Producer : Rahul Sughand
Director: Sanjay Chhel
*ing: Sanjay Dutt, Urmila, Paresh Rawal, Johny Lever, Om Puri, Ashok Saraf
Music: Jatin Lalit

Released on November 26, 1999

Reviewed by: Anjali Abrol
diwaliji@indolink.com

out of 
Khoobsurat is director Sanjay Chhel's latest venture, after scripting a good mix of movies, hits like Rangeela and Yes Boss, average farer Kachche Dhaage, and a flop, Daud. One was a superb drama, the other, a light-hearted love story, another, an action flick with comedy, and a suspense flick. All are different, but all hold one thing in common....excellent stories, despite the outcome of the movie at the box office (we all know how reliable that can be..witness the latest mistake, Hum Saath Saath Hai)...and pretty good entertainers. So what can we expect from Sanjay Chhel but a good movie....and tha's exactly what we get...a good entertainer with a flair of comedy, with the same Daud pair, Sanjay and Urmila.

Sanjay plays a little orphan Sanju-turn-very decent, funny, sincere and loving con artist who must come up with an atrociously large amount (50 lakhs) of money to hand over to one-liner comedy villian Jogia (Paresh Rawal) to save little orphan Gudiya. With the help of his friend Natwar (Johnny Lever), he comes across the perfect family (to loot, of course), the Chaudharys, complete with Dada and Dadi, and three bete, Om Puri (the serious one, of course), Ashok Saraf (the gambler), and Jatin Kanakia (the scatter-brained one). Only Om Puri is a widower, with a beautiful (obviously, right, by the title) but very plain daughter named Shivani (Urmila). Enter Sanju as their supposed NRI relative, Sanju Shastri, who basically makes Shivani go from a simple girl to a Rangeela star material, by cutting her clothes down from decent to the bare miminal without violating the law for indecent exposure. Oh wait, THAT'S what makes a girl beautiful nowadays, how could I forget? (Think Karisma in Silsila Hai Pyar Ka). And yes, Sanju manages to bring the entire family together, since they were overly concerned that Shivani has basically no hope for marriage (think of how Sanju came in to save Manisha from spinsterhood in Kartoos).

Sanjay Dutt is looking better and more human-like (not to mention younger) without the ridiculous flowing Fabio hair. His acting is better, and the comedic flair in him is coming out (do recall Haseena Maan Jayegi....he's pretty good, and he's improving). It's nice to see Sanjay get out of the Rocky-Rambo image and explore ACTING. Urmila held up her end as well, and she looked nice, though clothes would help. The others are fine, but of them all, Paresh Rawal shined with his sarcastic one-liners (recall Andaz Apna Apna and other such flicks where Paresh excels in comedy!).

Though the songs are fantastic, I wasn't exactly impressed with the choreography. What can you expect for Sanju, you may ask. Well, look at "I love you bol dal" from HMJ....and look how silly Govinda and Sanju looked...but hey, I think its impressive for Sanju!

With serious movies such as Shool and Mast, Gair and HSSH out, it's nice to watch a light-hearted comedy like Khoobsurat for a change. It isn't Anari No 1 material, but it definitely is worth a watch! And remember, to be Khoobsurat, you must put cake on the makeup and wear tiny scraps of clothing!