The torch bearer of Hindi Indie cinema is back. Mr Sagar Ballary is the man responsible for the game changing ‘Bheja Fry’. ‘Hum Tum Shabana’ is his latest offering. Soft Humor is his forte, as proved by his previous films but this time he has moved onto a slightly different genre, Slapstick Comedy.

The film is about Rishi Malhotra (Tusshar Kapoor) and Kartik Iyer (Shreyas Talpade), two wannabe’s working in the same event management firm. They are the exact opposites and compete on everything. Rishi is mature, disciplined, avid newspaper reader type while Kartik is a casual- fun loving flirt. They both get assigned to a model hunt event and it is here that they meet and get smitten by Shabana Raza (Minissha Lamba). What they don’t know is Shabana’s uncle (Satish Kaushik) is a don. In order to marry Shabana and take over the underworld business, they must pass the mandatory training from mentor Munna Military (Sanjay Mishra), the don’s trusted side kick.  The person passing the training successfully gets to marry Shabana. Who eventually wins Shabana’s love is the big question. Trust me, the end is not what you think.

Mr. Sagar Bellary is no Priyadarshan who can divert your attention from wafer thin plots using slapstick comedy. The direction is average, the script is below average and performances by actors are nothing special. The cinematography is run of the mill, same is with the editing. The overdose of graphics was not required and definitely is a mood killer, especially in the climax. Imagine a graphic skull placed on for a few seconds on Rishi and Kartik’s face when they run from the climax fight. Songs by Sachin Jigar are nothing to brag about and are misplaced in the film.

As far as actor performances were concerned, none stand out. Minissha Lamba definitely did not look 20. And definitely not model material to win a model hunt, considering she was competing against the likes of Pia Trivedi. In sequences where she is with other models(during the hunt), Minissha looks really short and plump and not 20. Her acting isn’t much to talk about. There are a couple of scenes where she is supposed to come off as innocent but comes off as stupid. Tusshar’s extra‘s’ hasn’t done him any good. He still chooses scripts that are doing nothing to his career. Shreyas Talpede, Satish Kaushik and Sanjay Mishra’s performances were let down by the script. Pia Trivedi was impressive as a debutante.

Overall the film does not deliver. The climax is pointless. It may surely be a contender for the Razzie awards. I believe all the six of us in the whole theater would agree that ‘Hum Tum Shabana’ is not worth your time or money. 

Verdict: a hungry child instead, you will feel much better.