The film: Mama Bhagne

Starring: Prosenjit, Ranjit Mullick, Ananya Chatterjee, Anup Sengupta’s Mama Bhagne shows how gags and guffaws can salvage the poorest of storylines. t2 lists five points to watch out for in this comic caper...

1) Plot premise: The storyline is quite simple, really, if you let logic take a back seat. Here’s a goofy Mama (uncle, Ranjit Mullick) and his Bhagne (nephew, Prosenjit) always dreaming of get-rich ways and women. When the Bhagne finally bumbles his way into a girl’s (Ananya) heart, Mama becomes his Love Guru. But since dhisum-dhisum plus sobs and tears are a must in every Tolly potboiler, there’s a quick turn of events. That’s when Prosenjit turns into a brute — he’s so greedy for money that he leaves his pretty wife (Ananya) — but has a prompt change of heart and comes running back to his sweetheart. The villain, a scheming cousin, comes in the shape of Shankar Chakraborty.

2) Design drama: Mama-Bhagne’s sartorial sense — the duo dresses in silk kurtas and jackets in fluorescent orange and green — helps draw more laughs. They switch to suits and goggles when shaking a leg with phirang babes, and floral shirts and bandana when jiving on the beach. But their chemistry and clothes do ring a bell. Well, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, anyone?

Also, don’t miss Ananya’s blonde wig which she wears only when romancing Prosenjit. Or her screen father Bishwajit Chakraborty, who switches from a mali to a suited-booted upstart in satin night gowns after winning a lottery.

3) The comic combo: Prosenjit’s facial expressions and Mullick’s one-liners are well-timed and fun. Prosenjit scrubs floors, gets bashed up by baddies and lies bandaged on the hospital bed with carefree ease, while the veteran Mullick scores with his dialogue delivery, and moves and shakes.

4) Girl next door: Ananya embellishes her girl next door role with dollops of emotion. She’s the perfect mix of tradition and modernity, who goes to the temple every morning and drives around the rest of the day with friends!

5) The backdrop: The opulent sets are a relief from the tacky sofas and beds where several Tolly comedies are shot. But the music is uninspiring, despite a dozen foreign girls dancing in bikinis and hot pants.