Bombay to Bangkok movie review

Mukta Searchlight Films’ latest presentation is a Nagesh Kukunoor film, “ Bombay to Bangkok”, which unfortunately tests the patience of its viewers, save a few laughs far and between.

Its major drawback is an ultra-thin story and an infantile screenplay (Nagesh Kukunoor).  The film is about a cook turned petty thief Shanker (Shreyas Talpade) who by default finds some money that belongs to a rapping Don and intends to flee with it to Dubai but a childish twist in the screenplay lands him in Bangkok (without a visa), where he falls in love with a massage parlor girl Jasmine (Lena) and at the end of an extremely convoluted screenplay, lives happily ever after.   

Shreyas Talpade does a reasonably fair job despite the bad script. Lena as Jasmine is  un-inhibited and endearing. Vijay Maurya as the gangster rapping Don is good, Manmeet Singh as the translator Sardar with a heart of gold is the best of the lot. Naseeruddin Shah as the Senior Don is functional in a one-scene appearance.

Nagesh Kukunoor has attempted to make a David Dhawan type of film but with his own sensibilities and has failed miserably. It is high time people from alternative cinema understand that it is not easy to make a mass appealing commercial film and therefore should stick to the genres that suit them best and more importantly make the kind of films that they have been appreciated for in the past.

Sadly, a talented film-maker like Nagesh Kukunoor has committed, harakiri by making, “Bombay to Bangkok”. Please try and find something else to be entertained by this weekend.

Rohit Tanejaa is a film director.