David Dhawan is not called the director of the masses no. 1 for nothing. His ‘no. 1’ series back in the 90’s have had been hits with the hero of masala no brainers – Govinda. This 25th December, it’s like celebrating the 25th anniversary of the comedy COOLIE NO 1 with its new-wine-in-old-bottle remake of the same name. The cast headlined with the namesake Govinda of current times – Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan supported by Paresh Rawal, Jaaved Jaffery and Sahil Vaid.
COOLIE NO 1 is strictly for the audience who enjoy no-brainer potboiler entertainers. Produced by Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Films, the movie was slated to be released earlier this year in May but had to be postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic so much so that it finally skipped the theatres and released on Amazon Prime Video.
Don’t miss Amitabh Bachchan’s very special appearance as coolie in a very special sequence blessing Varun Dhawan, heartening. Celebrating Christmas during this covid-19 pandemic times is a challenge in itself with stay home stay safe mantra. But here is a Christmas gift that can make families sit back and enjoy at home
Coolie No. 1 Plot
Matchmaker Pandit Jai Kishan (Jaaved Jaffery) is insulted by a rich business man Jeffery Rosario (Paresh Rawal) for bringing a ‘bus-travelling’ family for his daughter’s marriage. Utterly pissed off with the treatment, the Pandit vows to teach Rosario a lesson. (To think of it, what makes a pandit get a marriage proposal for a Christian family surprises) The Pandit sets up a plan and gets Rosario’s daughter Sara (Sara Ali Khan) married to Raju coolie (Varun Dhawan) in the guise of a billionaire. Soon enough Raju’s true identity is about to be exposed but he cooks up yet another story to cover up. One lie leads to another and things start to get messy.
The Dhawan’s are in their elements. David Dhawan, the entertainer of the masses, tries to cook up hilarious situations with Varun trying to get into the shoes of Govinda and Mithunda. He is loud yet confident in reprising the character & genre. Varun Dhawan does complete justice to dialogues written by Farhad Samji (reminding you of the typical Govinda style).
Paresh Rawal cake walks his part and reminds us of the numerous comedy characters he has done with Bharti Achrekar surprising us as his mother. Johnny Lever, as the police inspector tries to add to the humour along with Rajpal Yadav, could be called passable. Sara Ali Khan in the limited scope tries hard to get into the grove but manages. Anil Dhawan, the veteran actor gets to do his job well equally supported by Manoj Joshi.
The music of Coolie No. 1 is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Lijo George-DJ Chetas, Javed-Mohsin and Salim–Sulaiman. Lyrics are written by Sameer Anjaan, Rashmi Virag, Shabbir Ahmed, Danish Sabri, Ikka and Farhad Samji. The remixed version of ‘Main Toh Raste Se Jaa Raha Tha’ and ‘Husn Hai Suhana’ have been recreated for the film.
To recreate an original is more challenging than creating a new one. There would always be a comparison in the back of the mind for the audience who have seen the original. Overall, this festive season with covid-19 a reason, Coolie no. 1 could help families watch this entertainer in the comfy of their homes. COOLIE NO. 1 is a David Dhawan genre entertainer with outrageous, over the top situations that genre audience may find funny and entertaining. With so much of serious content being offered, Coolie no. 1 could prove to be an entertaining relief.
Watch Coolie No. 1 official trailer
Coolie No. 1 Cast: Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal, Javed Jaffrey, Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Lever, Sahil Vaid, Shikha Talsania, Vikas Verma, Manoj Joshi, Anil Dhawan, Bharati Achrekar
