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By
Taran Adarsh, May 5, 2006 - 16:05 IST
 In
a career spanning almost two decades, right from their
debut Hindi film AGNEEKAAL to their last release
AITRAAZ, director duo Abbas-Mustan have handled
thrillers proficiently. The mystery element worked
extremely well in films like KHILADI, BAAZIGAR and
HUMRAAZ.
The baazigar of thrillers now present yet another
whodunit, 36 CHINA TOWN. Naturally, the expectations
run high, also because the combo -- producer Subhash
Ghai and director duo Abbas-Mustan -- made a
noteworthy impact in their first outing together,
AITRAAZ.
Like Abbas-Mustan's previous outings, 36 CHINA TOWN
bears a glossy look from scene A to Z, but for any
whodunit to strike a chord, it ought to keep the
viewer on the edge of the seat, making him/her chew
the nails till the penultimate reel. Also, if the
identity of the killer catches you by surprise no
sooner the mystery is solved, it's a clear sign of
victory. But if it doesn't, the
makers ought to realize that they've missed the bus.
Unfortunately, 36 CHINA TOWN doesn't get the grammar
of whodunit right.
Suspense fares like TEESRI MANZIL, JEWEL THIEF, MERA
SAAYA and BEES SAAL BAAD or, for that matter, even
Abbas-Mustan's BAAZIGAR worked because [i] The writing
was foolproof, [ii] the suspense quotient was
intriguing and [ii] the climax was the highpoint. 36
CHINA TOWN fails on all the three counts!
To cut a long story short, 36 CHINA TOWN only cements
the fact that gloss can never substitute for a
spellbinding story. If the foundation [script] itself
is shaky, none of the support systems [star power,
music, exotic locales] can salvage the show.
Sonia [Isha Koppikar] is the owner of a casino in Goa.
A successful entrepreneur, the only love in her life
is her son. When the toddler suddenly goes missing,
the lady is distraught and distressed. She offers a
huge reward [Rs. 25 lacs] to anyone who can trace her
son.
 Raj
[Shahid Kapoor] and Priya [Kareena Kapoor], two
strangers from different backgrounds, accidentally
spot the child and decide to split the reward money
given by Sonia. But when they finally reach Sonia's
mansion late at night, they find her murdered!
Raj and Priya panic and escape from the mansion. In
the confusion that follows, Priya forgets her suitcase
in the mansion. Soon, they are the chief suspects in
the murder. The cop [Akshaye Khanna] realizes that
this isn't an open-and-shut case,
since a number of new suspects show up while the
investigations are on.
The suspects include two couples [Johny Lever-Tanaaz /
Paresh Rawal-Payal Rohatgi], a playboy [Upen Patel], a
drunkard [Raj Zutshi] and the domestic help [Dinyar
Contractor, Roshan Tirandaaz]. Who's the murderer? And
what is the motive?
36 CHINA TOWN has too many things crammed in those
2.30 hours. Or, perhaps, the writer [Shyam Goel]
wanted to play safe and decided to add every
ingredient available on the shelf. The pre-release
promotions give an indication that 36 CHINA TOWN is a
whodunit, but it comes across as a regular masala
movie, with emphasis on songs, romance and comedy.
36 CHINA TOWN begins with a playboy wooing girls of
all shapes and sizes and breaking into a song [filmed
on Upen], which is immediately followed by another
song [Shahid's intro with Tanushree Dutta]. That makes
it two songs in the first twenty minutes itself. No
sooner do the songs end, it's time to make way for
some light moments [Paresh, Johny, Payal, Tanaaz],
followed by a dream song [Shahid, Kareena] and some
romantic moments. In between, a pivotal character is
murdered and minutes before the intermission, the
focus is back on the murder.
 Post-interval,
you expect the writer to divert our attention to the
murder mystery alone. The viewer is keen to know the
suspects, the actual murderer and the motive behind
the murder. But in the second hour too, the writer
doesn't want you to think of murder alone. So there's
loads of comedy [Johny Lever and the suitcase
portion], comedy during the cross-examination [Paresh-Payal-Upen
track] and a dream song in the prison cell [Shahid-Kareena].
Clearly, 36 CHINA TOWN is letdown by a sloppy script.
In fact, one wonders how the supremely talented
directors actually okayed such sub-standard writing in
the first place. The biggest flaw is, without doubt,
the climax of the film. The identity of the killer is
such an anti-climax. What were the directors and
writer thinking when they came up with such a thanda
end? Seems like the end was penned by some
kindergarten kids!
Abbas-Mustan's direction is handicapped by an apology
of a script. Even otherwise, the film lacks the
by-now-famous stamp of the duo, especially in dramatic
scenes. Himesh Reshammiya's music is the only saving
grace. 'Aashiqui Meri', '24 x 7' and 'Badi Dilchaspi
Hai' are foot-tapping and what acts as an icing is
that each track has been filmed exquisitely.
Cinematography [Ravi Yadav] is wonderful. Dialogues [Anurag
Prapanna] are poor. Editing [Hussain Burmawala] is
slick. The edit of both the versions of 'Aashiqui Meri'
track is commendable.
 Akshaye
is, as always, proficient. His is the only performance
that stands out. Kareena doesn't really get any scope.
Shahid tends to go over the top. He needs to control
his facial expressions. Upen Patel makes a fine debut.
He seems confident.
Paresh Rawal and Johny Lever contribute to some good
comedy. Isha Koppikar is wasted. Payal Rohatgi and
Tanaaz are mere props. Vivek Shauq, Raj Zutshi, Viveck
Vaswani, Dinyar Contractor and Roshan Tirandaaz are
gap-fillers. As for Priyanka Chopra's surprise
appearance, it's insignificant and seems forced.
On the whole, 36 CHINA TOWN is high on hype, but low
on substance. Disappointing!
Rating:- * 1/2
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