Bombay to Bangkok (2008)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Nagesh Kukunoor

Writer:

Nagesh Kukunoor (writer)

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (India)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Same Same But Different

Plot:

Chef Shankar Bhatawdekar lives a middle-classed lifestyle in Mumbai along with his widowed mom. After an encounter with a gangster named Khan...

Plot Keywords:

Bangkok | Gangster | Masseuse | Viagra | Kiss

Cast

Lena Christensen	...	Jasmine 'Jani' (as Lina Christianson)
Vikram Inamdar	...	Dr. Tripathi
Yatin Karyekar
Vijay Maurya	...	Jamal 'Jam-K' Khan
Rajeshwari Sachdev	...	Dr. Rati
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Khan
Manmeet Singh	...	Rash Singh
Shreyas Talpade	...	Shankar 'Singh' Bhatawdekar
Jeneva Talwar

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Kho Chang, Khao Yai, Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Mukta Searchlight Films

Soundtrack:

We are same same but different

A Slow But Fun Trip From Bombay To Bangkok

While 'Bombay To Bangkok' may not rank among Kukunoor's best films, it is a very entertaining, adventurous and sweet flick. Hearing all the negative comments, I was still hoping that the film wouldn't be as bad. It wasn't bad. Yes there are flaws. I found the pacing to be slow and I thought Kukunoor could have added some more spice by building more humour. Some have complained that there wasn't enough of the beauty of Thailand in the film. While that may have made the film more pleasant to look at, it's still a film not a travel documentary. So I don't hold this as a major flaw and we still get to see some sights and sound of the country.

In a few scenes, Kukunoor parodies his other film 'Iqbal'. He includes the cast: Shreyas Talpade, Yatin Karyekar and the great Naseeruddin Shah. There's part of the 'Aashayein' song which is hilariously used. There are plenty of such laughing moments. The love story between the doctor and the gangster rapper is hilariously endearing.

The songs are quite funny too. 'Sama Same but Different' is quite catchy while most of the other songs (there aren't as many) are included in the background.

Debutante Lina Christianson adds an exotic freshness to the cast. She has a lovely smile, good screen presence and shares a wonderful chemistry with Talpade. Shreyas Talpade totally owns up to the character. The actor is showing more of his versatility and becoming one of the finest actors of the current generation. Vijay Maurya is laugh out loud as the gangster rapper. One just has to watch it to see what I mean. Naseeruddin Shah is only there in one scene but he further adds to the comic relief.

I also liked how Kukunoor, in a subtle way brought forth taboo issues such as prostitution. There's a splendid scene where Shankar tries to convince Jasmine to leave her job and Jasmine cleverly answers to him that it's just a regular job for which she works hard. One has to listen to the dialogue to understand the full essence of the scene.

I would like to add that one shouldn't expect anything from 'Bombay to Bangkok' other than a fun comedy. It's certainly not as bad as critics have labelled it to be. It may not be as great as Kukunoor's 'Dor', 'Iqbal' and 'Teen Deewarein' but it is one that can be easily enjoyed with friends.