Osama Bin Laden - the name is associated with terror; hijack; fear; killings but not this one. Tere Bin Laden takes the most controversial name in the history of global terrorism and flips it into a rip-roaring comedy that is going to have you rolling with uncontrollable laughter.
All Ali Hassan (Ali Zafar) wanted was an entry into Amreeka which for him spelt the path of serious career and the league of big bucks. He was almost there, had it not been for the split-second misunderstanding aboard his Karachi-America flight. He innocently picked up a knife dropped by the airhostess; she panics, rings the hijacker bells and Ali is deported. Any post attempts by Ali to get a visa are rejected. Yet years later, Ali is stuck-for-good in Karachi, employed by a shady news channel run by Majeed Khan (Piyush Mishra), covering frivolous news, but not ready to give up on his big dreams. Single option is a local travel agent (Rajendra Sethi), who demands lofty sums of money in exchange for the desirable entry to US. While Ali ponders over raising the money, luck comes calling his way in the form of Noora (Pradhuman Singh), a poultry breeder, who bears an eerie physical similarity to Osama. Ali with the help of his loyal sidekick cameraman Gul (Nikhil Ratnaparkhi) develops a plot to tape a fake Osama video and barter it with media channels for money. Supporting them in this swindle are makeup artist Zoya (Sugandha Garg), dubbing artist Qureshi (Rahul Singh), an Arabic scriptwriter (Chirag Vohra), but the toughest challenge remains to get Noora to enact Osama!Will Ali pull it off and fulfill his Amreekan wish without ruffling any major political or criminal feathers, forms the backbone of the film.
Debutant director/writer Abhishek Sharma has put together a simple story, which is neat and seamless. Sharp dialogues, uproarious one-liners, lean character sketches, keeping the sensibilities primed are the USP’s of this comic caper. Abhishek does complete justice to the subject by his astute direction. Every minuscule aspect ranging from the language, voice-overs, tones, looks and costumes, sets is accurate and along with the translucent narration culminates into a good film. Santosh Thundiyil's cinematography is on par. Musical contributions by the genius trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have already received their due.
Casting is undoubtedly the trump card of the film. No particular actor can be singled out as every character has been defined perfectly and leveraged upon. Performances by every one in the film are par excellence. Ali Zafar, the singer-actor, who is already being touted as the next big thing puts in an open performance. His portrayal of the ambitious and desperate journo is easy on the eyes, coupled with good looks and confidence takes the act a notch further. Pradhuman Singh is the cherry on the cake and scene-stealer hands-down. His dual roles as the naïve Noora and spiteful Osama on film are mature, confident and riveting. His act is strappingly compelling, so much so that you want to sympathize his innocence in one scene and subsequently smack him for his idiosyncrasy in the next. Piyush Mishra as Majeed, the miserly owner of the news channel is exceptional, as are the rest of the cast who fit into their roles comfortably.
It’s refreshing to see Bollywood coming out of hairbrained so-called comedies and experimenting with subjects and genres that are fresh, in sync with times and thought-provoking. Tere Bin Laden is a comical look at the American government’s mindset about Pakistan, Osama, Taliban and its likes. The film has its heart in the right place. The running length of around 100 minutes is perfect. What provides the edge is that the movie indulges in endless LOL moments without treading the path of silly gags, gay jokes, gibberish storylines, 8-pack abs & unwanted song/dance sequences.
On second thoughts: I’m tempted to know the real Osama’s reaction if he chances to see what Noora has done to his grim image.
Final Take: Tere Bin Laden is pure harmless fun.
Excellent review for an excellent movie!
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