Ghoomketu Movie Cast

[Mickie Bottiglieri]

FilmmakerPushpendra Nath Mishra's 'Ghoomketu' released on ZEE5 had the potential to be an enjoyable film. Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead role with a supporting cast comprising of Ila Arun, Raghuvir Yadav, Swanand Kirkire and Anurag Kashyap- the film does boast of a great cast, but the comedy falls flat in more occasions than one, making it a very average film with just a very truly endearing moments.

Siddiqui plays Ghoomketu, a village simpleton, who aspires to be a writer of Hindi films. Aided by his aunt (Ila Arun) he decides one day to go to Mumbai to try his luck in films-leaving behind his family and the new plus-sized bride (whom he loathes). His father (Yadav) and uncle (Kirkire) use their political connections to get the Mumbai police after him. The case lands in Inspector Badlani's lap (Anurag Kashyap) - a corrupt cop who has been given the ultimatum to find Ghoomketu in chaotic Mumbai within a month or take his suspension letter by the end of it.

Ghoomketu meanwhile finds a seedy director who agrees to listen to his scripts. Every time Ghoomketu comes up with a story, he rejects them, urging him to try a different genre.

The film is 6 years too late and the patchy screenplay and editing shows. Most of its work was completed in 2014 and it did not find takers back then, only to be released now digitally. One can see that the makers have hurriedly put together the film for its digital release, with several scenes being disconnected from each other.

With a non-linear narrative and Nawaz often breaking the fourth wall, the director perhaps attempted to have the complete attention of the viewer. But with an incoherent script, and jokes that fall flat- a lot of the scenes fail to rise above mediocrity and at its 1 hour 40 minutes, run time too seems a bit stretched

The film though has a few sweet moments thanks to the actors, not so much for the writing. Arun, Yadav are fine performers and in their respective roles as quarreling siblings, deliver super performances. I kept waiting to see the two on-screen as their scenes were definitely the high point of the film. Another scene has the two actors along with Kirkire breaking into a folk song (they are all accomplished singers) which is a sheer delight to watch. So naturally performed and very endearing.

'Ghoomketu' was well-intended on paper. It tries to parody the film industry and its stereotypical ways but over the course of the film, it falls prey to the same stereotypes. There are some well-known actors like Ranveer Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonakshi Sinha making cameo appearances - yet the film never really rises above its abysmal story.

an absurdist comedy which celebrates the day to day wonders of small scale cinema and artists in a way it's that it becomes charming even though the overall execution feels very dated, the kind of proto cinema which hindi belt has been churning out in it's b-grade movies. could've used some tighter direction but it's refreshing to see nawaz in his old form after a long, the film is just an acting delicacy if not anything else. watch it for the cast.

A delightfully refreshing comedy from Bollywood after a long time. Ila Arun steals the whole film as Santo bua as does pretty much everyone in the film. 10/10 casting choice. The levity and sharp writing helps to overlook the wrinkles in the loose script. Really looking forward to what Pushpendra Nath Mishra makes next.

But perhaps I get ahead of myself. Ghoomketu is essentially the story of a wannabe film writer from a small village in Uttar Pradesh who wants to write for Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan one day. Aided by his bua (Ila Arun) and unhappy with his plus-size new bride, he runs away from home. Armed with just a book on writing for cinema and a terrible hairstyle, he lands in the city of dreams. Now he could have been chewed up and spat out by Mumbai, but this is not an Anurag Kashyap film, he only has a cameo in it.

As Ghoomketu attempts to become the next Salim-Javed, his worried father (Raghubir Yadav) and uncle (Swanand Kirkire) use their connections to set the police after him. Corrupt Inspector Badlani (Anurag Kashyap) is tasked with bringing the errant man home and his whole cameo is designed to evoke laughs. But few things work as per design in this film.

To be fair to director Pushpendra Nath Mishra (who gave us the delectable Taj Mahal 1989), few films can survive the pressures of staying in the cans for almost half a decade. Finished sometime in 2014, Ghoomketu could not get a release for the last few years. You can see it has been duct-taped and made pretty, but the cracks do show. The beautification effort involves more star cameos than you can count -- Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Chitrangada Singh and Nikkhil Advani (from back when he used to be Nikhil Advani appear) in the film besides Kashyap.

The film belongs to its cast who are all seen putting in the extra effort. Nawazuddin is the right fit as Ghoomketu, a man who is clearly throwing beyond his weight. It is a refreshing change to see Ila Arun and the actor is a hoot as the doting aunt. You only wish that a terrible subplot about her nuclear burps was not added to the film. The only reason it is there is because someone thought loud burps are hilariously funny.

The best of the film is the solid star cast. Producer Anurag Kashyap chooses some of the best names in the industry for this film. Firstly, Nawazuddin Siddique is amazing as Ghoomketu and brings his own charm in the film. His village accent, get up and unintentional fun that he generates is quite good. Raghubir Yadav as his dad is amazing and brings good laughs.

Ila Arun as the nagging aunt is also hilarious. Last but not but the least, Anurag Kashyap does supremely well as a cop. The fun angle is the film is quite good. The confused characters, dreams of becoming a Bollywood celeb all of that is shown well. The best part is the climax which is showcased with a good twist. The BGM and camerawork are pretty good.

The film has a familiar premise and shows nothing new. There have been films like these in the past that nurtured this subject. The only difference here is Nawazuddin Siddique, whose role is given a new edge. The film starts off well but the mid portions get boring and lose steam until the climax comes with a twist. The rest of the proceedings are slow and take their own time to unravel.

'Ghoomketu' has a starry-eyed Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bollywood dreams and '70s throwbacks, a formula that should work. But does it? Will adding rife spoof material, a draggy script and tonnes of celebrity cameos help? Writer-director Pushpendra Nath Misra (and a confused audience) tries to it find out in the dated comedy.

Filmy dreams, Bollywood throwbacks and Mumbai city are a combination that cannot fail anyone who has anything to do with Hindi cinema. A 'going Bollywood' story although self-indulgent is always an effective crowd puller especially when its seen through a starry-eyed protagonist. Ghoomketu (translates roughly to a star that comes back home), a comedy film with an indie-ish vibe has just that in Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film casts him as the titular Ghoomketu, an aspiring writer who runs away from home to pursue a career in practically any kind of writing but film scripts in particular. As a wannabe in what looks like the '70s Bollywood industry, his struggle takes him through film sets, numerous story concepts and the roadblocks (and writer's block) that comes with them. For a concept that isn't isn't entirely new, the film is rather experimental, but does it work?

Written and directed by Pushpendra Nath Misra, Ghoomketu casts Ila Arun, Anurag Kashyap, Raghuvir Yadav, Awanand Kirkire and Bijendra Kala among others in a charming ensemble led by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The Anurag Kashyap and Vikas Bahl film that seemingly came out of nowhere was made back in 2015 and has been four years into talks of release before it found its digital launch on ZEE5 amidst the pandemic. To answer the question of whether you should watch it or skip it, here's a breakdown of what works and doesn't work for Ghoomketu-

That being said, we need to acknowledge the charm of the characters starting off with Ila Arun's Santo Bua. She is absolutely amazing in her role and is given a delightful bunch of dialogues ranging from truth bombs to witty commentary. Special shoutout to the scene where in her prayers she invokes some legendary writers including Salim-Javed and prays that they lose their so that Ghoomketu gets a chance at recognition. Dadda, another family member has some delirious dialogue deliveries that are funny at times and so is Guddan Chacha. The characters get a chance to be explored due to the film's narrative structure and its a necessary element. Coming to the main man, Ghoomketu is a quintessential Bollywood struggler. We've seen Nawazuddin Siddiqui following his passion in Mumbai in Photograph, but considering Ghoomketu came before that, it is a fitting prelude to his performance. Nawazuddin plays the naive character and his colossal ambitions convincingly and you really do end up hoping he succeeds. Performances shine wherever they are allowed to. Speaking of, Anurag Kashyap finds a role as Inspector Badlani who is tasked with finding Ghoomketu on a deadline of 30 days after his family files a missing person report. There isn't much to be said about it and that's pretty much all.

Did I mention Ghoomketu has a bunch of cameos? There is some joy to be drawn out of the experience of watching A-listers Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Chitrangada Singh, Nikkhil Advani and Lauren Gottlieb appear on the screen as actors in hilarious cliche film sequences. They do look a little different because the cameos were shot years ago.

Of course, Ghoomketu is inventive in its own ways. It has a brilliant idea that heaps on wit, new wave ideologies in Hindi cinema and clever reimagination. Too bad it loses its way on the run between home and unchartered territories.

3a8082e126