The last laugh's on the audience. I firmly believed the director had named his film as a kind of sick joke…he's actually telling you that “Bach ke rehna re baba…” Beware, it's a horror film. Horror it was of a different kind. In fact, I wish that it was a sick joke, that I could at least attribute the director with a kind of perverse intelligence of making a film which was made solely to make utter fools of its audience. Alas, on Menon's part, this is a sincere effort to copy and English film, almost scene to scene and believe he has a racy comedy on your hands! Excited as I was at seeing a desi remake of a very funny English film, “Heartbreakers”, I sat amazed at the manner in which the original had been bastardised for Bollywood. For those who haven't seen the original, here goes.

The film opens with Rukmini (Rekha reprising the Sigourney Weaver role) getting married to a Punjabi big-shot Mont Bagga [Paresh Rawal stepping in for Ray Liotta] and who subsequently snores her way through her nuptials night. Horny hubby then takes to the bar downstairs where kiss and boob queen (mallika Sherawat) croons “Sharafat Chhorr” which prompts Monty Bagga to do just that. Unknown to him, our snoring bride has now awoken and decide to go for a stroll looking for her dearest hubby, only to find him cavorting with a tart in the back of van. A divorce ensures and Rukmini decides to move on…but hold, on, what's with the tart throwing off her wig and joining hands with Rukmini. Aha, it's a con. The tart is Rukmini's niece and Aunty and Niece are in the business of conning rich people and doing away with their money. After one con, they move onto the other.

The pair then make it to Mauritius where Rukmini sets her eyes on satish Shah (reprising Gene Hackman's role), a loaded sindhi businessman whilst niece wanders off to a restaurant and meets up with bum Raghu [Karan Khanna] who turns out to be a rich bar owner. Things start to go a little miss when Monty Bagga decides to trace Rukmini down and we have a corpse on our hands.

Sounds ridiculous? Well, I can assure you that the original Heartbreakers was hilarious, at least the most part of it. Bachke rehna follows almost exactly the same path, the same jokes (the statue with a chipped private part), the scam on the roads, the bar owner. The plagiarism is so utterly blatant that you would wonder whether Govind Menon had even an ounce of originality. Well, he does, in coming up with a substitute for the hilarious “back in the USSR ” sequence in what must be the most grotesquely unfunny scenes in the film, Rekha singing in French! Funnily enough, all the gags of the original are there in this film as well. except that not one evokes laughter in this one. Hint hint!

The greatest shock of the film must be Rekha, who surely must wither away and cringe watching herself on screen. She personifies the tragic heroine of Sunset Boulevard in believing that she still remains, the seductive siren that she once was, bewitching men with her garish make up and extravagant clothes. Watch her match step to step with the boob queen on a boat in Mauritius , wearing what looks like a tent, and you will realize what a fall from grace this is for Rekha. This must be her worst ever performance and probably the most embarrassing.

Mallika Sherawat is simply cheap….a product of the Pia Zadora school of fame, the idea is to flaunt it if you have it. And she certainly knows how to flaunt herself. But how far did Pia Zadora ever get. Not far. Sherawat at least has managed a Jackie Chan film and carries around with her the accolade of being the first bollywood actress to be offered to pose for Playboy. Satish Shah manages a few laughs but Paresh rawal is simply awful. As for Karan Khanna, he is simply a joke, better off as an extra. The music is unbearable. As a film it's simply dreadful.