God Tussi Great Ho (Movie Review)

Though Rumy Jafry has spent the past few days denying it in every interview, the story of his debut directorial venture is based on the Jim Carey and Morgan Freeman starrer, "Bruce Almighty". Have Salman Khan do a Jim Carey and get Amitabh Bachchan to play God. Throw in a love triangle, an emotional maa, a bahen waiting to be married off, plenty of songs, dances and fancy costumes - and you have ‘God Tussi Great Ho' - our own Bollywood version of the Hollywood film.

Interestingly, Salman Khan, who is currently hosting a TV show in real life, plays Arun Prajapathi or AP, an aspiring TV show host. In the first half of the film nothing goes right for him. His debut show is cancelled after the very first episode, his sister is rejected by every potential groom, his father constantly reminds him that he is a failure, his car is a wreck and he is too shy to express his love for his friend and colleague Alia Kapoor (Priyanka Chopra). And to make matters worse, a smart, ‘London' returned creative director, Rocky (Sohail Khan) joins the TV channel and tries to take over not only AP's next show but also to steal Alia's heart. Outwardly stoic, AP seethes inside and has long, raging conversations with God, blaming him for all his misfortunes.

Things take a dramatic turn, when God appears and grants AP the power to change things as he wills. As expected AP first uses this power to set things right for himself and has great fun helping those he loves and getting even with Rocky. But he realises the true meaning of God and his power only when he tries to change the whole world in his bid to outdo God and make everyone happy.

Comedy is inherent in the script and Salman tackles his role with his usual spontaneous, competent, I-don't-take-myself-too-seriously style. Big B, dressed in white (like Morgan Freeman in the original), is perfectly cast as God. The scenes between Salman and Sohail Khan are not as funny as expected, but still elicit a lot of laughter from the audience. Priyanka looks pretty in a variety of costumes from a huge line up of designers including Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis.

Except for the "Tujhe Aksa beach ghumaon kya" number, the music by Sajid-Wajid is nothing special and sounds quite dated - though the "Lal Chunariya" number is nice. Though the film boasts three choreographers - Ganesh Acharya, Ahmed Khan and Bosco Caesar -the choreography is quite pedestrian.

But overall "God Tussi Great Ho" is a fun movie that delivers a profound message in the guise of a comedy.

Writer-director Rumy Jafry gives us a slick, clean, family film with plenty of laughs .... AND an anti-pollution message straight from God!

Good ‘time pass' and definitely worth a watch for Salman fans.

Cast: Amitabh Bahchan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Suhail Khan, Dalip Tahil, Rajpal Yadav, Anupam Kher

Director: Rumy Jafry

Music director: Sajid-Wajid