H ello Darling 's idea of humour involves actually spelling out the double entendre associated with the character of the lecherous boss Hardik Vasu (Javed Jaffery). But that's NOT how that name is spelt in the film and later one of the ladies draws our attention to the clever pun. More like punishment.
This is not the first time Nine to Five has been ripped off, but at least it had actors who didn't botch it up. When a film casts Celina Jaitley as Dolly Parton, you know what to expect.
The funniest line in the film is when Jaitley early on points out to her musician boyfriend that the tune he's singing is from another Subhash Ghai production (one that featured her as well). He says “Who cares” and she goes: “The audience cares”. Awww! Poor Celina!
Instead of being sensitive to the subject, director Manoj Tiwari plays it out like a lecherous man's fantasy. Instead of keeping it real, he makes his leading women sport plunging necklines and see-through tops and make coffee for their creepy boss who uses every opportunity to harass them.
Javed Jaffery is so funny that he gets away saying the most offensive of lines, while the miscast girls look dumb and dumber in made-to-order exploitation movie costumes. The writing isn't smart, it's plain juvenile.
Right from what the characters are named (Jaitley's character is called Candy) to what they are made to wear, it's all just an excuse for the makers to titillate the front-benchers.
Chunky Pandey and Seema Biswas provide a few laughs but it's the unintentional ones that make for better entertainment. Like Sunny Deol (getting wooden by the day) playing the cool boss. Or a prettier version of Uday Chopra playing Gul Panag's love interest. Or maybe it IS Uday Chopra with bad teeth hiding inside a turban.
Hello Darling
Genre : Comedy
Director : Manoj Tiwari
Cast : Gul Panag, Eesha Koppikar, Celina Jaitley, Javed Jaffery, Chunky Pandey
Storyline : Three women working at a fashion house decide to put an end to sexual harassment and get even with their boss.
Bottomline : A rip-off that uses the plot as an excuse to unleash juvenile double entendre and all the possible ways you can harass women at work.
Published - August 28, 2010 08:42 pm IST
