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Siraj Syed reviews Tutak Tutak Tutiya: Horromedyance

Siraj Syed reviews Tutak Tutak Tutiya: Horromedyance

What binds the Tutak Tutak Tutiya team is their south Indian connection. Most of the actors are either native to the lower regions of the country or got their breaks in films made there, before moving to their base to Mumbai. In addition, the story and direction are also credited to names that live there. It is a tri-lingual film though, milking the opportunity, and hoping to kill three birds with one stone. So, you have Devi in Tamil and Abhinetri in Telugu. After seeing the film, both the non-Hindi titles seem appropriate. In Hindi, what in heaven’s name made them title it Tutak Tutak Tutiya? Rarely has a title been so disingenuously chosen.

‘Tutak tutak tutak tutiyaan, Hey Jamaalo’ is a song by Malkit Singh, the 54 year-old UK-based Punjabi singer. He is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest selling bhangra solo artiste of all time, with sales of over 4.9 million records in his 20-year career. The song is the fastest-selling and most successful bhangra song of all time and has been incorporated in several Hindi films, as direct or lifted versions. Malkit has said that words are nonsense verse. Maybe the word Jamaalo is a reference to a woman by the name of Jamaalo, a proper noun. Some mischievous minds try and find a pun in tutiyaan, after dropping the ‘n’ at the end. There is nothing whatsoever to justify lifting this phrase as the title of the film.

Among the songs, ‘Tutak tutak’ had to feature, albeit in a medley version that also has ‘Kali teri choti te’, another cult favourite, often sung at Punjabi weddings. A modified version was a runaway hit after being placed in a Hindi film 25 years ago. Asa Singh ‘Mastana’, who died 1999, was the singer who immortalised it. His original went ‘Kali teri gut te’. Both are irresistible foot-tappers. Composers Sajid-Wajid pay tribute to legendary music-director duo Shankar-Jaikishan, by re-arranging ‘Aiyaya karoon main kya, Suku Suku’ (Mohammed Rafi, Junglee, 1961). The 136-minute film has a total of 29 minutes allotted to songs, and that, in itself, is not a problem, considering you have Prabhu Deva (rubber-man) as the lead actor, and out-to-prove I can dance too Tamannaah Bhatia and Sonu Sood. Problem is, the film is a comedy-horror, or a horror-comedy, but ends-up on the dance floor, a horror-comedy-dance alloy, inventing a new classification: horromedance.

Tutak Tutak Tutiya is the story of Krishna, a junior executive working in Mumbai, whose ambition in life is to marry an ultra modern girl. He has been rejected 30 times, but still hopes to win over a suitable girl. Unfortunately, he is summoned to his village in Coimbatore (TamilNadu, south India) to be at the bedside of his seriously ill grand-mother. There, much against his wishes, he ends up marrying a village girl, Devi, whose father is from the south but mother is Hindi-speaking. He brings her to Mumbai, but out of embarrassment at having married a village belle, he hides the news of his marriage, and moves into new apartment. After a few days, he starts noticing her behaving strangely and slowly realises that she is possessed by a spirit, whose unrealised ambition is to become an actress, and she starts using his wife’s body to fulfil her dream.

A.L. Vijay makes his Telugu and Hindi directorial debut, billing himself as only Vijay. He is part writer too. Ridden with bloomers, the script is a mish-mash. Jokes are mostly stale and puerile. Chintan Gandhi’s Hindi dialogue shows little command over language and nuances. As director, he gropes along. Literal finger-pointing, time-tested South India gesture, is a standard ploy that uses its surprise element by the time the surprise arrives. Cameos by Esha Gupta and Farah Khan are totally wasted. Thankfully, the special effects in the house, involving moving walls and doors, and a floating Tamannaah, are well-executed and judiciously handled.

For a man who made his debut in 1993, and earned the moniker of Indian Michael Jackson, Prabhu Deva (Kaadalan, Agni Varsha, ABCD, ABCD 2) has hardly aged, and the bones are still flexible as ever. His comic timing is good, his Hindi not so. The latter defect is parried by casting him as Coimbatore boy. Inside references to his body of work maybe lost on most viewers, but not tone fact that he is able to both retain public interest in his trade-mark moves, and add a few new ones. (He is one of the choreographers of the film). Gross over-acting and gazing vacuously are not what he should be asked to do, though. Producer of the Hindi version, Sonu Sood, (Yuva, Singh is King, Dabangg, Jodha Akbar, Shootout at Wadala) came into Hindi cinema through the southern route. He is cast as the reigning megastar, Raj Khanna. Six packs in six places adorn his physique, you are reminded more than once, and whaddya know? He can dance and sing too, never mind the parodying he resorts to, in one of the songs.

Tamannaah Bhatia, from South too, (Himmatwala, Humshakals, Entertainers, Bahubali) has been under the scanner for her emotive abilities. Some respite is well-earned in this outing. To make things easier, she is made walk-around in a trance for a number of shots; no histrionics required. Choreographers and Ms. Bhatia must have shaken many a leg to get the results on display. Vivacious and charged, she does ignite the dance floor. Andhra Pradesh-born Murali Sharma (ADCD 2, Wazir, Jai Gangajal) is usually cast in negative or conniving roles, partly due to his irregular face. He’s the slimy agent for superstar Sood here. Showing no signs of getting intimidated, he makes the most of the stereo-typical, half-written part. Amiable Amy Jackson (Ekk Deewana Tha, Singh is Bliing, Freaky Ali) another gift from the South, a British beauty Princess, is a sight for sore eyes. Esha Gupta (Raaz 3D, Humshakals, Baby) looks as foreign as Amy, but has a tiny little role, coming in at the end.

You are forced to wonder why is it necessary to keep logic at bay, and punctuate the narrative with songs, alternating with eardrum-blasting background score, to generate comedy and horror. But then you remember that comedy-writing is serious business, and not an easy genre to tackle, by any means.

Rating: **

Trailer: https://youtu.be/d6C9vO6YRm8

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About Siraj Syed

Syed Siraj
(Siraj Associates)

Siraj Syed is a film-critic since 1970 and a Former President of the Freelance Film Journalists' Combine of India.

He is the India Correspondent of FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the international Federation of Film Critics, Munich, Germany

Siraj Syed has contributed over 1,015 articles on cinema, international film festivals, conventions, exhibitions, etc., most recently, at IFFI (Goa), MIFF (Mumbai), MFF/MAMI (Mumbai) and CommunicAsia (Singapore). He often edits film festival daily bulletins.

He is also an actor and a dubbing artiste. Further, he has been teaching media, acting and dubbing at over 30 institutes in India and Singapore, since 1984.


Bandra West, Mumbai

India



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