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Marigold: An Adventure in India |
By Taran
Adarsh, August 17, 2007 - 01:00 IST
 We often criticize Bollywood for churning out movies
that make no sense. But after you've watched MARIGOLD,
you'd agree that Hollywood churns out bigger turkeys.
MARIGOLD, directed by American director Willard
Carroll, is as off-putting as a week-old omelette. In
fact, MARIGOLD has nothing to keep your eyeballs glued
to the screen. An apology of a story, a powerless
screenplay, shoddy visual effects, poor music and
nightmarish direction, that's the ideal description of
MARIGOLD. No redeeming aspects? Nothing, except for a
pretty looking Ali Larter.
Seriously, what were the makers thinking when they
okayed this amateurish piece of writing? Look at the
kind of cinema being churned out in India today. Good,
bad, whatever, it's better than MARIGOLD.
In a nutshell, MARIGOLD is a classic case of 'Bad
Cinema'. This one deserves to be watched by every
director for understanding what not to make. One big
yawn!
MARIGOLD is about a young American woman who travels
to India and finds that her life is transformed in the
most unexpected ways by her experiences and adventures
there.
 American actress Marigold [Ali Larter] arrives in
India with no luggage and a bad attitude. Stranded in
Goa when financing for her low-budget Hollywood movie
falls apart, Marigold finds herself cast in a small
role in a Bollywood musical. Eager to prove herself,
she enlists the aid of Prem [Salman Khan], the film's
choreographer. Marigold is most definitely not a
natural dancer, but she experiences renewed confidence
and growing love for Prem.
In rapid succession, Marigold discovers that Prem will
be marrying a beautiful India girl Janvi [Nandana Sen].
Unable to deal with this development, Marigold angrily
departs from Prem's family estate. But she is urged
back by Janvi who confesses that Prem doesn't love her
and never will.
Another complication arises in the form of Marigold's
boyfriend, Barry [Ian Bohen], who arrives in India
unexpectedly and finds Marigold very much in love with
Prem.
MARIGOLD disappoints on Level 1 itself. The storyline
brings back memories of the forgettable stuff that
dominated Hindi cinema in the 1970s. Thanks to a poor
plotline, what unravels in the next 2 hours is as
spiceless as boiled food. There's not a single moment
in the film that makes you jump with joy or pine for
the lovers.
The writing is so inane and amateurish that you
actually pinch yourself, Is this for real? Are you
actually watching a film or watching a bad dream?
That's applicable for Willard Carroll's direction as
well. Without doubt, 'The Razzie' for 2007 should be
awarded to Mr. Carroll. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is
of fast-forward quality. Anil Mehta's cinematography
is alright, although the D.O.P. isn't in form here.
The production design/sets are tacky.
 Salman Khan is terrible and so is his dialogue
delivery. What were you saying in the movie, Mr. Khan?
Were you chewing beetle nut? His lines are hardly
audible. Also, he tries hard to ape the American
accent, but falls flat. Ali Larter is as fresh as
Marigold, the flower, not the movie. Her performance
is quite interesting.
Vikas Bhalla is pure teakwood. So is Roopak Saluja --
absolutely wooden. Suchitra Pillai does well. Nandana
Sen is unintentionally funny. Rakesh Bedi makes you
laugh, for the right reasons. Vijayendra Ghatge and
Kiran Juneja seemed to have walked out of the sets of
DHARAM-VEER. And what was Gulshan Grover doing in this
film? Ian Bohen adds to the list of non-actors.
On the whole, MARIGOLD is a terrible film with gloomy
prospects. A sure-shot disaster!
Rating:- *
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