The trailer of the Ishaan Khattar-Ananya Pandey starrer Khaali Peeli is worse than one ever imagined. The fact that Ms Pandey comes across as so fake should surprise none. She is after all, hardly known for her acting chops. Come to think of it, what is she known for?
It’s Ishaan Khatter whose loud hammy antics in the trailer are completely offputting. Really, what was he thinking? After that commendable performance in Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy, is this Ishaan’s idea of letting his hair down? It is not only his hair Ishaan is letting down. What about audiences’ expectations? What about his own expectations?
Both Khatter and Pandey sport thick fake Bambaiyya accents which are as convincing as Priyanka Chopra’s American accent, and just as incriminating. The two actors are on the run and there is a yellow bag dangling between them which they keep squabbling about. There are guns and ganaas, car chases and grimacing faces none of which seems particularly amusing even during these hard times when we are ready to smile at the slightest provocation.
Khaali Peeli has lots of bright inviting colours splashed across the frames. These are likely to get lost on the OTT screens. But looking at the brighter side, this is the only platform where a film as shabby-looking as this can hope to get noticed.
Last year on October 2 we had Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff locking horns in War. This year we have Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Pandey blowing the horn in a taxi which, like the Hindi film industry, has seen better days.