Should Rohit Shetty apologize to Ranveer Singh fans for squandering such a talented performer in this thoughtless, moronic comedy? Should he apologize to his supporters for creating such an outmoded and unfunny picture in the first place? In 2006, his Golmaal was successful. That was sixteen years ago. But Shetty seemed to be trapped in that age.
His humor reaches a new low in Cirkus, and, unfortunately, Ranveer had to be a part of it. And, keep in mind, this is Ranveer in a dual role, and none of them could save a picture like this. I didn’t go into Cirkus with great hopes or expectations, but did I anticipate the final film of 2022 to be this bad? Some trailers may be quite misleading.
Cirkus began in the 1960s with the adoption of two pairs of orphans by two distinct families, one in Bangalore and the other in Ooty. However, Dr. Joy Jamnadas (Murali Sharma) exchanges one twin for the sake of an experiment in which he hopes to show his idea that ‘upbringing’ is more important than ‘bloodlines’.
Roy and Joy (Ranveer Singh and Varun Sharma in dual roles) are doing their own thing as youngsters and subsequently as grown-up men in separate locations. Roy is married to Mala (Pooja Hegde) in Ooty, while Roy is dating Bindu in Bangalore (Jacqueline Fernandez). Joy is content to be the third wheel wherever his brother travels. Unfortunately, this farcical comedy falls flat.
The first half is so mediocre that you can easily get away with a couple power naps. Cut to post-interval, when the confusion of everyone attempting to make sense of everything becomes even more humorous. Everything is overly loud, gaudy, and bland. For the sake of period humor, everyone is dressed in outrageous 1960s clothing, complete with gaudy headbands, printed fabrics, eccentric accessories, and bizarre hairdos.
The first half is so mediocre that you can easily get away with a couple power naps. Cut to post-interval, when the confusion of everyone attempting to make sense of everything becomes even more humorous. Everything is overly loud, gaudy, and bland. For the sake of period humor, everyone is dressed in outrageous 1960s clothing, complete with gaudy headbands, printed fabrics, eccentric accessories, and bizarre hairdos.
In the film, there are an infinite number of characters. Each one is brighter than the previous one. And everyone is exaggerating beyond belief. There are some awful males as well, individuals who appear to be really hilarious yet fail to make you laugh. Rather, they become unpleasant after a certain point. With so much going on and everyone trying so hard, comedy is nowhere to be found.
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Ranveer, in a relatively restrained performance, does what he has been told to do, but the impact is completely lacking. He’s clearly trying to be hilarious, but his jokes, whatever little there are, just don’t land. ‘The electric man,’ as he is affectionately known in Ooty for his capacity to withstand any voltage of current, never lets us feel that current in his performance. Varun, who has mastered the art of humor and has exceptional comic timing, fails to contribute any value to this period piece. I’m curious why Shetty didn’t think of utilizing that part of him instead of having him appear completely dull and out of his element.
Pooja, whose most recent Hindi film was Radhe Shyam, requires severe acting training, I reiterate. Her film presence is so forgettable that you notice the set décor in the sequences she appears in instead. Jacqueline isn’t much better, and she doesn’t get to do much more than serve as a glossy prop.
Sanjay Mishra, who plays Bindu’s loudmouthed and annoyingly trendy father, appears to be the most promising of the three, but his shrieking accent makes him a headache. Then there’s Momo (Siddhartha Jadhav – I adored him as sub-Inspector Santosh Tawade in Simmba and Sooryavanshi), a local robber, but Cirkus turns him into such a horribly caricaturish guy with a bizarre haircut who’s simply making funny expressions. Momo idolizes Polson Bhai (Johnny Lever), who adds nothing to the table other than being a member of this ridiculous gang of evil people. It doesn’t stop there. There are at least ten more supporting performers, each with a minor role to play, and Rohit makes them all appear amusing even when they aren’t.
I can’t think of a single sequence in Cirkus that might elicit the type of genuine laughter that moviegoers are accustomed to seeing in a Rohit Shetty picture. Deepika Padukone’s presence in the song Current Laga Re may make up for lost enjoyment, but it’s too little, too late.
The comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare is adapted into Cirkus. I’d leave you with that concept and give it some time to settle in since it may take some time. Only watch that if you are a huge Ranveer Singh fan and have the guts to see him become so inebriated.
