Gharwali Baharwali   Producer: Tutu Sharma Director: David Dhawan Starring: Anil Kapoor, Rambha, Raveena Tandon, Kader Khan, Satish Kaushik Music: Anu Malik Lyrics: Anish Khanna Genre: Comedy Recommended Audience: General Film Released on: 12 June 1998 Reviewed by: Rohit R. Das  - Rating: 6.0 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review

One has come to expect a lot from David Dhawan since he was crowned Bollywood´s comedy king giving us such gagbags as Hero No. 1, Judwaa and Coolie No. 1. But the sad truth is that Gharwali Baharwali is certainly not his best work.

The storyline is based on a Tamil film starring Bhagyaraj. Anil Kapoor is happily married to Raveena Tandon (the Gharwali) but Raveena is unable to conceive. Anil´s father Kader Khan is desperate to have an heir to his vast property and insists that Anil take another wife, going so far as to interview suitable girls despite Anil´s objections. In the course of his work Anil visits Nepal where he rescues Rambha´s goat. According to the film he who rescues a Nepalese girl´s goat must marry the girl. First of all Rambha as a Nepali is hard to believe and this further taxes the brain.

Anyway Anil enters into a shotgun marriage with Rambha (she´s called Manisha in the film, how original) and promptly begets a son. Anil returns to Bombay (or Mumbai) with his son whom Raveena then brings up as her own. After a few years Rambha lands up in Bombay and Kader Khan finds out that she is his grandson´s real mother and finds her a job as a servant in Anil´s house (talk about maid for each other). How Anil ultimately resolves this love triangle is the crux of the story?

David Dhawan has ventured into bigamy before in Saajan Chale Sasural but there after resolving all emotional matters in the first half he gave us some delightful comedy in the rest of the movie. It´s obvious that David and Govinda are a far better comic team than David and Anil. The direction is exhausted, which is understood given David´s scorching pace of work but which gives one the impression of burn out. The sentimental baggage weighs too much to allow the movie to reach it´s comic depth.

Anil Kapoor gives a good performance as the man caught between two wives, a role that he´s played before in the weepy Judaii. As the baharwali Rambha holds the film together in both a romantic and dramatic role. Though overweight she exudes a raw sexuality and a potent acting talent. As the gharwali Raveena Tandon shows that she does have considerable acting skills and though she´s overshadowed by Rambha Raveena manages to win the hearts of the audience. Both Kader Khan and Satish Kaushik have very little material to work on and drag the film down.

On the whole the movie is a disappointment and is restricted only for David Dhawan fans.