This is a classic case of an interesting idea which somehow does not translate into an interesting film. The director, Varun Khanna makes his debut in Hindi films with an idea which he is unable to flesh out in an interesting manner in his screenplay. The film has the potential to be a decent comedy but falls short of that. The unfocussed screenplay and direction is mostly to be blamed for that.
The film's premise is extremely interesting. Govind ( Gaurav Kapoor) is a loser. He is dogged by bad luck at every step. In fact, it's just not him, but everybody who comes into contact with him, who is badgered by bad luck. He loses his job at a TV channel in Delhi and comes to Mumbai to change his destiny. But his spree of bad luck continues to shadow him and his environment. It's here in Mumbai that a gang decides to use him as their Brahmastra and unleash him to destroy their rivals.
In Mumbai, Govind's destiny brings him into contact with some underworld goons, played by Parmeet Sethi, Govind Namdeo, Vrajesh Hirjee, who discover his propensity to transfer bad luck to everyone he comes into contact with and decide to use him to decimate their rivals. In this whole process, where Govind is being used as pawn by these tapori types, he manages to meet and fall in love with the good doctor (Hrishita Bhatt), who also lives in the same neighbourhood. Eventually, of course, Govind discovers the power of the positive. That, in short, is the film's story. But the screenplay shows a total lack of skill in the manner in which it unfolds. It is pedestrian and silly. Then the director tries to make an attempt to link all of this to a Buddhist chant, which just doesn't gel.
The film is so loaded with cliches, specially in the manner in which the goons are portrayed. The problem is that we have seen and heard too much of that tapori language and bhaigiri in film after film. There is nothing new really left to explore. So when Khanna flogs the same horse, this time in an attempt to make us laugh, it feels like a very feeble attempt. There are a couple of intresting sequences, specially when the gangster played by Zakir Hussain starts turning into a female, due to the effect of some hormonal tablets fed to him by his rivals. But it's not enough to lift the film.
The problem one feels is that Khanna, who lives more in US, is not quite in sync with the trends in Mumbai and Bollywood. What sounds interesting in a drawing room in far off shores probably does not translate that well into the visual language. The premise is just about the only interesting thing about the movie.
While the role of the goons has been well acted out, most of the actors are veterans at it; even Gaurav Kapoor does his best in the lead role of Govind. But the screenplay, script and dialogues do not exactly support him. Hrishita Bhatt is pleasant. Zakir Hussain stands out among the goons.
The film's music is just about mediocre like the movie, except for the song which is based on a Buddhist chant. It has a sense of serenity which is conveyed very well by Sunidhi Chauhan's vocals.
In all, Bad Luck Govind, is a very mediocre attempt. This film has definitely run out luck.
