When the promos of a film establish the fact that the film has been lying in the cans for almost a decade and the music of the film creates no buzz or interest whatsoever, one tends to get apprehensive about Mere Dost Picture Ahbi Baki Hai. However, considering the premise and the fact that it does not promise to be another run of the mill hero, heroine, item song, action gag, offers some hope that there might just be something to root for.
Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai is sadly a film that should have never seen the light of the day. Not only is it a humongous lost opportunity for the director Rajnish Raj Thakur to make a mark but it is also tedious for the audience to sit through the run time.
Amar Joshi (Suniel Shetty) is an ordinary man living in Benaras from a humble background who dreams of making a film some day. That someday never comes across because he does not have enough scope, contacts or opportunities and his father (Rajiv Verma) is also dead against his son’s aspirations. Amar sells of his video library to fund his trip to London where he intends to learn filmmaking. Back to Mumbai, Amar seeks help from his only friend in Bollywood, Suraj (Rajpal Yadav) who is yet to find a foothold for himself. Luck by chance and Amar meets Monty Chadda (Rakesh Bedi) who agrees to produce his film. Hereon starts the journey of Bollywood and the repeated stalling of Amar’s dream debut. First, Monty goes missing and a don Sudama Bhosle (Deepak Shirke) comes up from nowhere claiming that it was his finances at stake and Monty was merely a front face. Submitting to the facts, Amar resumes his film but only this time Sudama wants his girlfriend (Mummait Khan) to replace the leading lady Mohini (Udita Goswami). Amar bows down but soon enough Sudama is killed and the film gets stalled again. Monty comes back and this time he wants to make the film bigger than what they had planned. Comes in a renowned screenwriter Baig (Om Puri) who completely reshapes the story and Amar is at his wits’ end. Thereon follows the journey or fate of Amar making his first film.
The story had a lot of potential and there were enough twists and tweaks which could have worked in favor of the film but sadly Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai does not offer anything that is either Baki or complete. A half baked pre and post production is what best describes the film. The execution and directorial vision is poor and every actor seems to be out of place. If the below par music, ordinary cinematography, poor background score and blatantly boring sub plots were not enough to pull the film down, the screenplay ensures that no one gets intrigued enough or engaged in the story at any point of time.
Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai is perhaps a miss even if there was a DVD release.
