Money Hai Toh Honey Hai
Ingredients in this delicious junk comprise: six separate characters, a rich old man, a hunt for heirs to his fortune—and the story rolls. Om Puri's voiceover introduces us to KK Jaiswal's (Prem Chopra) desperate need for six successors.
We see a literal representation of soft-in-the-head Jaiswal's mental kaleidoscope – a world where he imagines floating numbers, butterflies, parachutes, helicopters etc. Of the imaginary numbers, he concocts six and smses them his intention of leaving the wealth in their hands.
These characters are all interesting. Manik (Upen Patel, persistently shirtless) is a Chinchpokli struggler wanting to make it big as a model, who lands into the lap of well-known fashion designer Dolly (Archana Puran Singh) in a gender-reversed casting couch situation.
We then meet Manoj Bajpai, the archetypal Sheikh Chili who manages to lose a fortune in bad business decisions, but his spirit remains undeterred. Aftab Shivadasani plays a talented advertising copywriter who believes in stating the truth about a product over glossy promises.
Bobby, played by a tattooed Govinda, is a shopaholic child (hah!) of a wealthy dad who is finally asked to mend his ways or fend for himself. He chooses the latter and uses his cunning to solve people's personal problems for a mighty sum.
Ashima Kapoor (Hansika) is soap star spoofing Smriti Irani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Only, she’s unhappy being typecast and wishes she transform her image from a devi to a film diva. In a connected spoof, a persistently angry Mukti Kapoor (Rakhi Tandon), dressed tellingly in a red tilak and gem-stone rings, threatens her with dire consequences if she dare leave the serial.
The sixth of the lot is Celina Jaitley, for once tolerable in subtle make-up and an acting role. She plays a fashion designer who sells her clothes to Dolly who in turn sells it under her label for several times the price. She wants to reach designer clothes to the aam junta, but doesn’t have the money to realise her dream. That’s the state of the other five as well, as we break for intermission. How they get to the 1,000 crore booty and the hiccups they encounter forms the stagnant premise of the second half. The film is a complete downhill ride thereafter.
For a comedy, the humour is severely below par. Mercifully, the film is largely devoid of the usual vulgarity. Ketaki Dave as the TV serial devotee is hilarious, even if excessive. There’s also a Vijay Mallya spoof, a rather dull one. The only offensive dialogue, among a few, that I can recollect is Govinda leering at a single woman’s cleavage and commenting –"Itna acha maal, godown mein pada hai." Cringe! Otherwise, the comedy essentially emanates from the bumbling six and their sorry state of lives......Read More
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