Produced by Rakshit Shetty under his banner Paramvah Studios, ‘Bachelor Party’ is low on humour and high on boredom.
A still from Abhijith Mahesh's directorial 'Bachelor Party'. (X)
Making someone laugh their heart out is not an easy task. It is tougher when the humour is free of dirt and double-meaning jokes.
Comedy is definitely one of the most loved genres across the globe. After all, who wouldn’t want to laugh a bit amidst all those serious challenges life throws at us constantly?
Ever since the pan-India wave took off with the back-to-back success of the KGF series (2018 & 2022) and Kantara (2022), Sandalwood has been majorly churning out full-on action thrillers.
Last year, Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare succeeded to some extent in making the audience laugh. A few other projects too lasted long with their onscreen humour.
Now, Bachelor Party is the first-ever major comedy flick from Kannada hitting the screens for the calendar year. But the question remains as to whether it makes you laugh.
And, the answer would be…
Diganth Manchale, Yogesh, and Achyuth Kumar in a still from ‘Bachelor Party’. (Supplied)
The film opens with Santhosh (played by Diganth Manchale) chanting the Gayatri Mantra while he is being threatened by a gun at point-blank range. Next, the scene goes into a flashback.
We learn that Santhosh, a software engineer, leads a regular life with a home loan, multiple EMIs, and other monthly financial commitments, which are typical for a married man.
In fact, it is not the thing that is bothering Santhosh but his wife Sandhya (portrayed by Siri Ravi), who was last seen in Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye (2023), delivering a stellar performance.
With the absence of happiness in married life, an invite to one of his school classmates’ bachelor party brings an accidental relief to Santhosh and his monotonous not so happy married life. The same is the case with his work life.
Following some filler sequences, Santhosh along with his troublesome school friend Madhav aka Maddy (Yogesh) find themselves in Bangkok after the bachelor party. They partied hard the previous night.
The third person who joins them on their overnight trip to Bangkok is their physical trainer master (Achyuth Kumar).
The rest of the escapades in Bangkok are supposed to make you laugh!
Before even pointing out the major missing factor in the film, let me remind you all that I love comedy films since humour is something I best enjoy watching for entertainment. Unfortunately, I was quite silent throughout the film — waiting to laugh. I even tried to force myself to laugh at some near-funny sequences.
For instance, there is a conversation between two characters in the film, one of which says his father was an excellent swimmer, but he died after falling into a well! Wondering how? Well, it was a dry well!
Seriously, with the amount of entertainment being fed these days through multiple mediums, not even a school-going child would find such things funny.
Back to what’s majorly missing in Bachelor Party is simply the comedy/humour/fun/crazy sequences that evoke laughter.
Seema, like Abhijit Mahesh — who is credited for his brilliant work behind all the fun in the super hit film Kirik Party (2016) — tries hard to make this one a laughing riot.
A fine comedy is when the situations are genuinely funny and more importantly, are natural. A classic case of laughing at someone’s expense. All these are absent in Bachelor Party as is the case of happiness in Santhosh’s life.
ಎಲ್ರೂ ಇಲ್ ಕೇಳಿ, ಇಲ್ ಕೇಳಿ! ಒಂದ್ ನಿಮಿಷ.. ಸೈಲೆನ್ಸ್.. ಒಂದ್ ನಿಮಿಷ!!
The Bachelors are here to officially declare that 26th Jan is NOT a dry day ☺️
ಈ ಸಲ ಪಾರ್ಟಿ ಜೋರು!#BachelorPartyOnJan26 #Jan26NotADryDay#BachelorParty pic.twitter.com/OV47QBezPc
— Paramvah Studios (@ParamvahStudios) December 25, 2023
A still from director Abhijith Mahesh’s ‘Bachelor Party’. (Supplied)
In some cases, good writing is usually ruined by poor performance. But here, average writing has been saved to a great extent by the performances of lead actors.
Diganth Manchale, undoubtedly one of the better actors in the industry, is the saviour along with Yogesh, a natural in comedy.
Achyuth Kumar, like always, can easily handle any situation or character.
Siri Ravikumar, who was at her best as a counsellor in an emotionally driven drama Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye, does her best to be funny but with a straight face. However, it is the patriarchal and misogynistic behaviour of her husband that bothers her all the time in the movie.
A couple of other characters too make their presence add more humour. Whether they serve any purpose is another aspect altogether.
Verdict
What could be funny for someone may not be funny for another. So, Bachelor Party could still be funny and evoke some laughter for someone who laughs at almost everything.
However, for the others, it is extremely low on humour and high on boredom.
(Views expressed here are personal.)
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