‘Garud Puran’ was touted as a good movie even before its release. (Or at least a few people in my circle, who suggested that I watch the film, thought so.) In the trailer, the plot appeared bland and the dialogues stilted. But I still wanted to give it the benefit of doubt. Never judge a book by its cover, right? But my worst fears were realized when I actually saw it. At no point did I laugh. Nor did the film evoke any feeling other than utter ennui. ‘Garud Puran’ is the story of four central characters. Henriks (Najir Hussain) wants to go abroad to work and has already been cheated four times while trying to do. His friend Rambo (Karma), is a virgin eager to lose his you-know-what. So you can expect an overdose of sexual innuendos and double-entendres, and which, in fact, were more cringe-worthy than funny.
To the plot, then. Henriks and Rambo are best friends. Karan (Prabeen Khatiwada) is in love with Jyoti (Priyanka Thakuri), who is always demanding an Oppo phone and sounds like she would sleep with anyone who meets her materialistic needs. The whole film revolves around these four characters.
There are many things not to like about the film. First, its name. Garun Puran is a Hindu scripture believed to help departed souls go to heaven and inspire the living to pursue a meaningful life. But the movie has nothing to do with any of these themes. Second, parts of the film have no logic.
For starters, it opens with Henriks’ family walking to the airport with band baaja even as his flight ticket is unconfirmed. Who does that? Then, at the end, all central characters come to a park where there is a bag with Rs 7 million in cash, of which Rs 5 million is fake. Two protagonists take out a few lakhs of real money. (Don’t ask how they knew which bundles were real.) In the end, the police nabs the single villain who is caught with fake notes.
Who should watch it?
If you are a die-hard slapstick comedy fan—good, bad, ugly, you like them all—and can put up with a poor plot, then you may enjoy it. Otherwise, don’t bother.
The pacing is inconsistent as well. The directors, it appears, tried to copy scenes from similar Bollywood movies like ‘Golmaal’ and ‘Dhamaal’. But without a fresh twist, these efforts fail miserably.
The background score is praiseworthy though, fitting the scenes well and making characters come alive. The cinematography also elicits audience hooting in places.
The movie’s central failing is that the directors push too hard to evoke emotions in the audience
Karma and Najir Hussain both entered the cinema world after their successful theater careers. Perhaps this is why they are unconvincing at the start of the film and their acting gets better as the movie progresses. As her first film, Priyanka’s acting can be considered passable. Loonibha Tuladhar, who plays Najir’s overbearing aunt, perfectly fits the role: comedy, after all, is her forte.
MOVIE: GARUD PURAN
GENRE: Comedy
CAST: Najir Hussain, Karma, Priyanka Singh Thakuri
DIRECTION: Subash Koirala,Sushan Prajapati
