Cast: Gul Panag, Celina Jaitley, Eesha Koppikar
Director: Manoj Tiwari
Devoid of a single original idea and packed with sexual innuendo, Hello Darling starring Gul Panag, Celina Jaitley and Eesha Koppikar is a shameless rip-off of the 1980 office comedy Nine to Five, about three harassed co-workers who get even with their sexist boss.
Our leading ladies are employed at a garments firm where they are routinely hit on by their oversexed superior, a salivating lecherous Javed Jaffrey who stars as Hardik -- a name that's mispronounced more than once in this film to generate a few cheap chuckles.
There are dozens of references to sexual organs, at least two typical gay jokes, and so many tight close-ups of the actress' breasts that you'd think the film would at least work as a naughty sex comedy. It doesn't because the premise disintegrates into sheer silliness, and because the acting's so labored.
You don't expect grandiose performances in a film like this, but how hard can it be to look like you're enjoying yourself? Apart from Eesha Koppikar who makes an effort to create something of a character out of her not-so-smart Haryanvi bumpkin, the rest of the actors seem to be having a hard time just remembering their lines.
The humor's strictly low-brow, and despite that there are a few moments that'll make you laugh in the first half. But by the time you return to your seat after intermission, the jokes appear to have dried up. Even Sunny Deol, who makes a special appearance, doesn't appear to think much of this film to even bother with dubbing his own dialogues; they've got a voice artiste to mimic his tone.
What's particularly offensive about this film is that it wants to be taken seriously while addressing sexual harassment and gender politics. Now that's too much to ask!
I'm not prudish and there is such a thing as a smart sexual farce, but there's nothing even remotely smart about this film. It's tiring and not very funny in the end. For that I'm going with one out of five for director Manoj Tiwari's Hello Darling. It's the kind of film that makes you squirm in your seat.
Rating: 1 / 5
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