Hunterrr Review {3/5} & Review Rating
If you thought that 'sex' was a forbidden word in Bollywood, then pinch yourself hard and think again. For these are the days when Bollywood filmmakers have taken a giant leap and have graduated into many other arenas which are gustier than the three lettered forbidden word. The recent era has witnessed Bollywood spinning many a sex comedies in the form of KYAA KOOL HAIN HUM, KYAA SUPER KOOL HAIN HUM, GRAND MASTI and likes. But, this week's release HUNTERRR, despite falling in the same 'genre', does not qualify to be a sex-comedy, as it's more of 'coming-of-age' film. Does HUNTERRR actually manage to 'come of age' or is it a case of an 'old wine in a new bottle'? Lets analyze.
The film starts off with the self-confessed 'Vaasu' aka Mandar Ponkshe (Gulshan Devaiah) and his interaction with his fiancée Trupti (Radhika Apte). The film, then, runs into a flashback, only to be merged with the present. These series of flashback to the present day situations forms a regular fixture in the film, and that is how the film gets carried forward. The film traces Mandar's life's story and all the situations which led him to what he is today. Despite all his friends getting married, Mandar wants to remain unmarried for three basic reasons. While the first reason is that he is marriage-phobic, the second is that he doesn't believe in the concept of falling in 'love' and the last reason is that he feels that marriage will curb all his 'vaasugiri'... something which he has been doing since his younger days! The flashback also shows him as a school student bunking classes and getting into a sleaze video parlour to see an adults film… only to be caught by the cops and paraded in public with his head half shaved! As he grows 'up', he starts understanding the 'wants of a woman' and thus, he becomes a 'hunter' of sorts. And his hunted 'objects' include the married lady Jyotsna (Sai Tamhankar), Parul (Veera Saxena) and a handful of other catches (which also includes the very proverbial 'Savita Bhabhi'). Amidst all this, he comes across a very carefree Trupti, whom he gets engaged to. But the problem is that, Mandar, in order to impress her, says that he is a very 'doodh ka dhula' type of man and is far away from the world of sex, affairs, women and likes. On the other hand, the frank and outspoken Trupti makes it very clear about her past affairs and also a broken engagement. The problem starts when Mandar realizes that he has actually fallen in love with Trupti and that he must go and confess before her about his 'vaasugiri' activities. That's when he alongwith his cousin-cum-friend-cum-confidante Yusuf (Sagar Deshmukh) gets drunk and an intoxicated Mandar goes to confess to knock on Trupti's door at the wee hours.
Does an highly intoxicated Mandar succeed in coming clean before Trupti, does Trupti accept Mandar despite knowing about all his 'vaasugiri', what was the reason for Trupti's broken engagement and what happens to all of Mandar's past affairs is what forms the rest of the film.
Technically, HUNTERRR is Harshavardhan Kulkarni's debut film as a director (the short film LOST & FOUND notwithstanding). This man clearly seems to know the message that he wants to convey through the film. Full marks to him for making this 'sex' film, without making it look vulgar. Even though there are some places (esp. in the second half) where the film starts to struggle (read 'stretched'), Harshavardhan has ensured that the film progresses smoothly by hook or by crook. The film's oscillation between the past and the present act as speed breaker, in the otherwise smooth film. As far as the performances are concerned, no prizes for guessing that it's none other than Gulshan Devaiah who leads the hunter gang. His exhibition of comic timing is very sincere and is as much believable as his 'timing' for sexual overtures and raw 'sensualness'. By the end of the film, he lands up convincing the viewer as to why is he the apt choice for the role. As far as the heroines in the film are concerned, it's a very tricky to analyze as to who 'scored' over the other. While Sai Tamhankar provides all the necessary chutzpah that was required to spice up her role, she lands up making absolutely no mistakes while bringing the film to its climax (no pun intended). Veera Saxena, who makes her debut with this film, is decent and delivers her part comfortably. On the other hand, it's the fiery Radhika Apte, who, after garnering rave reviews for her last release BADLAPUR, comes up with yet another stunner of a performance in HUNTERRR. Her timing is as effortless as her acting abilities. She is definitely a name to watch out for. Sagar Deshmukh, on his part, does a commendable job. The rest of the characters (Rachel Dsouza, Nitesh Pandey and others) do their bit to take this film forward.
The music of the film (Khamosh Shah) could have been further fine-tuned a bit more. On the other hand, the film's background music (Hitesh Sonik) takes the cake for effortlessly infusing itself into the film's situations.
Had the film's cinematography (John Jacob Payyapalli) been more taken care of, it would have definitely made a difference to the film. And had the film's editing (Kirti Nakhwa) been tighter, the confusion during the oscillation between the past and the present could have been easily avoided. In a film of such genre, it's generally the dialogues (mostly one-liners) which take the cake. And HUNTERRR is no different. And full credit goes to the impeccable duo of Harshavardhan Kulkarni and Vijay Maurya for springing up very impromptu lines. The film actually 'stands' and thrives on such dialogues and one liners.
On the whole, if you like naughty comedy full of witty lines, then HUNTERRR is a must watch for you.
