Golmaal: Fun Unlimited

Plot

The storyline was inspired from the 2001 Malayalam film Kakkakuyil. The story revolves around the lives of Gopal (Ajay Devgn), Lucky (Tusshar Kapoor), Madhav (Arshad Warsi) and Laxman (Sharman Joshi) (hence the name GoLMaL).

Laxman is an intelligent student who is diverted from doing well in college by his mischievous band of friends Gopal, Madhav, and Lucky. Lucky is a mute in the movie. The three friends use Laxman's hostel room for their mischievous activities. Laxman is peer pressured into running a series of scams to earn himself and his friends some money and is punished by being thrown out of college. The naughty foursome then finds refuge in the bungalow of a blind couple, Somnath (Paresh Rawal) and Mangala (Sushmita Mukherjee), who are waiting for their grandson, Sameer, to inherit his paternal grandparents' treasure chest hidden in the old couple's house. Gopal pretends to be Sameer returning from America, and enters the house, while the other three friends sneak in hidden, even though the real Sameer, along with his parents, were killed in a car crash after his father and mother angrily left with him for India to meet his grandparents; Sameer's father's parents, after learning that Somnath and Mangala were permanently blinded in a lethal accident. Somnath goes to America and lights the pyres of his son, daughter-in-law and grandson, the ashes of whom he later kept in an urn, as per the Hindu tradition.

A cat-and-mouse game unfolds as Laxman's body and Gopal's voice make up Sameer. Each time the blind Dadaji comes amidst them, hilarious situations arise. Enter Nirali (Rimi Sen), the saucy girl-next-door, and the group now have time, place and 'resources' to fall in love. Their individual efforts at winning the lady's heart fail. Apart from their amorous interests, there is a quest for the chest. There is also a gangster named Babli who wants to steal the chest from the couple's bungalow. All his attempts are unintentionally and unknowingly thwarted by the foursome.

By the end of the film, Somnath reveals about Sameer's death to Laxman, Gopal, Madhav and Lucky after the foursome find the chest hidden behind an old painting in the house, despite Laxman pleading not to open the chest. Mangala is shocked to hear the stories, breaks into tears and condemns her husband for lying to her all those years and not allowing her to cradle her grandson or light the pyres, and she also condemns the foursome for tricking her and hurting her feelings. Babli then arrives with his gang and later reveals that he hid the diamonds in the urn Somnath was carrying his grand returned to India and arrived at an airport. Panducharang, an assassin previously sent by Babli as an undercover servant later joins Gopal's team and fights the gangsters off, with the fight finally ending with Gopal being accidentally stabbed by Babli in his behind with a knife, falling unconscious soon after, but not before warning Madhav, Lucky and Laxman to not touch the knife, leaving the three friends in laughter. Babli also falls unconscious after seeing blood flowing from Gopal's behind.

After being admitted to a hospital, Gopal finally has the knife removed from his back, and Babli is arrested for his crimes. Laxman, Gopal, Madhav and Lucky are then rewarded with ten percent of the original value of the diamonds for arresting Babli. Nirali then chooses Lucky as her husband-to-be, saying that she found true love and loyalty in him and him alone, leaving the remaining three disappointed.

Cast

Critical reception

Golmaal received positive reviews from critics. Sukanya Varma of Rediff said the film was "one wacky, goofy, paisa vasool ride" and that "the humour isn't exactly family audience material, and is more likely to be lapped up by college-going folk", rating the movie 3/5. Subhash K Jha of Sify wrote that "Golmaal's neatly structured ambit of asinine anarchy tickles the funny-bone, it finally says nothing about the quality of modern life that we haven't already heard in all those blasts from the past that have come in recent weeks trying to create a ripple across our sense of humour." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said that "Golmaal is a thoroughly enjoyable fare, the film has all it takes to hit the bull's eye" rating it 3.5/5.

Box office

Golmaal had an average opening, and earned ₹274 million (US$4.3 million) nett and grossed ₹699 million (US$11 million). At the end of its run, the film was declared a semi hit.

Other

Shortly following the film's release Microsoft's Skype decided to include an emoji for Golmaal as well as several other Bollywood emojis in an effort to appeal to users in India and to honor Indian culture.

Soundtrack

Music composed by Vishal - Shekhar, lyrics penned by Vishal Dadlani & Kumaar

Sequel

The film spawned an sequel titled Golmaal Returns, which released on 29 October 2008. The sequel received mostly negative reviews from critics, however had an bumper opening in India and grossed an total more than the original. It was declared an Hit. On 5 November 2010, the third sequel titled Golmaal 3 was released, which broke many records. The film was declared an Blockbuster, and is currently the highest-grossing installment in the Golmaal film series.