38 reviewers have given Humshakals
an average rating of 0.5/5.0 (?)
1 yays
32 nays
5 so-so
Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.
wogma rating: Switch channels if it's on cable (?)
quick review:
And here I thought pretending to have a story could help even a Sajid Khan movie.
Thumbs down
by Anna MM Vetticad,
annavetticadgoes2themovies
...Before you assume that I’m being unnecessarily “intellectual” in my response to a deliberately mindless film, let me give you an idea of my minimal expectations from such comedies: unlike most of my fellow film critics, I actually had quite a bit of fun watching Housefull. Housefull 2 was offensive though. And Himmatwala was an unqualified disaster....
full review
Thumbs down
by Nikhil Kumar,
Apun Ka Choice
...Humshakals hits a new low in the canon of Bollywood no-brainers. It’s downright silly, homophobic, and puerile to the extent that you’ll facepalm with embarrassment. And you’ll do that so often that your face will hurt by the time of the climax, set in Sajid’s own imaginary House of Commons in Britain, with a poor impersonator of Prince Charles and a bunch of dwarves who chomp on men’s genitalia coz that’s what comes handy at their height. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Baradwaj Rangan,
Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express
...The story is something about people in multiple roles, and it’s set in motion because the Ram Kapoor character wants to usurp Ashok’s billions – and this brings us to the other reason we don’t make good comedies. Because the writing just isn’t good enough. Khan and his writers think of terrific setups – parathas made with cocaine and vodka; a drug derived from various species of dogs; lines from film songs being recited as dialogue (jahaan koi aata jaata nahin…), an apoplectic Prince Charles venting in Hindi – and these gags should have exploded on screen, but the follow-through is so uninspired and lazy that it appears as if they didn’t know what to do with these ideas once they dreamt them up. We walk in expecting lowbrow comedy and all we get is low-rent filmmaking....
full review
Thumbs down
by Bobby Sing,
Bobby Talks Cinema.com
...So though the team must have enjoyed shooting all these silly sequences together in the good weather abroad, they are not able to generate any kind of similar result for the viewers. And in case, you still wish to watch it then just wake up in the scenes of Ritesh Deshmukh and then go back to sleep in that comfortable chair of an air conditioned theater in this scorching summer....
full review
Thumbs down
by Taran Adarsh,
Bollywood Hungama
...On the whole, HUMSHAKALS tries too hard to make you laugh, but fails miserably. ...
So-So
by Namrata Thakker,
Bollywood Life
...Sajid Khan’s new film isn’t as funny and entertaining as Housefull or Housefull 2 however it wouldn’t hurt if you watch it once. But keep your brains aside and I am sure you’ll have fun....
full review
So-So
by Juhi Matta,
BookmyShow
...Humshakals is a funny film, made for every Bollywood buff who loves goofy comedies. So if you want to enjoy a couple of good laughs this weekend, grab your friends and watch this film. The silly gags and jokes are bound to keep you entertained, even if you won’t rave about them once the film’s over...
full review
Thumbs down
by Deepa Gahlot,
cinemaah
...Maybe there should be a law introduced now to show Humshakals to criminals to force confessions out of them. That’s all this travesty of a film is good for! Riteish Deshkmukh has done worse films but let’s hope Saif Ali Khan is ashamed of himself....
full review
Thumbs down
Daily Bhaskar
...You can’t even expect the actors to perform well when you tell them in advance that you are making senseless film. Saif, Ritiesh, Ram, Esha and all other actors are just average. Unlike Sajid’s last film, even the songs of Humshakals are not so catchy....
full review
Thumbs down
by Suparna Sharma,
Deccan Chronicle
...Saif is slow and lumbering, like a stiff, confused puppet with creaky joints. The only time he seems to be into the film is when he gets to stuff a pillow in his blouse and wear lipstick.
Riteish Deshmukh tries, and Ram Kapoor partially succeeds. As Johnny he's cutely loopy.
The three girls share one brain cell which one of them seems to have eaten during interval....
full review
So-So
by Nikhil Arora,
Desi Martini
...Did I actually not hate a Sajid Khan film? Inconceivable! ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Inspector VIjay,
Desi Martini
...Saif is the undoing of this mindless fare, resulting in a taxing film! ...
full review
So-So
by Smita Vyas Kumar,
Desi Martini
... A movie with comic moments which are like pieces of yummy raw mango in a soggy bhel....
full review
Thumbs down
by Sarita Tanwar,
DNA
...If you enjoy Sajid Khan brand of humour, then this one is for you....
full review
Thumbs down
by Rachit Gupta,
Filmfare
...Credit to Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Ram Kapoor who have performed the most inane character traits with conviction. The only problem is why did they agree to this? The three heroines, Bipasha Basu, Tamannaah Bhatia and Esha Gupta are reduced to filler scenes and dancing in numbers. Satish Shah has been relegated to the most horrendous caricature ever. And why is Darshan Jariwala in this movie...
full review
Thumbs down
by Jahan Bakshi,
FirstPost
...It was easily the best segment in the otherwise bland portmanteau horror film, and Khan showed genuine promise and an impressive flair for black comedy. Unfortunately the Sajid Khan who made that film disappeared, never to be seen again. Who knows? Maybe a Humshakal took his place....
full review
Thumbs down
FirstPost
...Ironically, there is a scene in the movie where the evil warden (Satish Shah) tortures his patients by forcing them to watch 'Himmatwala'. We believe, in 'Humshakals', the notorious warden may just have found an upgrade.
'Humshakals' is the ultimate no-go zone. Save your money, save your time but most importantly, save yourself and keep away from this one. If you still feel compelled, catch the repeat of the Humshakals team episode of 'Comedy Nights with Kapil'. Atleast, that won't feel like a punishment!...
full review
Thumbs down
by Johnson Thomas,
Free Press Journal
...Frankly, the threesome who scripted this monster probably did not sit together and ideate. It’s wild and weird and nowhere close to whacky or funny. The timing is completely off – both in the direction as well as in the performances. Chunkey Pandey, Satish Shah and Akash Khurana can’t lighten up the stress despite their best efforts. Saif, Reitesh and Ram work hard at it, but fail to generate laughs. Even the setting of the so called story in UK, appears more opportune than meaningful. It’s Sajid Khan’s worst film yet, even worse than ‘Himmatwala’ which in retrospect appears bearable at least. Frankly, you need to be a ‘himmatwala’ to be venturing into the multiplexes for this one!...
full review
Thumbs down
by Neha Mathur,
fullhyd.com
...This comedy is a giant error. Overfed on PJs and puerile dialogue, Humshakals is futile. Sajid Khan claims that this is his tribute to Kishore Kumar, Peter Sellers and Jim Carrey. We know what Jim would say if he saw this one - "Somebody stop him!!!" ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Martin D'Souza,
Glamsham.com
...
Of the entire cast, it is only Riteish Deskmukh who stands out with his comic act. But even for a Riteish to last out that long is quite a task. He tires in the end. Saif is given the tougher task of carrying the poor jokes and falters at every step. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Sarit Ray,
Hindustan Times
...Jokes rain down incessantly — increasingly unfunny, disparaging dwarves, the LGBT community, people from the north-east and the mentally challenged. Production values go down the drain; the filmmakers didn’t even bother to edit out the scenes where the lead is clearly wearing height-enhancing shoes while dancing. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Suhani Singh,
india today
...Simply put, comedy never looked this bad. Humshakals is an unforgiveable farce. At one point in the film, Chunky Pandey, whose cameo appearance is forgettable, says, "This is public harassment." That is the precise sentence we'll use to describe the experience of seeing this film....
full review
Thumbs down
by Shubhra Gupta,
indian express
...Actually, let me correct myself. There IS one good joke in here. It’s when Sajid holds out his own version of a 80s potboiler as a weapon. His victims go cross-eyed and shout ‘nahiiiiin’, we crack a smile. This is a flash of the old Sajid, willing to take a joke, and stretch for one.
Where has that Sajid gone? Or is this his` humshakal’ in the director’s chair?...
full review
Thumbs down
Indicine
...Humshakals will probably take an average to above average opening. The family audiences which made Sajid’s first three films such big hits can be expected to return to watch Humshakals....
full review
Thumbs down
by Mohar Basu,
koimoi
...Humshakals is the lowest form of buffoonery I have seen this year. It would have been way more harsh if Ram & Riteish were missing from the film. Loaded with indecipherable dim wit, the film is an odd mishmash of pathos and drudgery. Unfunny and strictly for juvenile, I am gonna take the day off to decide whether Himmatwala was better than this. Meanwhile, stick to FIFA and stay away from the cinemas. Going with a very lenient 1.5/5, I am on the brink of lunacy after watching some glop like this...
full review
Thumbs down
by Nandini Ramnath,
Live Mint
...Sajid Khan has declared in every available forum that his movies are for audiences rather than critics (whatever that means). The same audiences booed his last offering, Himmatwala, out of the cinemas. If there is something to relish in Humshakals, it is the opportunity to sharpen weapons and words. It’s been a while since there’s been a movie this hatchet-worthy. For that, the team behind Humshakals needs eternal gratitude and continued support....
full review
Thumbs down
by Shubha Shetty-saha,
MiD DAY
...Silly, irreverent humour is always a welcome change. But braindead, childish (sorry children, don't roll your eyes yet) pathetic attempt at funny is not. And I think the only original joke is the fact that Ram Kapoor quit his TV career for this film. Ram Kapoor did put in a sincere effort into making whatever he was doing believable but that sight of him in a red bikini overpowered it all...
full review
Thumbs up
by Joginder Tuteja,
Movie Talkies
...With so much happening in the film, Sajid makes it all very simple when the plot could have turned really complicated. In that perspective, full marks to him as a story teller where he caters to audience from 6 to 60, hence making sure that there is no confusion whatsoever in their mind. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Divya Solgama,
MoviezADDA
...Well, if you love Sajid Khan style of comedies, then there is a good amount of dum for you along with comical performances by Ritesh Deshmukh and few witty one-liners attached to the film. The movie has lots of flaws and stupid scenes that might not appeal at all to the intellectual crowd and the ones expecting it to be even at par with Sajid's earlier comedies. 'Humshakal's might be like a 'Ham-Specials' for many, but for the ones who enjoy this genre, it's a time-pass masala entertainer that sadly ends up as a three ring circus....
full review
Thumbs down
by Rahul Desai,
Mumbai Mirror
...Humshakals is a defiant film made by a man who is fast becoming a rebel without a cause. His audacity is almost frightening, but I was reassured by the pin-drop silence in the hall-one that'd accompany the screening of a gutwrenching war drama. This is, in many ways, not too different. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Saibal Chatterjee,
NDTV
...Humshakals is infinitely more insufferable. Even if you possess plenty of himmat, use it elsewhere. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Noyon Jyoti Parasara,
Now Running.com
...I could sum it best a reference to one of the scenes from the film. The wannabe standup comedian Ashok tries to crack a joke for his comatose father but Kumar stops him pleading that his father is already in coma. As an audience you involuntary seep into a state of comatose within half an hour of the film and after that you just don't react anymore.
Bottomline, Sajid Khan does not disappoint. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Raja Sen,
Rediff
...Which makes me wonder exactly what Sajid Khan’s motives are for savaging our audience thus. Is he the real neo-Nazi here? Is he trying to make the country stupid? Is he suicidally trying to see how far people -- producers, audiences, actors -- let him go before someone assassinates him? Is this all some subversive meta-joke being perpetrated on us for not having applauded his acting in Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate? Is he turning his whole life into one gigantic “ham scene of the week”?
Your guesses are as good as mine. Because a filmmaker he ain’t....
full review
Thumbs down
by Sonia Chopra,
Sify Movies
...Watch it if you can tolerate Saif (dressed as a waitress, and looking eerily like a revolting version of Soha Ali Khan) getting sexy with Riteish, and Riteish (in a skirt) seducing Saif’s clone. And if Ram Kapoor lusting after his own clone (in drag), and trying to rape “her” is your idea of fun, who am I to judge. Just don’t say you hadn’t been warned! ...
full review
Thumbs down
by SUDHISH KAMATH,
The Hindu
...Onslaught of bad jokes...
full review
So-So
by Srijana Mitra Das,
Times of India
...The result's like a minty chewing gum that's been stretched too long. Shedding 30 minutes and some jaded gags would make Humshakals consistent fun - now, you laugh but also frequently go, ho-hum. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Rummana Ahmed,
yahoo! India
...The best part of the film was when the end credits rolled – not only had I survived another Sajid Khan film but the behind-the-scenes videos made for a fun watch. Though I am still wondering why the cast was in splits every now and then, it most definitely couldn’t have been the script or the dialogues. ...
full review
Thumbs down
by Gayatri Sankar,
ZEENEWS.COM
...Sajid Khan’s ‘Humshakals’ promised to be a much better product than his previous venture - ‘Himmatwala’. But sadly, ‘Humshakals’ will do severe damage to your understanding of comedy.
If you really don’t have much to do this weekend, try taking your kids for the movie to check if they succeed in finding humour in the film....
full review
See Also
wogma review
Preview
38 Critic Reviews
0.5/5.0
2 Reader Reviews
0/5.0
105 Tweet Reviews
1.3/5.0
Humshakals - Movie Details
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Banner: Fox Star Studios, Pooja Entertainment India Ltd.
Producer: Vashu Bhagnani
Director: Sajid Khan
Lead Cast: Tamannaah Bhatia, Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Bipasha Basu
Supporting Cast: Esha Gupta, Ram Kapoor, Satish Shah, Akash Khurana, Darshan Jariwala
Story: Sajid Khan
Screenplay: Sajid Khan, Robin Bhatt, Akash Khurana, Chunkey Pandey
Dialogues: Sajid Khan, Adhir Bhatt
Cinematography: Ravi Yadav
Editor: Bunty Nagi
Background Score: Sandeep Shirodkar
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya, Ahmed Khan
Music Director: Himesh Reshammiya
Lyrics: Mayur Puri, Robin Bhatt, Akash Khurana
Costume Designer: Kunal Rawal, Mohit Rai, Aastha Sharma, Soniya Tommy
Facebook Page: Link
Running time: 150 minutes
Reviewer: meetu
Language:
Hindi
Country:
India