By Naveen
I am not a fan of Zombie movies and I don’t recall having seen one in recent times.
For me to watch the Saif Ali Khan produced Go Goa Gone, Bollywood’s first Zombie movie, was an odd choice.
But I don’t regret the decision as the movie was not so bad after all!
Story
Go Goa Gone stars Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Puja Gupta and Anand Tiwari.
Luv (Vir Das), Hardik (Kunal Khemu) and Bunny (Anand Tiwari) are friends and room-mates. Bunny is the nerdy and hard-working one while the other two are happy go lucky guys.
Hardik loses his job when he is caught trying to f#ck a co-worker in the office. Luv breaks up with his girlfriend. The two join Bunny on his official visit to Goa.
Luv meets his unknown Facebook friend Luna (Puja Gupta) in Goa and learns about a Rave party she is going to on a desolate island. Luv and Hardik also go to the party and drag Bunny along.
Boris (Saif Ali Khan), a drug racketeer, is organizing the party to launch a new, highly potent drug. Whoever has that drug becomes a Zombie and now the Island is full of Zombies trying to eat whoever is left and turn them into zombies.
The rest of the movie is about how Luv, Hardik, Puja, Bunny and Boris deal with the Zombies and whether they escape the Island.
Now, since this is a Zombie movie I will not make a big deal out of illogical things like those mentioned below. What more can one expect from a Zombie movie but morbid stupidity?
* Why does a Hindu Hardik wear a Cross?
* Why does Saif Ali Khan speak in a fake Russian accent only when talking in English?
* Why are almost all the Zombies non-Indians?
* Why is Puja Gupta given a ridiculous name like Luna?
What Worked for Me?
The biggest factor that works in favor of the movie is the newness of the concept in an Indian movie.
The directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. have made this movie targeting urban Indian youth and this is a smart move for the movie.
There are chuckle-worthy one liners and funny scenes.
The one I liked most was Saif Ali Khan turning around and saying “I’ll be back” in a thick Russian accent.
Overall, the humor and youth quotient will help the movie.
What Could have Been Better?
Zombie movies are B movies in Hollywood and they typically have sexy and slutty women and abundant skin show as part of the entertainment.
While Bollywood has copied this concept they have completely ignored the sexy aspect and made Puja Gupta’s role drab and useless.
Puja Gupta may look good as a mom applying jam on bread in a Kissan Jam advertisement but she is not hot and her role lacked the spice needed to make a difference.
Also, there is only one girl and 5 men (including Boris’s body guard Nicholas) and she too acts like a Sati-Savitri instead of Panchali!! They could have bumped off Bunny and added a Sexy Cunny as replacement.
For a movie that has absolutely no story or plot it runs too long, it could been trimmed by 10-15 minutes to keep it more engaging.
Performances
Contrary to what the posters seem to indicate, Saif Ali khan is not the lead of Go Goa Gone.
Saif’s screen time is less than others and the impact of his role isn’t any more than that of Luv or Hardik’s.
There is not much to look for in terms of performance in this type of a movie but Vir Das and Kunal Khemu were good.
Saif Ali Khan didn’t do anything to make an impact and his ridiculous accent and hideous getup didn’t help him.
Puja Gupta wasn’t sexy enough for the role and her role wasn’t spicy enough to be impactful.
The background music was OK. It supported the scenes.
The make-up department has done a good job of copying from Hollywood. The Zombie makeups were done well.
Action scenes pained my eyes due to the constantly shaking camera.
In movies like this, it doesn’t hurt to suddenly make our timid heroine or the nerdy Bunny transform into a Ninja and pull off a cool fight scene but there were no such surprises.
Verdict
On a different day I may completely trash Go Goa Gone but I am in a forgiving mood today.
I saw the movie for what it was and it wasn’t bad.
If you like Zombie movies or mindless popcorn flicks then you will enjoy Go Goa Gone. Go for it and leave the kids home.
It is Adult rated.
There is abundant use of cuss words, scenes of heavy smoking, alcohol use and drug use.
Unfortunately no sex or nudity. 🙁
Go Goa Gone Review – Macabre Comedy added by SearchIndia.com on
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You certainly are in a forgiving mood.
Just saw some promos on the Saturday morning Indian magazine show, can’t believe you spent 10 bucks or so on this mindless show of human entrails.
After the promo, they cut to an ad for http://www.giftofvision.org couldn’t help wonder if the money could have been better directed.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Naveen (reviewer of this film) bravely bore the heavy cross this time.
Well.. it is a zombie movie after all… my expectations were quite low and obviously I cannot complain that the plot was too thin or there was no human drama.
Talking of Zombie movies, I ended up watching “Shaun of the dead” last night. A British zombie comedy.
I hate zombies 🙁
SearchIndia.com Responds:
I used to hate them too…until I watched World War Z.
Indians in general are not keen on Zombie and Vampire/Werewolf (Twilight Saga) films.
But these genres are extremely popular in America.
Saif Ali Khan with the blonde hair looks horrid in the trailer.
The only movie I liked Saif’s performance was Omkara.
After reading the review, decided not to watch it even on DVD.
“28 days later” is the best zombie flick I’ve seen!
“28 weeks later” was great. The first half was spell binding! After the mid point it slows down a bit but I guess they did for a sequel.
I also like “Dawn of the Dead” — the rebooted version.
I got headache watching this movie 🙁
Luv’s acting was hideous. The others were alright esp Hardik.
Didn’t find it funny one bit…. Was a big bore for me!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: I got headache watching this movie 🙁
Good news for you…ho-hum opening in India.
Source: http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=5655&nCat=
I am surprised AMC’s The Walking Dead is not mentioned anywhere!
Zombie parts are so similar!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Naveen (the reviewer) has gone on vacation to Mera Bharat Mahaan…If he logs in from India, he’ll respond to your point.
@guruji – I have not watched The Walking Dead
No one reviewing that Raanjhnaa stuff? How is it, if anyone heard? Just curious.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Just published World War Z review – http://www.searchindia.com/2013/06/21/world-war-z-review-killer-thriller/
Raanjhnaa review coming later today. It’s still 4:41AM here! 😉
Great! So fast! I didn’t expect a reply at this time. Get some sleep!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The
nightday is still young! 😉Have u watched flavors and 99 by the same director? I liked them.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
No.
I didn’t even see Go Goa Gone…Review was done by an SI reader.