Once upon a time a talented director named Kundan Shah made a film called Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron that would redefine comedy in Bollywood. A decade later in the ’90s he would tickle the funny bone again, this time with a more simplistic, albeit thoroughly enjoyable flick. The film was Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, incidentally the first venture that a certain Shah Rukh Khan would sign.
Almost 10 years after KHKN, Shah’s new comedy Ek Se Badhkar Ek opens. The film took years to complete (it shows), and down the line the title of the film was changed from Kasamm Se to Ek Se Badhkar Ek.
All of which isn’t exactly a good sign for any film — more so, a comedy. Ek Se… suffers in this context, from what seems to be utter confusion (or is it lost interest?) on Shah’s part in his handling of sundry situations and characters.
The plot: A gardener (Suniel Shetty) must become the city’s biggest don to stake claim on the Rs 400 crore a millionaire has left for him, thanks to a goof-up on his lawyer’s (Shekhar Suman) part.
An ambitious lady cop (Raveena Tandon) wants to arrest the city’s biggest don. Add to the gibberish the story of a real don who wants to kidnap a nuclear scientist. Oh, and the lawyer loves the cop girl who loves the gardener/wannabe don, while there’s a gangster woman (Ishaa Koppikar) who loves the lawyer — phew, just forget it!
The cast by and large looks uninterested. Shekhar Suman gets a few snazzy oneliners, but that’s about it.