Desi Boyz review: "Entertaining yet a no brainer time pass!!!"

It's common knowledge that there has been a dearth of good clean comedies in Bollywood in the last few years. If at all anything of that genre does appear, it invariably hovers around slap stick stuff with ample reference to gay jokes. Trying to bring back some of the wholesome clean comedies is Rohit Dhawan, son of the undisputed king of comedies,David Dhawan. So can Rohit's directorial debut "Desi Boyz" live upto the expectations imparted by the catchy promos, stunning male protagonists & lineage???

Recession is one of the most dreaded yet most oft used word since the past few years. As one would expect, Europe & the US are the worst affected leading to wide spread unemployment. Jerry Patel (Akshay Kumar) & Nick Mathur (John Abraham) are the best of pals settled in UK. Nick is an investment banker, who had everything that he had wished for..a beautiful fiance, smashing career & a heavy paycheck. On the other hand, Jerry had petty jobs but survived living off Nick. Finally the day arrived, when recession came knocking on their door rendering them jobless. It's in such a scenario that they bump into Desi Boyz Boss (Sanjay Dutt) who offers them the job of male escorts. Though reluctant initially, they take it up as Nick harboured fears of losing Radhika (Deepika) while Jerry had to prevent his nephew,Veer from being sent to a foster home. But their fears turn into reality when their profession becomes known. So how can they get it all back???

Rohit does manage to create a sense of reality by infusing a real life crisis into the plot. As a matter of fact, the first half does entertain the audience as the protagonists share a smashing chemistry interlaced with some really jovial moments. However, the second half falls flat as the film hardly moves forward for John's character as he is seen just wooing Deepika the whole time. Akki does manage to do something more but his track doesnt imply much significance & the film slowly drags to a typical climax. In short, Rohit wasnt able to do anything that will stamp his uniqueness. Pritam's music was outstanding as the title track rendered by K.K & B.o.B is a chart buster not to forget the catchy choreography along with Mika's "Subha Hone Na De". The BGM also deserves mention especially for the revamped version of "Khalnayak".

Akki is a veteran of comedies as his timing is spot on as always while John has definitely grown a lot as an actor & seems much at ease handling comedy as opposed to his performance in "Garam Masala". Their smashing chemistry makes it a delight for the audience as they exude charisma & camaraderie. Deepika didnt have much scope while Chitrangda was reduced to a sexy Economics professor.However, Sanju baba sizzles in his brief cameo, Omi Vaidya tickes the funny bone while Anupam Kher was wasted.

Verdict: The catchy promos & chart-bustering songs will ensure a good opening at the box office. The film is marketed as a popcorn munching entertainer which doesnt take a toll on your brain cells. In short, if you watch it without expectations you will have stuff to laugh about in the first half!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben