'Ghanchakkar' Critics Review Roundup: Comedy Thriller Fails to Engage

Bollywood's latest release "Ghanchakkar" directed by Rajkumar Gupta has hit the screens on Friday. Director Rajkumar Gupta had earlier given amazing films like "Aamir" and "No One Killed Jessica", but this time he failed to impress critics with "Ghanchakar".

The comedy thriller features Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan in lead roles and Namit Das and Rajesh Sharma in supporting roles.

Check out the critics' reviews here:

Gayatri Sankar of Zee News writes: "Do you have a frail memory? Are you forgetful and is that what irks you the most about yourself? Perhaps the makers of 'Ghanchakkar', through their film, intended to give you a fictional visual representation of what could perhaps happen if you ended up losing your memory! Alas, not in a way you would perhaps like to realize the same!

 "The genre, style and presentation are indeed the first of its kinds but at the same time, is something that the audiences will find very difficult to digest.

"Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi, both powerhouse performers, excel in their respective roles, to say the least. They are supported by some fine performances delivered by Rajesh Sharma (seen earlier with Balan in 'The Dirty Picture') and Namit Das. But unfortunately, their impeccable performances can do the least to up the fate of the film at the Box Office.

"The climax as a separate chunk is absolutely out-of-the-box. It could have helped had the film gained velocity mid-way through. But when you collectively put it all, it spoils the show, thereby rattling your level of endurance and understanding.

"'Ghanchakkar', a film that has such heavyweights as the cast, could have been a lot better."

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV writes: "The odd-couple pairing of Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan apart, this madcap whirligig has little on offer by way of innate allure. The fundamental concept of Ghanchakkar is intriguing all right, but it simply isn't sturdy enough to bear the weight of an entire two hour-plus film.

"It presses a 1980s plot device into the service of what is meant to be a new age comic thriller and inevitably comes a cropper. The pace of this black comedy is so somnolent that all the characters, and not just the 'lazy lad' of the film's quirky opening song, appear to be sleepwalking through it all.

"What makes the film worse is that none of the handful of players is a rounded figure that the audience can relate to.

"Despite its surprise ending, Ghanchakkar fails to engage. It is overstretched, flimsy and ineffectual. The screenplay (credited to Parveez Shaikh and director Raj Kumar Gupta) stutters along without much purpose.

"Ghanchakkar is strictly for those that are easy to tickle and shock. One character, the one with the gun, sums it up best: "I don't know what is going on and who is taking whom for a ride." Heed the warning!"

Mohar Basu of Koimoi.com writes: "Rajkumar Gupta's Ghanchakkar is valiant effort to alter the comic dimensions of Bollywood. Refraining from rugged humor, the film is packed judiciously with laughs and wit, along with stellar performances from a straight faced Emraan Hashmi and an overtly outlandish Vidya Balan.

"In the second half, the film gets repetitive and with the number of false alarms increasing, a brooding sense of tediousness will slip. However, the beauty of the story is in its abruptness and impulsive indecisiveness. It is commendable that Gupta's vision allows humor to bloom minus buffoonery.

"This film isn't for you if you like Bollywood thrillers that keep dropping hints and finally bead it up to formulate a drastically dramatic culmination! 

"Ghanchakkar indeed is far from perfect. But it is both compelling and challenging. Boldly making a unique film that refuses to garnish out ready made thriller, expect this one to jolt your gray matter. "

Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters writes: "There is nothing ostensibly wrong with Rajkumar Gupta's "Ghanchakkar". The filmmaker builds a story about a bank robber who loses his memory and cannot remember where he stashed the booty from a heist three months ago.

"You are never certain what the two main characters (Balan and Hashmi) are thinking and Gupta tries to add a Hrishikesh Mukherjee kind of humour in some scenes.

"But like most Bollywood movies, "Ghanchakkar" turns out to be one of those films that had a great idea but the writers didn't know what to do with it. Gupta and co-writer Parvez Shaikh build up the mystery and suspense but let the film fall flat in the conclusion.

"Vidya Balan deserves credit for agreeing to play the anti-heroine - fat, garish and not a very likeable woman who seems to be hiding more than she lets on."

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama writes: "GHANCHAKKAR is one of those rare films that attempts to marry crime and humor. But the film, which does boast of a fascinating premise, goes awry after an attention-grabbing start. Reasons? The screenwriting lacks meat, the pacing is sluggish and the culmination, which should've been the icing on the cake, is an anti-climax. 

"With a plot that had the potential to transform into an engaging and outrageous entertainer, GHANCHAKKAR gets repetitive and tedious after Gupta introduces the four pivotal characters. 

"The post-interval portions have their moments, but they are few and far between. The spectator gets immersed in the narrative, albeit briefly, when the finger of suspicion points towards Vidya.

"The four actors [Emraan, Vidya, Rajesh and Namit] put their best foot forward.

"On the whole, GHANCHAKKAR has splendid performances by its principal cast, but the bland and tedious narrative plays spoilsport. This one disheartens!"