Arjun Patiala

I think you'll agree with me that Diljit Dosanjh is one of the most likeable actors working today. He has a simplicity and sweetness that connects whether he is playing a superhero or a cop. His comic timing is impeccable and there is an inherent honesty, a lack of artifice that connects with the viewer. But even Diljit can't salvage the train-wreck that is Arjun Patiala.

Ritesh Shah and Sandeep Leyzell try a rare cop comedy genre a spoof in fact where a happy go lucky policewala Arjun Patiala (Diljit Dosanjh) and his sidekick Onidda Singh (Varun Sharma) are having fun in leading a life by earning some extra from small bribes. A chance encounter with an honest reporter Ritu Randhawa (Kriti Sanon) make them realize the importance of their dharma and how they change their karma forms the crux of this comedy.

I'll try to explain what the story is about after I gather my senses and I understand what it was all about. So, in the start, we have a writer/director selling his story to a producer (Pankaj Tripathi). You know what's the irony, the producer says he's been backing movies for last 30 years without reading any script (was he inspired by real-life?). The story starts with Arjun Patiala winning a Judo Championship to get a posting in the Punjab Police.

Somewhere in the middle of Arjun Patiala there is a killing scene at a Ferozpur dhaba. A top criminal is finished off by the innocent, boyish-looking sharp-shooter Sakool (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) in a cool, matter-of-fact manner. It is the one and only bit that elevates the spoof to what it needs to have been through and through. But, unfortunately, the innovation ends there.

Time was when the police were a standing joke in popular Hindi cinema. They would always be the last to arrive on the scene of a crime armed with handcuffs for the villain and his henchmen. Familiarity with that dog-eared trope could be useful in case anybody is genuinely interested in making sense of Arjun Patiala. It is highly unlikely that the film will enthuse too many in the audience to make that effort.

How do you wipe out a bunch of baddies in a small town in Punjab? Send in newly appointed thana-in-charge Arjun Patiala (Dosanjh), whose mix of native Punjabi wisdom, expert judo throws, and endearing smiles will magic them away.

Diljit Dosanjh, Kriti Sanon, Varun Sharma, Ronit Roy, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Seema Pahwa are quite entertaining in the spoofy Arjun Patiala, but the film lacks the required punch. As one enjoys the brilliant actors on screen, Arjun Patiala disappoints viewers even more, as it rolls on without any theme.

A director pleads with a film producer to listen to a narration of the script he's written over three years. The producer is already satisfied since the script fulfills his requirements of five songs, five villains, a romance and an item number (featuring Sunny Leone). But there's more to it, insists the writer, thereby persuading the producer to settle down for a detailed narration.

Pankaj Tripathi's movie producer drops the most audacious joke in Arjun Patiala during the first five minutes of the film. Appropriately dressed in a white safari suit and covered in gold, he asks the aspiring director why he is bent on telling him the film's story. "I have been making films for decades without once listening to any of the stories," he says with a bemused expression.

Arjun Patiala is basically the story of a writer director pitching his plot to a producer. The opening is hilarious due to Pankaj Tripathi but the film does not sustain the humour very consistently. The main characters are of Arjun Patiala (Diljit Dosanjh), Onida Singh (Varun Sharma) and Ritu Randhawa (Kriti Sanon). The writer tells the story of an alcohol loving rogue inspector Arjun Patiala whose job is to clean up Ferozepur district by making the criminals eliminate one another.

What's left? Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh is his usual pleasant self as he attempts yet again to broaden his base and convince Hindi audiences of his low-key charm, Dosanjh doesn't set the screen on fire in his films but he never leaves it in tatters either. He is nicely cast as the titular hero, who dreams of joining the Punjab Police and manages to get in on a sports quota.

This spoof comedy narrates the story of a cop Arjun Patiala (Diljit Dosanjh) and his sidekick Onidda Singh (Varun Sharma). Together, will they be able to accomplish their mission of a crime-free town with their goofy style of policing?