Cirkus is easily the worst movie of the year

Cirkus is fashioned as a comedy of errors, where we are able to spot each familiar element Rohit Shetty keeps inserting in his comedies, from his multiple editions of Golmaal onwards.

Two sets of orphaned identical twins, a doctor (Murli Sharma) who plays god and switches one for another, in his determination to prove that ‘parvarish’ (upbringing) is more impactful than ‘parivaar’ (bloodlines): it is just the kind of outlandish premise that Shetty runs with, throwing out characters who speak loudly, background music which blares, and situations that are as slapstick as can be.

So you gear yourself up for the usual garish, all-colors-of-the-rainbow Shetty tamasha, especially because you think Ranveer Singh is at hand to rescue it from its slushy parts. But for a film that gives us two Ranveers for the price of one, especially when one has been granted the superpower of controlling electricity, Cirkus is surprising blah. Revving up the livewire Ranveer up with ‘bijli ke jhatke’ is so extra that it should have induced non-stop, over-the-top hilarity, Shetty ishtyle. But the gags don’t land; neither does, for the most part, the lead star.

Roy and Joy (Ranveer Singh and Varun Sharma in double roles), one set each, are raised in Bangalore and Ooty respectively. One Roy and Joy take over the running of a circus after their father dies; the other pair floats around, waiting for their cue to join the gang. The Roy, who is the star attraction at his circus, has a wife (Pooja Hegde); the other has a girl-friend (Jacqueline Fernandez): the latter has a loudmouth father (Sanjay Mishra), who keeps setting himself up to be slapped.

But he’s not the only one. In a Rohit Shetty movie, everybody gets slapped. So this bunch, which includes a trio of thieves, mustachioed hoteliers, elderly aunts, jewelry shop owners, and sundry other folk trade slaps whenever they get a chance. Which happens a lot. I did hear a ripple of laughter in the theatre when a slap rings out because for some strange reason, being slapped is deemed to be funny.

In the second half, Johnny Lever shows up in primary-colored velvet suits. Vrajesh Hirjee is a monkey-capped taxi driver with slitted eyes. An item number in which Ranveer rocks it with Deepika Padukone makes you wish for more from whence that came. But no, it’s back to slap-slap-slap. Then, of course, it’s time for that finale with everyone crowded in the same frame, where the ‘bichhade huey bhai’ is face to face, of course, and the ladies, who literally have nothing to do, swoon in shock. And the film gets a chance to deliver a line about we-are-all-one, regardless of ‘dharm-and-jaati’, making up for a snide Mughal emperor crack right in the beginning.

But it isn’t enough.

Cirkus movie cast: Ranveer Singh, Varun Sharma, Jacqueline Fernandez, Pooja Hegde, Murli Sharma, Sanjay Mishra, Johnny Lever, Mukesh Tiwari, Vrajesh Hirjee, Sidhhartha Jadhav, Ashwini Kalsekar, Tiku Talsania, Brijendra Kala, Sulabha Arya
Cirkus movie director: Rohit Shetty
Cirkus movie rating: 1.5 stars

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