to Khosla ka Ghosla, success, but alas didn’t turn out to be. The decision to not see the movie was made right when one sees the poster and beyond that a few lines. Branding was grossly miscalculated for this very surprisingly pleasing product.
Thanks man, for making me realize that I am not the odd one here. I read all the comments on the link you provided and it seems quite a few of them loved it. Yes, a gross mis-marketing of a great product!!
Yeah, i see that you have gone crazy over it, just like i did. The nakli gun fight scene was hilarious. Not sure if you noticed the flashback scene where a flash goes up and the boy and girl dance backwards and a song plays in the background flashback-flashback. – Abhijeet Deshpandey, you got a crazy mind and we hope we get to see more of your crazy ideas on screen.
Ab itni tareef ho rahi hai to try kar sakte hain.
Aagey se right is now downloading !
I guess there are good time pass movies !! One of my friend recommended “one two three” today . I am downloading it now, then vl do aagey se right !
Buddy, I won’t recommend it, considering you didn’t even watch APKGK.
I mean One Two Three.
If it is same film which I have in mind then He might like Sanjay Mishra’s calling Mukesh Tiwari, as “Ponpaa” and most probably Neetu Chandra’s Mayawati Chautala.
Duty pe hoon varna tere jaisee beauty bache na thee mere se
She was good in creating comedy in small role specially in that Talashi abhiyan wala scene on the road.
Yes, it is the same movie.
Actually I watched that Mayawati Chautala act on a TV but couldn’t watch the movie completely. Later I brought the VCDs to watch the complete movie only because of her Mayawati Chautala act. Those were some good comic moments others just hit below the belt.
Believe me I dared to watch APKGP with great expectations but cudn’t stand even half the movie. it is a big BORE !!
I believe , latest hulla of it being a big opener is a fabricated one.
Neetu Chandra is HOT man !!
Vijay Raaz and Sanjay Mishra are the two actors, I hv become a great fan
I loved Vijay Raaz in almost all his role.
Petikot baba( run,I still watch that on youtube)
Airpad assistant ( in Dhamaal)
Jugaad
baarah aana
Monsoon wedding
bombay to goa
he is a versatile actor.
and I am sure all those , who hv seen all the best , mst hv loved “Dhondho just cheeee” act of Sanjay mishra.
ha a
For Vijay Raaj’s one of the best acts so far, watch Run (Abhishek Bachchan, Bhoomika Chawla starrer), if you have not watched yet.
He is giving quite good performances since begining.
Watch him (along with Raghuvir Yadav) in a small film Dekh Bhai Dekh.
…
Sanjay Mishra is going consistently good in comedy.
Often he is better than the lead actors in creating comedy in a film.
“Sir jee Just Chill” in All the Best was quite funny.
attractive inspite of repetitive things he has got in the film. It is his way of saying, his timing and body language and his full of passion involvement in doing the act.
He has already mentioned Run and Vijayraaj’s peticoat baba act.
.
Among all the characters in All The Best, Sanjay Mishra’s act was the best.
ohh sorry. I could not connect with Petticoat baba reference hence suggested. I still can not recall this sequence.
I remember him for his amazing confrontation with his parents at his home in Allahabad.
and later in Delhi, that Kavva Biryani sequence, and the kidney tragedy where he still created comedy inspite of such a severe event. Abe gurda nikal liye be….
One does not know how to react on his pathetic condition which he is describing in such a comical way.
This last one was a class in its own as it needs a very good acting skill to make it possible.
Vijay Raaz is Raghu Romeo. Matter closed!
All his actions culminated and lead him towards lightness from the darkness and he became Gobar baba a.k.a. Petticoat baba
Tab to, watch it.
Oh ya, I have yet to see Raghu Romeo, heard a lot obout it .
Apart from Peticoat baba.. i believe his act as a COOL Airpad assistance was hilarious too. His body language, dialouge delievery were too good for that act
OMG!
ONE TWO THREE is big BOREEEEEEEEEEEEE. chee chee movie :(
One Two Three and Budhdha Mar Gaya are two of my biggest guilty pleasures of recent years.. ;)
OMG !! Buddha Mar gaya was yuccky. At times, I woder what brings the whole cast and crew to produce and work on such cheap grade, mindless, sleazy movies.
Just a question: what are ‘AAA’ and ‘AA’?
Andaz Apna Apna, AA was a typo
Aagey se Right had one kickass line…where Vijay Maurya has these two goons trying to pick up someone…the one bald goon is lazy as hell…vijay in his trademark south indian accent….Hmmm Welson…Waiting for Christmas???…and the goon answers…Yes SAAR…and gets a smack on the head for it….i cracked up all the way home when i thought of that!
watch the play – ‘Sa hi besura’ (Dir- Makrand Deshpande)…Vijay Maurya is simply outstanding…I almost died laughing…he is a wonderful actor…most underrated…apart from Mumbai Meri Jaan – he played either a sidekick or a fool…Aage se right is an exception – he has a meaty role and he has done justice
He was Dawood Ibrahim in Black Friday
Vijay Maurya was awesome as Jam K in bombay 2 bangkok, that movie was a disaster except his performance…
Aagey Se Right is certainly better than what was projected on its release.certainly good writing for most part of the movie.And Vijay Maurya-K.K combination rocks.But then I felt towards the end things started looking forced.On a similar note I would say I probably found Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam to be better.The comparison is because both are comedy films with terrorism in the background.
C’mon sethu. Maan gaye mughale aazam was pure bakwaas !!
Arre Sethu, my thoughts exactly! Good writing but let down by the finished product. Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam was exactly the movie I was thinking about when watching Aagey Se Right. MGMeA had me laughing a lot, ASR unfortunately drew more of groans at what could have been great jokes but weren’t executed to their fullest
I will have to watch Maan Gaye again. I tried watching it, had to stop after 30-40 min, didn’t like it. May be it gets better afterwards. Rahul Bose is a bad choice for comedy
@A Singh..Vijay Maurya was even in Mumbai Meri Jaan where he plays the other hawaldaar opposite Paresh Rawal, mindblowing act……….Dont recall the name of ad but where in the middle of road two guys fight without touching each other a la AAA:he is there too.
aage se right is really bad… really really bad.. as bad as man gaye mugle azam or yuuvraaj
I’m assuming based on your name, that Hindi may not be your mother tongue and you watched this movie with subtitles. Comedy very rarely can juice itself through subtitles. I had an interesting short but valuable conversation with one of the best comic writers we have in India… Crazy Mohan in Chennai and that was his explanation too… but of course if you know Hindi and did not like it… well personal choice. The movie I admit is not everyone’s cup of tea.
my hindi is perfectly fine sir.i wasted my money on tata sky showcase.lol.what came across on screen was ineffectiveness.confused movie..if a call was taken on the treatment( like the adam sandler way or coen brothers or tim burton or even waisa bhi hota hai part 2 or murgun humour) it could have been better i guess.
or even if it had it own established style the movie would have been better .this is my view. peace
Am so glad somebody wrote about this film. Great post A. Singh. I watched it on DVD and really liked it. And as you said its mostly because of the writing. And about the reviews, well there has been enough inconsistency for me to not judge a film so easily now. Raja Sen gave Singh is Kinng 3 stars, and ASR 1.5. I have no idea how would someone justify that
Vijay Mauraya was so good, I remember soo many of his lines. Good stuff!
Vijay Maurya was the only good thing in ‘Bombay to Bangkok’
Ive been a fan of Shreyas from the time Ive seen Golmaal Returns, Sajjanpur and Dor. Will surely grab this one!
hi!
Finally someone got the film!!!!
I was beginning to think I was the only one vocal about enjoying it!
Though in the theatres audiences where laughing out loud!
I agree with almost eveything you wrote! :-)
the film was not only directed also written by Indrajit Nattoji.
just absolutely appallled by the bad, misdirected marketting done(or not) by Utv!
the songs didn’t even play on any music channels! A basic low cost option of just shots from the film and the song playing!!!!
And there are many jewels in the music and lyrics as well!
Maybe if they hadn’t done anything at all the film wouldve done better on it’s own!!!!!!
Well thanks to the net and forums like this I hope more people can enjoy this gem just like I have, over and over again.
Another jaane bhi do yaron/ andaaz apna apna.
It’s obvious they had a ball making it :-)
cheers!
Anita,
That’s what i thought when i was writing it, is it just me or other people got the same reaction. But, if you follow the two links that Oz provided in his comments, there are quite a few people who went bonkers over it. I am sure, the film will get its due some day.
ASR release date went wrong for sure……..u deserve the last laugh most certainly.First they(the film critics)should understand what is comedy; not the typical stereo type movies where u leave ur brain behind that is done so repeatatively n becomes the industry norms.i must thank the maker for thinking out of the box n giving us so refreshing new comedy.Here u do have to keep track of every nitty gritty scene otherwise u miss the fun.
Yes, you do have to keep track of the happenings otherwise it gets confusing or the scenes look plain ordinary. Like the girl trying to do suicide and speaking funny dialogues and Shreyas saving her, looks so badly made, if you didn’t know what was going on.
I was one of seven or eight people in the hall when I watched this. On balance, I did not enjoy it much. It had its moments but could have been so, so better. It started out well but then the funny bits were not consistent throughout – was waiting for it to wind up towards the end.