Movie review ‘Entertainment’: It’s dog-tiring

Director: Sajid-Farhad

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tamannah Bhatia, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood, Mithun Chakraborty and Junior, the wonder dog

Rating: 1 star

The film is one more reason why Bollywood should never attempt an animal-centric film. Nobody was expecting a Marley and Me here but then this film is not even able to provide the brainless fun which we had mentally prepared ourselves for. This reviewer is trying hard to not use the word “entertainment” for it has been redefined by director duo Farhad-Sajid.

The film tells the story of a struggler Akhil Lokhande (Akshay Kumar) whose profession is a mystery. From a phony umpire to a background dancer to a teleshopping channel actor, he seems to be trying everything to earn a living. His lady love Saakshi (Tamannaah Bhatia) is a television actress. They want to marry but Saakshi’s father Mithun Chakraborty won’t hear it. He wants a rich husband for his daughter. “No sympathy, only sampatti.”

Akshay, who has no game plan, vows to be rich and seal the deal. Luck shines on him in a way it can only happen in Bollywood when he stumbles upon an unopened chest in his home. He finds some letters and a locket that tells him he is the DNA of a Bangkok-based diamond merchant. DNA? Daddy’s Najayaz Aulad. In a serendipitous turn of events the daddy Dalip Tahil (confined to a garlanded photo frame) breathes his last leaving no legitimate waaris for his 3,000 crore property. Our Mr DNA promptly lands in Bangkok to claim his rightful share, only to find that everything has been left to the wonder dog Entertainment, who is his half-brother. The rest of the film is a game of one-upmanship or should we say one-updogship. First it’s Akshay versus Entertainment and then some mysterious second cousins, Karan and Arjun (played by Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood) appear out of nowhere to grab their share.

The dialogues try to poke fun at Bollywood and television stereotypes but when it happens a little too often, at the rate of one joke per line, the film continues to fall deeper into the ditch it has dug. Just to give you an example: “Tut oh itna unlucky ali hai ki teri life ki toh Jacqueline lag gayi”. “Diya Mirza bhi lekar dhundega toh Deepak Tijori se aisa khazana nahi milega.” “Jaisi karni waisi Mamta Kulkarni” You get the picture.

For the most part of the film we wonder why is Akshay screaming so much. It’s surprising that his tonsils don’t pop out. But some lines had to be drawn I guess. The only real entertainment in the film is provided by Johnny Lever who plays a lawyer called Habibullah. You wish the funny man had more screen time.

Tamannah does a good job as the committed girlfriend ready to do anything Akshay asks her to, including seducing Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood. The two villains add to the ham fest with their cheesy lines and contorted expressions. As regards Mithun’s character who advises his daughter to marry a dog, the lesser said the better. A colossal waste of a veteran actor. And you can always count on Akshay (again very badly wasted in this film) to holler out every five minutes. There is a scene where when a dog dangles from Sonu’s crotch, Akshay screams, “Don’t move! The ball is in his court.”

There’s no story, no script and the worst CG ever, but there may be a chuckle or two. Perhaps that’s you laughing at yourself for having to lead such a dog’s life for 140 minutes to be precise.