In 1972 S. Ramanathan directed Amitabh Bachchan in a comic thriller that is considered to be one of his earliest films as the lead hero. However, not just Bachchan, Bombay to Goa, about a bus journey from Bombay to Goa, is best remembered for a motley group of Bachchan’s co-passengers, played by the superstars of Indian comedy — Mehmood, Kishore Kumar, Mukri, Keshto Mukherjee, Manorama, Sundar. Four decades later their broad comedy and slapstick humour continue to tickle the funny bone.
No such luck with Sunshine Music Tours and Travels, another film on a bus journey, all the way from Kashmir to Goa for attending the Sunburn music festival. Forget memorable, the passengers are so irritating that one would rather hop off the film and abort the trip altogether. Be it the hero who keeps running in the snow and going topless in homage to Salman Khan (played by Sunny Kaushal) or his Aalia Bhatt bhakt sidekick/friend (Ashrut Abhinan Jain); the bansuri playing Peter baba (Suhas Joshi) or a horny blogger (Deepak Kalra). Things get worse because none of the actors, including Vicky Kaushal’s brother Sunny in the lead (who is called Sunburn), seem to have any previous experience with the camera.
It’s clear, that Shailendra Singh of Percept that organises the Sunburn festival has just used the film as an excuse for brand promotion, stringing the fest footage with an apology of a story and a non existent script. The electronic dance music festival held in Goa is not something that the average massy Bollywood viewer would identify with. And those who do patronise it will, find the film way too tacky and amateurish for comfort. The lead character’s for music is synthetic to the core, never once does it make an impact with the viewer. All that one can do then, is revel in is the landscape, from the snow to the sand, but even that has been inconsistently shot.
There is much talk of sex, masturbation, lesbianism and dysfunctional bladders. But Pahlaj Nihalani would not be offended because the Western culture notwithstanding the film’s heart is resolutely Hindustani. The tricolour keeps fluttering ever so often in the background. The hero salutes the flag and recites the Hanuman Chalisa while fighting the goons and there are throwaway lines about Modi and Gandhi (Tu hi mera Modi, Tu hi mera Gandhi) and how Hindustan is so beautiful. If the films of the last few weeks are any indication a new genre and aesthetic of facile patriotism is seeping into Indian cinema. I’d keep an eye out for more.
