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Hattrick |
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| Movie: | Hattrick |
| Director: | Milan Luthria |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Start Cast: |
Kunal Kapoor, Rimi Sen, Nana Patekar, Danny Denzongpa, Paresh Rawal |
| Music: | Pritam Chakraborthy, Rajesh Roshan |
| Our Rating: |
* |
| Release Date: | March 16, 2007 |
| Review By: | Warren Jonathan |
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 ‘Hattrick’, the first movie to cash in on the world cup fever across the subcontinent was not able to deliver the same degree of exhilaration as the hattrick by Pathan against the Pakistanis at Karachi in 2006. After seeing the movie one would feel that ‘No Ball’ or ‘Stumped’ would have perhaps proved to be a more suitable title for the movie. The movie is spun around three storylines – the first revolves around Kunal Kapoor and Rimi Sen who play a newly wed couple, the second is about a stone-faced doctor (Nana Patekar) in charge of a hospital and his patient (Danny Dennzongpa) who wants to watch the world cup before his operation. The third storyline revolves around Paresh Rawal, a ‘desi’ trapped in racist London but with a longing for British citizenship. However, in an effort to construct the storyline around cricket, the director only manages to show the sport in a negative light. |
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 Firstly, cricket almost becomes the cause of a marriage break-up when the husband (Kunal Kapoor) finds the Indian cricket team more interesting that his sensuous wife (Rimi Sen). This obsession for cricket and to watch the world cup goes to the extent of canceling their plans for a subsequent honeymoon. In the second storyline, cricket becomes the cause of delay in the kidney transfer of an ex-cricketer (Danny Denzongpa) who wants to watch the World Cup before going under the knife. The conceptualisation of the plot was very interesting and could have been a laughable comedy but it ended up being a de-railed comedy from the laughter track. Paresh Rawal portrays a ‘desi’ trapped in racist London. He plays his role as a janitor at Heathrow airport to the optimum. Unfortunately, he has to come back to India to visit his aged mother. However, like a batsman refusing to budge from the wicket even after he has been given out by the umpire, Paresh refuses to step out of the island country before acquiring English citizenship. Though he likes Tendulkar, Dhoni and the others, he prefers to bow before posters of Her Highness the Queen in order to feel more British. |
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 All the three plots develop simultaneously with the doctor-patient talk between Nana and Danny, the stubbornness of Paresh Rawal and the occasional husband-wife face-off between Kunal Kapoor and Rimi Sen. The movie sees guest appearances by John Abraham and commentators Harsha Bhogle and Gautam Bhimani. Singer Usha Uthup makes an appearance in her song, which proves to be the musical highlight of the movie. On a positive note, all is not bad with ‘Hattrick’. The movie manages to score a few points in the performance department. The characters are breezy and lovable. Kunal Kapoor plays a cricket-obsessed husband who turns against the game when he finds his wife (Rimi Sen) fantasizing about Dhoni. Rimi on the other hand, frustrated by her husband’s lack of interest in her, ignores him and his efforts of conciliation. The only thing that generates a spark in her up is the mere mention or thought of the longhaired Indian wicketkeeper batsman – Dhoni. Danny makes a refreshing comeback after years of self-imposed exile from Bollywood as the ex-cricketer staring death in the face with similar grit and determination that Dravid shows while being on the receiving end of a Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar delivery.
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| The scriptwriter, Rajat Arora, tries hard to deliver a storyline that is topical but he tries much and achieves woefully little. However, the dialogues are witty and songs keep jingling in and jangling out. The cinematography is lively. The sad part is that one expects so much from the director but he fails to deliver. Perhaps he is in wait for a script of substance! |
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