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By Taran
Adarsh, July 6, 2007 - 02:00 IST
 Assemble
the best comedians on one platform, choose a script
that gives them scope to display their inherent
talent, garnish it with witty one-liners, borrowing
names and references from real life to make it look
contemporary. Presto, a comic caper is ready to be
served!
JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA could've been a howlarious ride
that starts off in Mumbai and concludes in Goa, but
all you carry home are a few amusing sequences and the
well-penned, laced-with-wit dialogues.
Problem kya hain? The screenplay. There are points in
the narrative that prompt guffaws, chuckles, giggles
and chortles, but the narrative is stretched to a
point that you get restive and fidgety. Woh isliye,
because monotony seeps in after a point. Another area
that should've been controlled is its length. The
climax especially is reminiscent of the chase in HERA
PHERI and PHIR HERA PHERI. Interesting concept, but
why go on and on?
In short, JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA is aimed at the hoi
polloi, the masses, the aam junta and for them, the
journey to laughterland may be worth it.
JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA is the story is of Lal [Sunil
Pal] and Das [Vijay Raaz]. Lal is a dreamer who wants
to become big in life and start his own business. Das
is a driver, who used to work for a rich businessman,
but an irritating boss' nagging habits force him to
quit his job.
 Lal
wins Rs. 2 lacs by winning a contest and the duo plans
to set up a business. Das comes up with an idea to
start a travel agency. But they don't have enough
money. So they go to Chor Bazaar. Using spare parts of
old cars and imported cars, they create a bus. The
next task is to search the passengers for a ride to
Goa.
Lal finally manages to get 15-16 passengers by
offering them a discount. But the bus is so tacky that
the passengers demand their money back. Das comes up
with an idea and states that this is merely a pick-up
bus. The journey begins!
One of the passengers [Mac Mohan], who had been
abducted but has now escaped, meets with an accident
and dies midway. But before he breathes his last, he
tells the fellow passengers about the hidden treasure…
With so many comedians around, the writing focuses on
hilarious situations and one-liners. The motive is to
make you laugh. A few sequences do succeed, a few
don't. In an effort to pack just about everything on
the shelf, the writer seems to have overlooked the
fact that you need to tell your story in the shortest
possible time. Sure, a few scenes are well penned, by
why stretch the film unnecessarily? It dilutes the
impact!
 Comedy
is serious business and not all storytellers can pull
it off. In that respect, director Raj Pendurkar shows
a flair for comedy. In fact, he has the potential to
make aimed-at-masses entertainers in the future, but a
tight script is all he needs to concentrate on. On the
music front, there's just one song that stays in your
memory -- the title track. Cinematography is okay.
The actors do well in their respective roles, but the
ones who register an impression are Raju Shrivastava,
Sunil Pal, Vijay Raaz, Sudhir Pandey and Aasif Sheikh.
Tinnu Anand, Shakti Kapoor and Asrani don't get much
scope. Mac Mohan is alright. Sanjay Mishra goes over
the top.
On the whole, JOURNEY BOMBAY TO GOA is a fair attempt
that may appeal to those with an appetite for comic
capers. At the box-office, the extra-ordinary
promotion [quality as well as quantity], especially on
television, should attract footfalls at mass-dominated
screens and centres.
Rating:- * *
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