Tell Me O Kkhuda

Indian Express rating:*

A girl wants to find her ‘real parents’,even though her adoptive folks are the most loving,caring people. Hmm. A mother wants to yank her despairing daughter back into Bollywood limelight. Double hmm. This makes ‘Tell Me O Kkhuda’ a film directed by a mother who loves her daughter who wants to find a mother? And father? Oh well.

In her oh-my-god,or,if your prefer,’hey bhagwaan’ version of ‘Mamma Mia’,Hema Malini directs ‘beti’ Esha,and husband Dharmendra,along with former co-stars and stalwarts Vinod Khanna,Rishi Kapoor. Tanya goes looking for Daddy via a municipal office which is manned by a jolly fellow (Lever),who keeps pulling out dusty files and red herrings. This is enough to send Tanya skittering off to various parts of India,and the globe,accompanied by two willing males (Bajwa,Sanyal),the former being boyfriend,the latter being class joker,who have nothing better to do.

This threesome shows up first in a Rajasthan riyasat whose sardana (Khanna) is read out a stern lecture in loving girls and encouraging them to better than boys. After this Up The Females lesson,they veer off towards Turkey and a tubby Rishi,whose sad wife is brought out of her delusions by the simple expedient of singing Beatles songs. That leaves Goa and Dharmendra,who is a powerful local hood going by the name of Tony Costello or some such. And thereeeeeee’s Hemaji,in a nunnery. The two had fallen in love long back,and begat,yes,a female child. Could this be them?

By the time the answer unraveled,I was seeking divine intervention. Duniya banane waale,yeh kaisi movie banaayi? Also,kyon banayi? Tell me.

shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com