The movie is based on Mihir Bhuta's Gujarati play Aflatoon which was based on Harsh Shivsharan's Marathi play Ghar Ghar which had earlier been adapted in Malayalam in 2001 as Kakkakuyil.[3] Upon release, the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. The film was commercially successful, grossing ₹41.25 crore worldwide against a budget of ₹15 crore.
Plot
Laxman is a brilliant student who is diverted from his studies by his mischievous band of friends, Gopal, Madhav, and Lucky. Gopal is the muscle of the group, Madhav is the brain, and Lucky is the right one but a mute. The foursome are indebted to a criminal/garage owner named Vasooli, who is constantly pursuing them. They use Laxman's hostel room for their mischievous activities.
Laxman is peer-pressured into running a series of scams to earn himself and his friends some money and they are punished by being thrown out of college. During a short halt in the woods during the night, each one of them reveals their past. Laxman's mother used to work as a maid for a government officer. Madhav had a rough childhood, having been a witness to the constant fights between his parents. Lucky's father had abandoned him and his mother and remarried. Lucky's father's stepchildren used to ridicule Lucky's mutism. Gopal reveals that he is an orphan who was raised in the Jamnadas Orphanage. Vasooli and his gang track down the group in the woods and chase them. The naughty foursome then finds refuge in the bungalow of a blind couple, Somnath and Mangala, who are waiting for their grandson, Sameer, inheriting their paternal grandparents' treasure chest hidden in the old couple's house. Gopal pretends to be Sameer returning from America, and enters the house, while the other three friends sneak in hidden. A cat-and-mouse game unfolds as Laxman's body and Gopal's voice make up Sameer. Each time the blind couple comes amidst them, hilarious situations arise. Enter Nirali, the saucy girl-next-door, and the group now have time, place and 'resources' to fall in love. Their efforts at winning the lady's heart fail. Meanwhile, a gangster named Babli wants to steal the chest from the couple's bungalow, but all of his men's attempts are thwarted by the foursome, sometimes unintentionally and unknowingly.
After the foursome finds the chest hidden behind an old painting in the house, despite Laxman pleading not to open it. Somnath then opens a chest consisting of four items : a compass box, a toy gun, a toy car and an urn which contains ashes. It is revealed that these are Sameer's ashes. Somnath then reveals Sameer's death to Gopal, Laxman, Madhav, and Lucky. The real Sameer, along with his parents, was killed in a car crash on their way to India to meet his grandparents, after Somnath's son learned that Somnath and Mangala were permanently blinded in an accident. Somnath, with help from his friend, a police commissioner, went to America and lit the pyres of his son, daughter-in-law and grandson, the ashes of whom he later kept in an urn, as per the Hindu tradition, which he kept in the chest. Mangala overhears the entire story and is shocked; she breaks into tears and condemns her husband for lying to her all those years and not allowing her to cradle her grandson or light the pyres, while also criticizing the foursome for tricking them and hurting her feelings. Babli then arrives with his gang and later reveals that he hid diamonds in the urn Somnath was carrying as he returned to India. Pandurang, an assassin previously sent by Babli as an undercover servant, later joins Gopal's side on hearing about Sameer's truth and fights the gangsters off, with Vasooli getting caught in the commotion after finally tracking the foursome to the blind couple's house. The fight finally ends with Gopal being accidentally stabbed by Babli in his butt with a knife, and falling unconscious soon after, but not before warning Madhav, Lucky and Laxman to not touch the knife, leaving the three friends in laughter. Babli also falls unconscious after seeing blood flowing from Gopal's butt.
After being admitted to a hospital, Gopal finally has the knife removed from his butt, and Babli is arrested for his crimes. Laxman, Gopal, Madhav and Lucky are then rewarded with ten per cent of the original value of the diamonds for arresting Babli. Nirali then chooses Lucky as her husband-to-be, saying that she wants a partner who only listens to her, and she found true love and loyalty in him and him alone, leaving the remaining three disappointed and waiting for a long time as Nirali has a sister being only 7 years old.
Cast
Ajay Devgan as Gopal "Gopu" Kumar Santoshi, who voices the fake Sameer Bhardwaj.
Sukanya Verma of Rediff said the film was "one wacky, goofy, paisa vasool ride" and that "the humour isn't exactly family audience material, and is more likely to be lapped up by college-going folk", rating the movie 3/5.[4] Subhash K Jha of Sify wrote that "Golmaal's neatly structured ambit of asinine anarchy tickles the funny-bone, but it finally says nothing about the quality of modern life that we haven't already heard in all those blasts from the past that have come in recent weeks trying to create a ripple across our sense of humour."[5]Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said that "Golmaal is a thoroughly enjoyable fare, the film has all it takes to hit the bull's eye" rating it 3.5/5.[6]
Box office
Golmaal grossed ₹41.25 crore (US$5.2 million) worldwide. At the end of its run, Golmaal was considered a success. It was declared a hit at the box office grossing about 290 million on a budget of 12 million.[1]
Impact
Shortly after the film's release, Microsoft's video messenger platform Skype decided to include an emoji for Golmaal as well as several other Hindi film emojis in an effort to appeal to users in India and to honor Indian culture.[7]
The film spawned a sequel titled Golmaal Returns, which released on 29 October 2008. The sequel received mixed reviews from critics but had a bumper opening in India and grossed a total more than the original, and was declared a Hit. On 5 November 2010, the third sequel titled Golmaal 3 was released, which broke many records. The film was declared a blockbuster, and was the highest-grossing installment in the Golmaal film series until the fourth, Golmaal Again, came out on 20 October 2017.
Legacy
Golmaal Again, the fourth installment of the series and the film's third sequel, has many references lifted from the film; among these, however, the recurring reference of the "Jamnadas Orphanage", which was used in the film and its second sequel Golmaal 3, is explored in detail in Golmaal Again as part of its core plot. Devgn, Warsi, Kapoor and Mukesh Tiwari reprised their respective roles in all of the four films, while Vrajesh Hirjee and Sanjay Mishra have appeared in all four films as different characters.
