Rohit Shetty's Cirkus is based on a comedy of errors, but it
doesn't take long before it turns into a film full of errors! In recent movies,
Rohit has shown that he loves two things very much: slapstick movies and big
movies. Shetty has made a name for himself with his entertaining police scenes
in Singham - Suryavansbu and Simmba. When he steps out of that comfort zone and
experiences something new, that's when his test begins. Along with Cirkus, he
leaves RCU (Rohit Cop Universe) and moves on to his successful franchise – the
Golmaal series. Cirkus is the story of two twins, Roy (Ranveer Singh) and Joy
(Varun Sharma), who are part of an unknown experience. When Shetty decides to
throw in a phrase like "kudrat ka karishma" in the first 20 minutes,
you know what to expect. Plots that rely on the goof of twinning are nothing
new.
So Rohit Shetty adds a lot of accessories and 12 supporting
characters to give the place a great look. Unfortunately, the biggest trick in
the bag - Roy's use of electricity to make the laughs falls on time. Because a
slapstick works in the situation, the body of the actor will be free and we
follow his fall, his punches, slides and skins of bananas. In Cirkus, in a few
seasons, most of the ‘current laga re’ scenes have zero voltage.
Set in the 60s, Shetty manages to infuse a lot of cinematic
nostalgia into the film. When Kishore Kumar's Chalti ka naam gaadi plays in the
background or you see a poster of Johnny Mera Naam, you know that the director
is almost paying homage to his favorite film. In Ranveer Singh, Rohit Shetty has
found the perfect muse.
Singh's ability to pull off physical comedy or say the
funniest lines with a straight face is truly his that we watch on social media.
Nowadays, the actor follows the boombox wherever he travels. In Cirkus,
however, there is no need for a big speaker to play as his conductor fills
every frame with high notes and bells and bells are often part of the standing
gag.
Cirkus works best when it lets the supporting cast shine. Be
it Sanjay Mishra, Johnny Lever or Mukesh Tiwari, Shetty invests in making these
characters as interesting as the protagonist.
Developing side stories and using characters to drive the
story forward is Shetty's forte and it shines brightly in these films. Writing
with nails and rhymes works in a few movies. Varun Sharma and Ranveer's timing
seems to be good and the actor hits even the trickiest scenes.