Film Review: TERE BIN LADEN

Cast: Ali Zafar, Praduman Singh, Sugandha Singh, Barry John, Nikhil Ratnaparkhi, Piyush Mishra, Rahul Singh, Seema Bhargava
Director: Abhishek Sharma

The film is a tongue-in-cheek take on the desperation the Bush administration showed in getting their hands on Osama Bin Laden and how the protagonist Ali uses this to his advantage.

The Story: Ali Hassan (Ali Zafar) from Pakistan has always dreamed of moving to Amreeka and settling down there as a reporter on NBC or CNN. He gets his visa and boards a flight to dreamland only to be deported after a chance incident on the flight. Ali returns home with his tail between his legs, but never stops dreaming.

Seven years hence, after his visa application rejected umpteen times, Ali is found working for a small time television channel. The unhappy Ali has still not given up on his American dream. Along with his friend and colleague Gul, he meets an agent who could arrange for a new passport and visa for a sum of 2 lakh.

Not having enough funds, a dejected Ali goes to make a report on a Cockerel fight. While editing the video, he is shocked to see that the owner of the winning cock is a Osama Bin Laden look-alike. What happens after that is to be seen to be believed. Catch the film to find out whether Ali ever moves to America.

My Perception: The low-key film runs for barely an hour and forty minutes. We went to the theatre without many expectations and were pleasantly surprised. It was a fun watch that had been directed and edited extremely well. All the actors have done their parts perfectly, right from Ali to Qureshi (Rahul Singh), the RJ who gives the voiceover for Osama.

The innocent looking Noora (Praduman Singh) who shakes up the US of A in a video footage has given a superb performance. It’s fascinating to watch the man interacting innocently with his hens and cockerels while on video he appears to be the vile Osama.

Sugandha Singh has a sizeable part as Zoya, the make-up artist and she has done a wonderful job. Nikhil Ratnaparkhi plays the sleepy Gul who is ready to follow in Ali’s footsteps wherever he leads him. His body language speaks for itself and makes the audience laugh every time he moves on screen.

Barry John as American officer Ted is an ideal fit for the role. One can well relate to Ted’s character as he does his best for the country with the sole purpose of improving his own status with the government.

If my memory serves me right, I last saw Rahul Singh (RJ Qureshi in this film) playing villain in the Karishma Kapoor starrer Zubeidaa. He plays the RJ Qureshi who hates America and all things American. Ali persuades Qureshi to give the Arabic voiceover to the Osama video and Rahul Singh fits the role perfectly.

The music by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy needs to be mentioned as it complements the film beautifully. The songs and their lyrics are just right for the scenes and the tunes very catchy.

All in all, the casting is faultless and Kudos to Abhishek Sharma on this fun movie that has you laughing your heads off throughout.

VERDICT: It’s still running in the theatre folks. Do catch it! It’s most definitely worth a see.

RATING: **** Snazzy

*Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super