Movie Review: Lock, Punjabi Movie

Movie Review of Punjabi Movie Lock starring Gippy Grewal, Geeta Basra, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Smeep Kang. Directed by Smeep Kang.
Star cast: Smeep Kang, Gippy Grewal, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Geeta Basra, Karamjeet Anmol, Parneet Kang, Harpal Singh, Vikram Grover
Director: Smeep Kang
Producer: Ravneet Grewal, Muskan Grewal, Pushpinder Happy
Music: Laddi Gill
Running Time: 91 minutes (U/A certified)

Synopsis: Lock tells the story of 4 different people and how on one night their fates cross with each other. Gill (Smeep Kang) is a UAE returned man who is a very narrow minded father. Bhola (Gippy Grewal) is an Auto Rickshaw Driver in Mohali who dreams of making it big one day by going to Dubai with Gill. Gurpreet Ghuggi plays a struggling writer in Punjabi Film Industry. Karamjeet Anmol is a motor mechanic in the film. One night all these characters come in each other’s way and their lives are changed forever. What is the Lock in the film? Who is locked and where? Find out in the film, if you decide to watch it.
Review : First things first, Lock doesn’t have Gippy Grewal in the lead role as the publicity design of the film conveys. Director Smeep Kang after making some seriously rib-tickling comedies returns this time with a film which he calls a thriller. Frankly, Lock is neither a thriller nor a comedy and is ain’t a drama either. Well then what genre does it belong to – Only the Writer & Director can answer that!
Pali Bhupinder Singh who last wrote Main Teri Tu Mera is back again and even this time his writing disappoints us. The story of the film wasn’t really a landmark kind of a thing, It needed proper writing which we call screenplay and execution which we call direction. It lacked both. The screenplay of the film never really took off properly and we had the Intermission, which is a compulsion. I felt that Lock would’ve been much better if it were made into a Short film. The film seemed to be dragged in some sequences, even though it was merely 91 minutes long.
When will our filmmakers learn from Bollywood. Aamir Khan made 2 films with a running time of near 90-minutes and both did not have an Interval and this was only done so that the tempo of the film doesn’t break at all. And if you are making a thriller film, once you let go the audience off the grip, it becomes difficult to get them back. Dialogues were usually stuff and nothing great. With Gurpreet Ghuggi, Karamjit Anmol & Gippy Grewal you can expect a few punches but that’s about it.
Coming to Smeep Kang’s direction, it stays the same where it was during the time of Carry on Jatta. Merely attempting a film which is not a comedy doesn’t mean you’ve accomplished a great feat. We’ve seen many great directors step out of their comfort zones from time to time and make classics. Yash Chopra known for his romance has also given us films like Deewar, Daag to name a few. Rohit Shetty surprised everyone when he made Singham in 2011 as he was known only for comedies earlier. Coming back to Smeep Kang, the film somehow lacked the proper treatment of a thriller and was left midway between a drama, thriller, comedy.
Coming to the performances, Gippy Grewal was good at his job once again. He’s become a great actor with time and we all know that. I just hope, wish, pray that he chooses good films in future and doesn’t waste his potential in films such as this one. Gurpreet Ghuggi was all right. We expect a lot more from an actor of his caliber. Smeep Kang, started out as an actor in his early days and later went on to direct Carry On Jatta followed by a few more comedies. He was a good actor then but frankly he could have done a lot better than the lazy effort he gave here.
Geeta Basra, I wish I could say she acted. She was there just because a film is supposed to have a heroine and someone has to fill that spot. And moreover, she didn’t dub her own lines herself. Karamjit Anmol had 3-4 scenes and was all right. Vikram Grover and Harpal Singh tried to be funny, but just could not.
Music in the film wasn’t given much importance, maybe because it wasn’t needed in such a type of script. Boliyan by Sippy Gill came with Opening credit. Chad Gayi Oye came in the middle with a scene going side by side. Jatt on Top came with the end credits and was the best of the lot. Probably a very good song (it’s in my playlist these days).Overall, Lock is a disappointment. Do not unlock this lock. However, if you are a Gippy Grewal fan, give it a try. Who knows, you may even like it. I am his fan, but I am disappointed.