This plan goes haywire

"Can you review Plan?" a colleague called to ask yesterday. "But you will have to watch the first day, first show as there are no special screenings for the press," she added.

Having seen the film, I know why there wasn't any. There is nothing special about the film. No filmmaker in his right senses would want to show such a film to critics before its release.

Producer Sanjay Gupta and debutante director Hriday Shetty's Plan is pretentiously high on style but short on substance. The film leaves one totally numb with its overemphasis on loud background score and flashy camerawork.

Four starry-eyed, good-for nothings befriend each other on a train to Mumbai. Don't ask how such similar characters end up on the same train, compartment and adjacent seats and whether they all belonged originally to Allahabad.

More on rediff.com! Plan and Munnabhai not alike Quiz: Plan of action! Kareena walks the walk Manisha, Sush are paisa vasool!

Bobby (Dino Morea) is an Amitabh Bachchan fan and thinks he is India's future. Lucky (Sanjay Suri) is addicted to playing cards, and wants to try his luck in Mumbai rather than stay in his small town and run his father's grocery shop. Jai (Bikram Saluja) has run away from home to avoid an arranged marriage, and to meet his girlfriend (Riya Sen in a one-song, two-dialogue role). Omi (Rohit Roy) has been forcibly sent to the city by his father to retrieve Rs 1 lakh from a cheater.

In Mumbai, their only 'real contact' Jaggi (Sanjay Mishra), a pimp at Grant Road, helps them get accommodation at an under-construction building. Here, they start pursuing their dreams, without result. They are running out of money too.

Omi suggests they put in all their remaining money and let Lucky play a big gamble at the U-Turn casino. But when Lucky manages to convert their Rs 15,000 into Rs 1 lakh, they turn greedy and ask him to try his luck further. Cheated by the owner, Lucky loses and they run into a debt of Rs 7 lakh, which they have to pay up within a week.

Omi comes up with his next plan: kidnap a rich businessman and use the ransom amount to pay up the debt. But the plan goes haywire again as the victim turns out to be dreaded don Musabhai (Sanjay Dutt).

However, Musabhai realises his rival Sultan (Mahesh Manjrekar) had planned to kill him that same night. The kidnapping had actually saved his life. Forgiving the foursome, he helps Vicky settle scores at the U-Turn casino and gets Bobby his first role: filmmaker Atma (Razzak Khan) casts him opposite aspiring actress and girlfriend (Sameera Reddy).

Musabhai then teams up with the four to rescue his bar dancer girlfriend Rani (Priyanka Chopra) from Sultan's men and take revenge from Sultan, before asking the four to return to their hometown.

The film tests your patience and intelligence.

Sultan buys off three of Musabhai's men to kill him. And for the rest of the film, Musabhai has to depend on the four young friends for all his work. No gangsters, contacts or even bodyguards left for the city's biggest underworld don!

While Musabhai has no qualms asking the four young guys to kidnap his former aide, or ordering them to beat up the goons at the U-Turn casino, he suddenly wants them to become their old selves before the final showdown with Sultan. Reason: he does not want any more Musabhais!

Musabhai allows the four guys to accompany him to Sultan's hideout. And then lets Sultan beat him up to keep the boys out of trouble.

Must say, I can't understand this don's plans!

Wonder why San Francisco-based music composer Cheb I Sabbah filed a plagiarism case against the filmmakers. Anand Raj Anand's music is so bad, you would not have heard it anyway. The case must have only helped sell a few more albums.

The background score is deafening to say the least. And most action sequences were unwanted and avoidable. Director Hriday Shetty, son of late action coordinator Shetty, does nothing to leave an impression.

In a recent interview to rediff.com, the director claimed Sanjay Dutt's Munnabhai (in Raju Hirani's Munnabhai MBBS) and Musabhai were two different characters. He was right. While the role of Munnabhai was thoroughly fresh and enjoyable, Musabhai does not offer Dutt Jr anything we have not seen him do before as a bhai, except maybe sport Armani suits, Gucci shoes, Rolex watches and spiky hairdos.

Dino Morea seems to be improving with each outing: he has come a long way from his Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi and Raaz days. Not that it takes much to beat those. Sanjay Suri just about manages to break away from his good boy image. Bikram Saluja and Rohit Roy hold their own.

The 'heroines' have done complete justice to their roles. Whether its expressions or clothes, they display as little as they can.

Finally, only Mahesh Manjrekar stands out with a decent performance. He gives life to an under-developed role, adding menace with his mean eyes and irritating laugh. Hope he gets meatier parts in more meaningful, watchable films.

As for watching this one, I suggest you make other plans.

CREDITS:
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Dino Morea, Sanjay Suri, Bikram Saluja, Rohit Roy, Mahesh Manjrekar, Priyanka Chopra, Sameera Reddy, Riya Sen, Payal Rohatgi, Sanjay Mishra and Razzak Khan.
Director: Hriday Shetty
Producer: White Feather Films
Written by: Milap Jhaveri
Music: Anand Raj Anand