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By Joginder Tuteja, September 10, 2008 - 16:11 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Animated Ganesha, Master Haji Ali, Harsh Chhaya, Bhairavi Goswami, Upasna Singh, Manoj Joshi
Director: Rajiv S. Ruia
Producer: Baba Arts Limited Production
Music: Sameer Phaterpekar, Vinay Kapadia, Frequency Band
Lyrics: Sudhakar Sharma, Kuku Prabhash
THE FILM
Upasana Singh is a happy woman. Close to 15 years after she made waves in the cow belt with unforgettable adult films like Mohanji Prasad's Phoolwati and Kanti Shah's Ramwati under her belt, she has got the biggest footage of her career and that too in a children's film - My Friend Ganesha 2. As a 'kaamwaali bai' who loves to narrate the legend of Ganesha to children who come in her vicinity, Upasana Singh dominates majority of frames in My Friend Ganesha 2. So much so that even Bhairavi Goswami, with all her nymphomania (remember Bheja Fry) suppressed under a suit-salwar, is also relegated to the back seat as she plays mother to a really weepy kid (Master Haji Ali).
Coming back to My Friend Ganesha 2 being an Upasana Singh show all the way, picture this! If there are emotional moments, get Upasana Singh on frame. If there is requirement of a comic scene, call Upasana Singh. If there is some mock action to be done, Upasana Singh haazir ho. Heck, even if there is a dance sequence required on a beach, forget Urmila or a Kareena - Upasana Singh hai naa! So what if she is all dressed up as a 'bai' from 'aamchi Mumbai' who tries to teach a step or two, straight out of Hrithik's repertoire, to this young boy who is unhappy over his parents constant bickering.
To think of it, the fights amongst his parents (Harsh Chhaya, Bhairavi) hardly seem to be serious enough for a kid to be looking at outside help. However, since director Raji S. Ruia, for some unexplained reasons, seriously felt that he could actually spin a sequel to his My Friend Ganesha, a baby Ganesha is brought to screen pronto. Now this baby too has problems of his own since he seems to be as misfit into the scheme of things as an extremely shoddy animation character which tries to merge with real action. Seriously, this experiment is so badly executed that it reminds one of toothpaste commercials which were made for Doordarshan 20 years back with those cartoonish characters jumping in and out of teeth.
Animated Ganesha is hardly cute, his bunch of associates have been designed as plain ugly, animation (especially when merged with real action) is the worst one has seen ever since Hanuman made a name for itself, cinematography is plain average while at places giving an impression as if one is watching a tele-serial, acting is plain average (surprising, since the child actor Haji Ali was reasonably decent in Fanaa and Ta Ra Rum Pum), editing loose (an ice hockey match, all animated and obviously picked up from Ice Age, goes on and on and on), songs are boring while dialogues hardly witty (something which is unpardonable considering this being a film targeted at children).
The makers of My Friend Ganesha 2 have experimented by releasing it simultaneously on select theaters as well as DVDs. One wonders though if this experiment would really work since it is one torturous film which is so poorly made that one wonders how it's rough edges, especially when it comes to animation, would seem when seen on the big screen. Those backing the film may have an argument that it is made for kids under 10 years of age. Well, if they are actually under this false belief, they are seriously underestimating the choice and mindset of children who have definitely warmed up to far more entertaining films over a period of time.
PACKAGING
The film comes in a standard local plastic case. Since the DVD comes on Moser Baer, don't expect any fancy packaging.
DURATION
The film comes in a single DVD pack with the film's duration being 115 minutes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD doesn't come with any special features.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Surprisingly, the film doesn't come with any subtitles
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1
PRICE
Rs. 50/=
CONCLUSION
Leave the storyline (which by the way is none at all); just one look at the animation in motion and you are seriously un-amused by the state of affairs. Frankly, the worst of movies can sometime become an engaging experience since they are so bad that they bring some full-on entertainment. Jimmy which released early this year was a case in point. However, My Friend Ganesha 2 crosses all patience limits. Lasting close to 2 hours, there is absolutely no redeeming factor in this film which has just about everything being so un-engaging and uninspiring.
 
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