Baa Baa Black Sheep Movie Review: Maniesh Paul's Comic Thriller Owes Its Laughs Purely To Anupam Kher's Funny Act

Baa Baa Black Sheep is a comedy-thriller directed by Vishwas Paandya, making his directorial debut here. The movie has Maniesh Paul, Manjari Phadnis, Kay Kay Menon, Annu Kapoor and Anupam Kher in important roles. The film had suffered delays in production, as Paul got injured during the shoot, and had been released with minimal buzz. After seeing the movie, we do realize that sometimes less noise means there is less to talk about too.

Baba (Maniesh Paul) is a happy go lucky youth in Goa in love with a pretty Angelina (Manjari Phadnis). On his 25th birthday, he learns a shocking truth from his hen-pecked father (Anupam Kher) - his unassuming dad is actually a notorious assassin and his family has been into the killing business for generations. Baba is expected to join the line as well. As he learns the ropes of his family occupation, he gets entangled in two separate crises - One involving an art forger (Annu Kapoor) who also happens to be the father of Baba's girlfriend, and other involving a cop (Kay Kay Menon) out to bust a drug racket.

Like they say, comedy is a serious business. Making people laugh is no easy-peasy job. Handling multiple narratives with flair is another job that requires deft handling and a skill to make things intelligible for the viewers. Unfortunately for the first-time director Pandya, he chews more than he can eat and as an end-result, makes a hotpotch of what could have been a very interesting black comedy. The idea looks good on paper and there are some really talented actors to pull it off in the cast. However, Baa Baa Black Sheep suffers from atrocious execution and sloppy editing (there are two romantic songs that had no business to be there in the movie). All the three tracks in the movie had potential and if none of them leaves you awed, well, you have to blame the director for that.

The movie catches our attention when Papa assassin reveals the family business to his son. We expect a hilarious black comedy from this moment. However, the incessant jumping from one track to another is so tediously done that in the end, we lose interest in what is happening where and who is planning to kill whom. The over-use of a narrator, especially in the first half, to introduce the characters in the movie (even the ones who gets killed in five seconds) is irritating to the core. It feels as the makers are taking the audience's intellect for granted and feel that they aren't smart enough to figure things out. Instead of opting for this lazy way, I do wish if the writers could have made more sense of what to do with the threads and ideas in hand. There is a kill involving a helicam, which sounds so rad, but your mouth will left wide open seeing how it is shown in the movie.

The humour works sporadically and that too, purely for one man who is the sole saving grace of the movie. Baa Baa Black Sheep rides awkwardly on the strong shoulders of Anupam Kher. He is a delight to watch both as a hen-pecked, scaredy husband and a smart assassin. Sadly, he is not the hero of the movie, the honour of which goes to Mr Paul.

Maniesh Paul has a very charming and likeable personality and has a good screen presence. Unfortunately, he still hasn't got the knack to pull off a leading man part, despite several attempts. While we can acquit him as the loverboy, he struggles to connect with us as the cool but bumbling killer-in-training. Sometimes, we feel he is continuing his hosting gimmicks on screen.

For a special appearance, Kay Kay Menon has more-than-enough screentime, equipped with a couple of smart lines. He is just about decent in a role that relies on his tendency to deliver dry wit. Manjari Phadnis is okay as the leading lady, saddled with a character that doesn't give her much scope. Annu Kapoor hams extensively. At one point, a character tells him that he should be shot thrice for his acting and we pray that they pull the trigger at least once. Maybe on us, so that it can end our suffering!

Yay!

- Anupam Kher

- A couple of comic moments

Nay!

- Everything else

Final Thoughts

Baa Baa Black Sheep makes a mess of an interesting premise and the talent in hand, and delivers a sloppily executed comic-thriller. Save for Anupam Kher's performance, it is avoidable at all costs!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2018 04:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).