One Two Three

Director: Ashwani Dheer
Producer: Kumar Mangat, Sunil Lulla
Starring: Suniel Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Upen Patel, Esha Deol,

Sameera Reddy, Tanishaa
Music: Raghav Sachar

One who has watched television serial 'Office Office' cannot easily miss a comedy coming from writer-turned-director Ashwini Dhir. His debut 'One Two Three' opened today at the box office. Being a tag of comedy the movie got quick response, but due to India - South Africa cricket match it has failed to get as much response as expected by the debutant director.

Let's watch what special Ashwini Dheer brings to us with 'One Two Three'. This is indeed an improvement on other movies falling under this genre. The movie has both its originality and wit. In fact, it's mix of high as well as low quality of humor besides excellent performances from a number of the top star cast. So, the audience will certainly have a good time when watching it in theater and also for quite some time outside it.

'One Two Three' is a tale of three men from various parts of India, each having his own characterization and identity. It basically revolves around these very three men who share a common name Laxmi Narayan due to which various confusions start and the basic plot of the film is established.

The story starts with the introduction of the three main characters as Laxmi Narayan 1, 2 and 3, wherein Laxmi Narayan 1 being played by Tusshar Kapoor is a young and aspiring emotional shooter from the underworld whose only aim is to fulfill his mother's dream of becoming the most popular don. Laxmi Narayan 2 being played by Suneil Shetty is an automobile salesman from Mumbai aiming in life to keep his boss happy However, in the meanwhile he turns out a confused and annoying character.

Laxmi Narayan 3 being played by Paresh Rawal is a small dealer of undergarments, which he sells in a mobile car on the streets of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. The story proceeds with the three of them reaching a single destination called Pondy for their three different jobs.

While Laxmi Narayan 1 (Tusshar Kapoor) reaches Pondy on a mission to shoot somebody, Laxmi Narayan 2 (Suneil Shetty) is there to buy a vintage car from a beautiful and sexy girl called Laila (Sameera Reddy) who runs a used-cars showroom and Laxmi Narayan 3 (Paresh Rawal) reaches Pondy to select the designs for his new lingerie for Valentine collection from sweet and simple girl Jiya played by Esha Deol; she is an undergarments designer and needs the cash badly to save her late father's hotel from being taken over.

It is now that the entire confusion starts with an exchange of three different envelopes for their different jobs as all of them have a common name of Laxmi Narayan. So, all of them reach a place. Incidentally, there's also a priceless diamond that everyone wants to obtain and underworld kingpin Bhai (Manoj Pahwa reveling in some fantastic one-liners) sends Laxmi Narayan (Kapoor) to bump off a hilarious don D'Mello (Mukesh Tiwari) for the diamond.

A lady cop (Neetu Chandra) doing a Haryanavi accent adds to the fun. Thus, identities get crisscrossed and sweet confusion maintains over next few sequences. The story now is full of fun, comedy and laughter leading to a climax most unexpected.

While talking about the characters of Laxmi Narayan trio -- Suneil Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor and Paresh Rawal - Paresh Rawal scores number one status while Suneil Shetty and Tusshar Kapoor score number two and three positions, respectively. Among female characters, Neetu Chandra stands ahead of others with Sameera Reddy and Esha Deol following her as number two and three. The director has given due respect to them even without any demand from feminists.

This is all the more important in a comedy like this which deals with relatively light subjects. Esha has succeeded as a Tamil-spouting hotel owner and Sameera Reddy as showroom owner. Neetu Chandra hasn't left any stone unturned to justify her character.

Technically, the filmmaker has badly failed in following the latest techniques. So, the movie looks as old as if made some ten years ago. This is indeed shocking, especially in view of the presence of an eminent comedian as Ashwani Dhir. This is all the more irritating that the movie's songs which are excellent and listenable are rendered and ended abruptly.

They lack the pace. Except the title track and one or two other songs all the other songs are boring and nothing to do with subject. Songs like Gotta Rock Mahiya and the title song One Two Three are most enjoyable.

Similarly, music by Raghav Sachar is good and lyrics by Aditya Dhar and Munna Dhiman are excellent indeed. Cinematography is average though. The movie's USP is its star cast.

Being a writer of comedy script debutant Ashwini Dhir has done his job up to the mark and needs a big round of applause. Overall, the movie is good and worth watching entertainer.