Arjun Patiala is a spoof of the formulaic Bollywood movies starring Diljit Dosanjh in the titular role. Seema Pahwa, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Varun Sharma, Ronit Roy, Kriti Sanon, and Pankaj Tripathi also feature in the film. While it has a few humorous scenes that do evoke laughter, on the whole, it fails to entertain as we see in the Arjun Patiala film review.
Like many clichéd Bollywood movies, it follows a cop Arjun Patiala, who goes through a romance, gets the better of a bunch of baddies, and even performs the mandatory song and dance. Varun Sharma is funny as Arjun’s subordinate, as are Seema Pahwa who plays a wily politician and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as a small-time goon, Sakool. Kriti Sanon plays a zesty investigative reporter who falls in love with Arjun, while Ronit Roy is seen in a comic avatar as Arjun’s superior and mentor.
While Arjun Patiala does use to good effect some of the tropes seen in Bollywood movies, for the most part, it lacks ingenuity in their presentation. Much like the films it tries to parody, Arjun Patiala does not have a voice of its own.
While the film underutilizes some actors like Pankaj Tripathi others like Kriti Sanon have to work their way through poorly written characters. The reporter that she is playing is probably the weakest link in the movie. I would imagine that no actor would willingly want to portray a character as illogical as this one.
Pankaj Tripathi is a brilliant actor, and one wishes he had a more significant role to play in Arjun Patiala. His character of a film producer appears only intermittently in the movie. Both Seema Pahwa and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub provide some much-needed spark toward the finale. The latter’s petty crook is riveting to watch as is Seema Pahwa’s corrupt politician who is a blast.
Putting your thinking cap on and going to a film like this one isn’t recommended. Arjun Patiala is strictly for those who do not mind watching an hour and three-quarters of mindless shtick. Even these filmgoers will find their patience tested while watching Arjun Patiala. Although Diljit Dosanjh tries to lead the way, a shaky script and pedestrian execution do not help much. A bit of ingenuity from the director could have resulted in a more entertaining watch. You might want to wait for it to come on television rather than viewing it on the big screen.
Arjun Patiala film review rates Arjun Patiala 
(2 / 5)
If you enjoyed reading the Arjun Patiala film review at Film Comments, please share it with others.
What do you think?