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Well, it took a while, but I think I've finally learned to appreciate the fine art of Hindi humour and now that I'm watching with my eyes wide open, let me just say wah, wah, wah! Andaz Apna Apna is a full throttle roller coaster ride of non-stop hilarity with side splitting loopty-loops and slapstick bends at every turn. How's that for a metaphor?!

In a plot that has our two heroes trying to outwit, outlast and outplay each other, Rajkumar Santoshi had created a home run in field of comedy. Amar (Aamir Khan) and Prem (Salman Khan) are useless sons of poor, but hardworking fathers. Neither of them are content with what life has dealt them, so when the beautiful and rich Raveena (Raveena Tandon) comes to town looking for a husband, with friend Karishma (Karisma Kapoor) in tow, the two boys each hatch a plan to woo and marry her. Things are further complicated with the entrance of Raveena's uncle Teja and his henchmen who plan to steal the family fortune by any means necessary. If that wasn't enough, we also see the periodic entrance of Crime Master Gogo, whose aim is to recoup money he had previously lent to Teja.


I can't get over how funny both Aamir and Salman are in this film. I don't think I would have ever paired them together in a comedy, but they compliment each other so well, I can't help but compare them to some of the great comedy teams that I am familiar with like the Smothers Brothers, Wayne & Shuster or Martin & Lewis. Aamir is just about perfect as the brains of the operation. His comic timing is superb. His dialogue delivery, gestures, uninhibited style all compel you to laugh like crazy. It's really quite ironic that Aamir has emerged as one of the more serious actors in Bollywood today and one can only hope that he revisits this genre one day soon. I even enjoyed Salman as the bumbling, thick necked quasi-idiot Prem, and that's saying something.




From friends to enemies in one fell swoop!

Let me introduce you to my little friends...

Paresh Rawal and Shakti deliver some great bad guy comedy, but it's Viju Khote and Shehzad Khan who supply the most laughs with their dumbfounded nefarious intentions. They are smart boys indeed!


The girls also have their moments, but it is Karisma who was funny as hell in her outlandish costumes and doltish dialogue delivery more so than Raveena. Quick now, turn your head and bat your eyelashes and watch the boys fall for you!


Who was in charge on wardrobe? I say we assemble a lynch mob!


The nefarious end game: The chicken farm!

I think a lot of the humor in Santoshi's film comes from the inside jokes, which I'm happy to say I'm starting to get to the point where I finally recognize some of them (though I'm sure I have a long way to go). A few moments that I found especially funny in the film include :

- the opening credits (which I assume is the director's dig at numerology?)
- the entire opening sequence featuring Juhi Chawla as herself (Lord knows how many of these types of dreams I've had - or tried to have!)
- Amar and Prem land at the same guest house and squabble but appear as Lord Rama and King Bharata through the landlord's eyes
- Prem tries to propose to Raveena only to find himself making unusual visits to the loo instead, all due to Amar's handywork with the laxatives. I wonder what moving the tie from around his neck to around his head accomplished in there.
- Amar's whole amnesia bit, and Prem's doctor demeanor


- the entire climax including Prem and Gogo's unique fighting style (I laughed so hard here my stomach hurt! What the hell is that style called and can it be used for foreplay?)


There are so many others that there's bound to be something that will tickle even the most discriminative funny bone. The thing about Andaz Apna Apna is that it is not a movie that tries to be funny. It just is.

I have to admit that I tend to favor the more contemporary songs, but there's something to be said for the more classic filmi music. All of the songs are fun listens in their own right, but in this film they are enhanced about 1000% by the picturizations. Whether watching Amar annoy Raveena with his utterly ridiculous dance moves to the point where she feels the need to club him over the head to end her misery in Dil Karta Hai, or watching the foursome romp in night ware complete with Amar's phallic nightcap in the completely enjoyable Dil Mera Dhak Dhak Dole music director Tushar Bhatia gives us a soundtrack on par with the rest of the movie for sure.





While I would not recommend this to someone new to Hindi film, it has landed firmly in my list of fav comedies. It is definitely a movie worth buying (I know I'm picking it up my next venture into the city), if only to watch over and over again. Despite the language barrier (as there's probably a ton that gets lost in translation), I have a feeling that this is one that will continue to get better with each viewing.