Bollywood's latest release "Go Goa Gone", starring Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari and Puja Gupta, is a zombie comedy directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK.
The trailer of the film had fetched over one million viewers in just days of its release, and the songs have become chartbusters already.
"Go Goa Gone", touted as India's first 'zom-com', received an 'A' certificate for violence, gore content and drug references. The film which is a humorous take on the insane and all things savage has evoked positive reviews from critics.
Have a look at the reviews:
Meena Iyer of Times Of India says: "Go Goa Gone is positively different from anything you seen before. And for the young and restless(tattooed, ring-pierced, rave-party enthusiasts) or even those who like whacked-out fun, it's a great ride. With easy performances from Kunal, Saif, Vir and Anand and the crackerjack dialogue, the film will keep you in splits for the most part. What is a little tiring though,is the pace of the zombies, who are a bit too monotonous. Sachin-Jigar's Babaji ki booti adds to the mood, almost tempting you to light up and lie back. The shores of Goa and Mauritius seem enticing enough. However some of the situations in GGG are repititive. Hence, the laughs that were coming spontaneously till a point become a bit forced at some juncture."
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV says: "Made by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK (whose films thus far have demonstrated a healthy disregard of things predictable), Go Goa Gone thrives on an imagination that is allowed to run riot. True, not all of it clicks into place without leaving behind a bit of a mess, but the sheer audacity of the act - transporting the zombie flick to an Indian landscape puts this film in a league of its own.
"Go Goa Gone goes so insanely off-kilter at times that it is hard to see that the film also has an obvious underlying "say no to drugs" message.
"Thankfully, the message isn't the medium. The directors stay true to the demands of the genre, but they approach it with a tongue-in-cheek shuffle that randomly mixes up the key devices of the narrative.
"Go Goa Gone is only mildly scary, but it is often very, very funny. What works is its refusal to pull back and away from its chosen course. It goes all the way down the path to the bitter end, even at the risk of turning far too jokey to be effective.
"........ the film as a whole - it's crazy but cool. It gives you what you least expect and in ways that you least anticipate. That is a rare attribute for a Hindi film. I am going with three stars for Go Goa Gone."
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama says: "GO GOA GONE is looked forward to for varied reasons: The zom-com aspect, zany look of the film, Saif's bleached getup [he plays a zombie killer in the movie], wicked one-liners and enticing music... But the challenge lies in educating the spectator about zombies, since there's no zombie folklore to enlighten them thus far. Let's face it, making a zom-com means treading into untried, alien territory. It's always a peril if you think out of the box, when you offer something innovative to the spectator. At the same time, a subject like this offers ample opportunity to its maker to break rules.
"GO GOA GONE comes across more as an adventure flick than a conventional horror film. Sure, it has its share of violence and gore, besides some cuss words, rave party et al, but the fun quotient is smartly integrated in the screenplay and what comes across is crazy, madcap amusement. The humor is smart and the factors that have resulted in an 'A' certificate have been done aesthetically and don't come across as distasteful or offensive. Frankly, Raj and DK make a genuine effort to give the viewers something they haven't watched before. The aim is to make you giggle and also shriek the next moment.
"On the whole, GO GOA GONE is experimental since something like this has never been attempted earlier. But it's fun, witty, amusing and yes, thoroughly entertaining. The youngistaan is sure to love this mad, mad, mad ride!"
Ananya Bhattacharya of Zee News says: "Directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, both known for their comedies, this 'zom-com', as the film has been promoted, is also a comedy - with generous dollops of bloody-gory-hungry zombies. And with an ensemble cast consisting of Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari, Puja Gupta and Saif Ali Khan, 'Go Goa Gone' makes for an entertaining watch - however, only if you are willing to tolerate the very graphic scenes where zombies tear human flesh apart and so on."
"The music of the film, composed by Sachin-Jigar, consists of four songs. 'Slowly slowly' and 'Khoon choos le', by now, are almost on their way to the top of the chartbusters for the catchy tunes and the 'different' lyrics. 'Khushnameed' is a slow, pleasant number. 'Babaji ki booty' is another insane song from the makers!
"'Go Goa Gone' is a pleasant watch, and despite the innumerable scenes depicting flesh and gore, doesn't leave one with an urge to vomit. The dialogues are witty and are mostly responsible for invoking a laugh. Sense, logic and sensibility be damned - go 'keel dead peepal'!"
Shubir Rishi of Rediff says: "When I first saw the trailer of Go Goa Gone, I was NOT impressed. And though I was pleasantly surprised that they were finally making a zombie movie here, I half-expected it to be a rip-off of some lesser-known European production. I was wrong.
"The first 20 minutes of the movie are kinda forgettable, but I guess, necessary - same old one-liners, same old antics - one bad boy duped by his girlfriend, the other losing his job (after a really silly, bad-taste episode) and then the two of them piling on the nice guy and off they are to Goa.
"The fun starts only when we have our first sighting of the zombies. Like all zombie movies, they have a silly explanation for why there are zombies. Usually, zombie-fests are blamed on military experiments and viruses imported from some godforsaken, obscure country, but here they just put it on to a drug, which is apparently the baap of cocaine and other such substances and screws you up pretty good.
"The message is simple: Drugs turn you into a zombie. (heh)
"Please go watch this movie sans-kids, and you are in for somegenuine giggles. And of course, there is a promise-like for a sequel."
Piyasree Dasgupta of Firstpost Says: "Go Goa Gone works in a manner similar to why Delhi Belly did. Superbly paced and smartly edited at just over two hours in length, the directors don't let you dwell too much on the ridiculousness of the story they are telling you. Unlike horror films that Bollywood has made in the past, it is neither shot in a solemn tone of a biopic nor peppered with supposedly stirring visual metaphors like a hyperventilating crow, self-obsessed door and woefully suspicious domestic help.
"Watch Go Goa Gone if the utter boorishness of a troika of losers has the potential to entertain you instead of sparking off a feminist offensive. You can take my word for it, you won't regret putting your money on it."
Nabanita of Oneindia entertainment says: "Go Gone Gone has its share of violence and gore, and mildly scary. But, the best part of the movie is that, the filmmakers enthuses for its audiences oodles of laughter which keeps you rolling till the end. There are times you find yourself laughing aloud with the three boys and their wisecracks.
"Go Goa Gone is funny, witty, amusing, crazy and thoroughly engaging. And yes, it's definitely a one-time watch."
