patiala house movie review

How stupid!Bauji (Kapoor) is a self-made Sikh tycoon from Southall, London.Needless to say, it takes a chirpy love bird to show Gattu the way to glory and gratification …In comes Simran (Anuskha Sharma in a role that’s fast becoming stereotype) who cajoles (read Kajols) him to take on the second chance that a beleaguered English cricket team has provided him.Or even try cross-country options like IPL…But that’s not to be.The best part of the film is the opportunity to see cricketers Nasser Hussain, David Gower and Graham Gooch taking guard on the Bollywood pitch.Most of the support players do a decent job.And this secret weapon was made known to Gattu by none other than Bauji, that grumpy old man who loves cricket, knows much about the game’s intricacies but wants his genius son to keep away….But Advani’s Indians come from god knows where!Strangely, the Indian team is nowhere to be seen throughout the T-20 tournament - maybe Advani wished to avoid an “Indian Vs India” clash on screen.As for Akshay, he does look a cricketer.We know Akshay’s character is inspired by cricketer Monty Panesar.So he condemns the British Goras 24/7 while building a fortune on their land 24/ Worse, he doesn’t allow his cricket prodigy son Pargat (Akshay Kumar) to bloom into a fast bowler…Reason - he can’t bear to see his son play for England.Predicatbly, Gattu leads the Englishmen to victory adopting the unusual bowling action of the legendary Lala Amarnath (That’s the only authentic part of Advani’s research).So Pargat grows up into Gattu, a subdued, recluse kind of a guy who manages a mundane departmental store - all to make his father happy.

Their dreams would start rolling the moment he takes guard.Till of course, Bauji finds out and the usual “Bollywood” melodrama takes over only to make way for a happy end.Advani, give us a break - these are self-assured individuals from the current crop with well- defined goals in life and yet, they dance to the tunes of a certain Bauji just because he’s been their support system for long… And worse, the onus of mutiny is only on Gattu.Sanjay Manjrekar brings the same monotony to his role that he usually brings to his TV commentary.Now such families won’t exist even in a remote Indian village (read Peepli), forget Southall.His meek submission also seals the fate of a dozen other young things in the family who suppress their ambition for the family cause.This is another of those “Zero to Hero” roles that Akshay has been doing for long but the backdrop of cricket and absence of slapstick add some novelty to his character.Not many of our film stars would albeit his bowling action and on-field antics suffer a touch of needless histrionics.We also know that English cricket has been deprived of trump card talent for years… But the English board was never so desperate so as to suffer the wrath of a certain Bauji whose nod to his son’s selection alone would decide either redemption or ruin for the team.Keiron Pollard, Andrew Symonds and Gibbs provide some amusing moments.He’s lost his relative to racial discrimination.The entire family reunites to shield Gattu from Bauji’s prowl - Gattu has a new name ‘Kaali”, TV cable is cut-off, newspapers are whisked off …all to keep ‘Bauji” at bay while the matches are on.In line with the script’s demand, they should have roped in ‘son of the soil’ Navjyot Sidhu instead.Advani.It’s good to see rap-star Hard Kaur play a delightful cameo.His Sidhuisms would not have been out of place here.One wonders what stops dear Bauji from packing his bags and rushing off to India especially when Pargat shows his flair at such a tender age.Sharma is convincing, Rishi is rock-solid as ever, though his legendary co-star Dimple is thoroughly wasted.