Masti (2004)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Blistering performances.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Masti means fun and although the plot of this wonderfully hilarious film borders on the dark side of Masti, it nevertheless has its moments and ultimately delivers what it hoped it would at the start of it all, pure entertainment for one and all. Three men (Vivek Oberoi, Ritesh Deshmukh, and Aftab Shivdasani) upon graduating college, fear what awaits them as they are now eligible bachelors for marriage. The fear that once the get hitched, they would lose their friendship and all that mattered to them as singles. They can lament all they want but slowly and surely, one by one they begin to marry and the years pass by. One day, a chanced reunion sets them taking a trip down memory lane when one of them decides that they can recapture the decadence of their youth by having affairs and they all decide that yes it's the right thing to do. At this point in the film, you will wonder why good-looking men who are married to good-looking women (played by Amrita Rao, Genelia D'Souza and Tara Sharma respectively) would think of such a thing? But when the camera introduces you to the object of their attraction, I guess you can sort of understand why. This Femme Fatale that attracts all three men on separate occasions is played by none other than former beauty queen Lara Dutta. And the song and dance she does with Oberoi is especially spectacular. The casting department for Kaal must have noticed the blinding chemistry between Oberoi and Dutta in this film first. Just wait until all three of them find out that they've been cheating on their wives with the same woman, you will laugh your head off! Archana Puran Singh, Satish Shah and Ajay Devgan round out the supporting cast with hip-slapping-gut-ripping comedic roles. I didn't like the premise of cheating in the film but I couldn't help but laugh as the plot unfolded. If you don't like the premise of men cheating either, just sit back and watch the plot of Masti unfold. This film is one of my favourites.

I tend to enjoy Bollywood movies without shame, despite the campiness that makes my friends roll their eyes. For example, while the reviews were pretty harsh about Hum Tum, I thought it was cute and satisfying. However, this movie was just awful. The acting was incredibly bad, the story was stupid and abrasive, and the technical quality was dismal. It would not compare favorably to old Hee Haw reruns for subtlety and wit. I gave up half way through the movie. See it if you must, but don't use this movie as an introduction to Bollywood for your uninitiated friends or it will be their first and last. Of course your mileage may vary; numerous other reviewers seemed to think this movie was fabulous, just as several of my friends loved "Weekend at Bernie's" (and I've made it a point to discount their opinions ever since.)

This was a really funny movie. I have never seen so much sexual humor in an Indian movie before. It was a funny surprise. Everyone gave an awesome performance except for Ritesh Deshmukh. What was he doing in this starcast? He lacked any expressions whatsoever, and his acting was not convincing of all. My favorite was Aftab--he was hilarious! Lara, Vivek, Ajay, and the wives were great. The dialogues and the story was terrific, even if it got just a little serious in the second half. You can tell that the cast had great chemistry. Songs were good. "On the Roof, in the Rain" was the best with the title song as a close runner-up. It was nice how the songs maintained the light atmosphere of the movie.

I usually try to keep an open mind on movies and find at least one redeeming factor. In this case, I failed miserably.Masti is about three husbands who are frustrated with married life for various silly reasons. One wife (Amrita Rao) doesn't give any space, another one (Genelia D'Souza )wants her husband to be the Indian version of Arnold and the third one (Tara Sharma) is so absorbed with religion that her husband doesnt get any. So what do they do? They plan to have extra-marital affairs. Needless to say, things go wrong with all them and they end up in trouble.The second half of the movie is about how they get out of trouble. I wont subject you to a description. Its not because of the spoilers, but because its simply not worth my time to write it and your time to read it. Oh, the second half is when Ajay Devgan turns up, over and over again, in unexpected and unnecessary places. Its also when Lara Dutta puts in a reasonable performance. Reasonable because everyone else is so bad.Problems with the movie: 1) Lack of subtlety. The jokes are loud, the acting is loud, the scenes are loud. The movie is not funny. 2) Bad acting. You have to see it to believe it. The ladies can't act, cant dance and are not very pretty. The men simply scream out their lines and again, cant act very well. 3) Weak plot. Thats an understatement. Of the decade.In summary, don't waste your time. Go fish or play golf. Those activities will be much more entertaining.