Cirkus Review: Rohit Shetty and Ranveer Singh’s comedy of errors tries hard to make you laugh

Name: Cirkus

Director: Rohit Shetty

Cast: Jacqueline Fernandez,Ranveer Singh,Varun Sharma,Pooja Hegde

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Plot:

A set of identical twins from Mr. Roy Jamnadas’ orphanage finds families from different cities that are ready for their adoption. Mr. Roy (Murali Sharma) the doctor is determined on proving his theory ‘nurture above nature’ and takes an extreme step to prove that the values one imbibes build a person’s traits and that inheritance has no major role in it. Both sets of twins, Joy (Varun Sharma) and Roy (Ranveer Singh) live their happy life in Bangalore and Ooty, until one of the sets decides to visit Ooty, where the other brothers are running a Cirkus, and that’s when the comedy or errors begin. While one of the twins is immune to electric shock, the other one, in another city, has a severe effect of this and radiates electricity. Cirkus, directed by Rohit Shetty is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. Do the twins realise their true identity? Is Dr. Roy’s ‘nurture above nature’ theory proven? These two questions form the basic crux of the story.

What works

Rohit Shetty and Ranveer Singh are a deadly combination, and there are no second thoughts about it. Slapstick comedies are difficult to make but Shetty always gets it right as he’s aware of the pulse of his audience. The larger-than-life sets, the bright palette and the texture of the film is Rohit’s forte, which caters to the masses. The projection of the beautiful tea estates, and the peculiar characteristics of every character adds life to Cirkus. When it comes to casting, Rohit has never let anyone down. He is known for sticking by his team and repeating his actors, which gives the audience a feeling of relatability. With chequered jackets, polo neck t-shirts, high waist pants, thick moustache, gelled hair of Ranveer and Varun, the costume designers left no stone unturned to convince that the story is set in the vintage era of the 60s. Pooja Hegde and Jacqueline Fernandes’ heavy hair wig, thick eyebrows, and attire also do the magic. The timing of how one situational error leads to another is marvellous. It wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t talk about the current chain scene. Yes, the scene reminds you of Priyadarshan’s cult film, Hungama, but I wonder if there’s any other way in which one can execute that scene. The second half elevates the film in terms of content and screenplay. It gives you opportunities to laugh your guts out.

How can we not talk about the ‘Current Laga’ track featuring Deepika Padukone? It’s the major highlight of the film. From its choreography, costume, music, the art direction, everything about this song is ‘paisa vasool.’

What doesn’t work

With blockbusters like the Golmaal and Singham franchise, Simba and Sooryavanshi, Rohit Shetty has set a benchmark for himself. Comparisons of his new film to these iconic movies are bound to happen, and unfortunately, Cirkus doesn’t match those parameters. This is a quintessential Rohit Shetty film, which surprisingly didn’t have cars flying. Except for a scene or two involving Siddharth Jadhav and Sanjay Mishra, you will yearn to laugh in the first half. Cirkus missed the punchlines and the newness that the audience craves from a Rohit Shetty film. The makers went a little overboard with Murali Sharma’s story narration to the camera.
 

Performances

Cirkus tick marks all the boxes when it comes to performance. Ranveer Singh’s finesse as an actor to portray dual characters with distinctiveness is applauseworthy. Varun Sharma is a surprise package, who effortlessly makes people laugh. However, for me, the actual heroes of Cirkus are Siddharth Jadhav and Sanjay Mishra. There isn’t a dull moment with them on screen. Both the girls, Jacqueline Fernandez and Pooja Hegde play their part convincingly. Johnny Lever as Polsan is mind-blowing. Tiku Talsania, Ashwini Kalsekar, Mukesh Tiwari, Anil Charanjeett, Vijay Patkar, Vrajesh Hirjee and Sulabha Arya steal scenes with their comic timing and acting skills.

Final Verdict

Strictly for Rohit Shetty fans!    
 

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