Director Sagar Ballary has definitely lost his Midas touch with comedy. The handling and treatment of the script is weak and it fails to stitch the screenplay together. The comic situations are done to death in many other films and make no impact.

It is not easy to make a comedy. Ballary succeeded with his debut film Bheja Fry but not this one. Hum Tum Shabana is supposed to be a comedy of errors and the aftermath of love at first sight. Comedy of errors? Well, the writing, direction and execution are laughable, making a mockery of filmmaking.

The film revolves around two male protagonists Rishi (Tusshar Kapoor) and Karthik (Shreyas Talpade) who work in an event management company. Both of them fall for Shabana (Minissha Lamba), a contestant in a beauty pageant being handled by Rishi and Karthik’s company. Both men try to win her attention. They succeed to a certain extent but eventually kidnapped by Shabana’s uncle (Satish Kaushik), a mafia don. Both men are trained to take on the family business, which is running an underworld gang. One of them has to marry Shabana. So soon enough, the battle to win over Shabana turns into a battle to lose her to maintain their sanity.

Sigh!!! Many scenes could have been comic but are missed opportunities. For instance, when Talpade’s character messes around with Kapoor’s mouthwash and the latter loses his voice. The Golmaal magic could have been woven here but the wit fades in a jiffy. The conflict between Talpade and Kapoor could have been intriguing when they both begin to pursue Minissha Lamba. Instead, every scene begins to lose its tempo as soon as it’s built.

The film does pick up pace in the second half but the climax is a monumental disaster. The stupidity in Satish Kaushik’s character is tedious. For instance, he slaps himself every time he is angry with his counterpart. The first half of the film is dreary and Sanjay Mishra barely manages to salvage the film.The dialogue is vague and repetitive. Cinematography is average. Editing could have been sharp. Background score is decent. The only plus is the music.

Performance-wise, Tusshar Kapoor is all right. Shreyas Talpade plays his part well. Minissha Lamba looks uncomfortable. Her expressions makes you laugh, the movie does not. Pia Trivedi looks hot and makes a confident debut. Satish Kaushik is loud. Sanjay Mishra is the only saving grace. The rest of the cast lends adequate support.

Verdict: Promoted extensively but will still find it tough to survive at the ticket counter.