Sanju's no Robert De Niro; or Big B Billy Crystal Hum Kisise Kum Nahin shrinks your patience

Syed Firdaus Ashraf

Logic was never the strong point of a David Dhawan film [Biwi No 1, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Kyon Kii...Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta]. But there was always a thread that connected with and appealed to the audiences.

That quality is largely missing in Hum Kisise Kum Nahin (loosely inspired from the Robert De Niro-Billy Crystal starrer Analyze This, directed by Harold Ramis).

Munnabhai (Sanjay Dutt) falls head over heels in love with Komal (Aishwarya Rai), and is unable to concentrate on anything else. All he does is daydream about her. Which is good news for Mumbai --- with its decreasing crime rate and extortion revenues of his cronies.

Munna Mobile (Annu Kapoor) and Pappu Pager (Satish Kaushik), two of Munnabhai's closest henchmen, cannot bear to see the lovelorn condition of their boss. To cure him of his strange ailment, they take him to reputed shrink Doctor Rastogi (Amitabh Bachhan).

The doctor tells Munnabhai that he needs to win the heart of the girl he loves. Little does he realise that it is his own sister that Munnabhai is talking about.

Dr Rastogi and Komal take off for Malaysia where she is to be engaged to the son of the doctor's former classmate. Tagging along with them is Raja (Ajay Devgan), Komal's true love, masquerading as her bodyguard.

To complicate matters, Munnabhai ends up in Malaysia, too, where he discovers that the doctor and his ladylove are siblings.

Three people now vie for Komal's hand. Here on, it is all about who is the better man.

The film fails to hold the attention, thanks mainly due to the implausible plot. The digs at the Mumbai police force, however, are entertaining.

Among the performances, Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt keep the viewers engaged in the beginning but they irritate post-intermission. Aishwarya Rai does not have too meaty a part. All she does is attend dance class and fret at the thought of Munnabhai wanting to marry her.

Ajay Devgan is a disaster. His underwritten character fails to do him justice. Paresh Rawal in the role of a Police Commissioner is wasted too.

Anu Malik's music is a tune best forgotten. Which then makes this film a big disappointment.