Absolutely Fantastic

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The usual stuff Kukunoor punch which keeps the viewers glued to the storyline is missing big time. "Dor" warranted a slow screenplay it but B2B seems painfully stretched to fill in the available time. Wonder if it was a result of Ghai's intervention. Shreyas Talpade does his part fine. He is evolving into a fine and a mature performer.Lina is strictly OK.Yatin, Vijay Maurya & Jeneva Talwar are OK in their parts.Manmeet Singh is a good discovery. Hope he gets a good footing into the Bollywood after this role as the lovable Sardarji.Naseer is barely there for a few minutes.Songs are definite force-fit. Sherlock Holmes famous phrase seemed to be a force-fit.There is too much showcasing of Bangkok Tourism.Definitely not belonging to Kukunoor's category by any standards.

The plot revolves around a poor Bombay-based cook called Shankar Singh (Shreyas) who mistakenly steals from Khan Baba (Naseeurudding Shah), a fearsome Don who sends his son to recover the amount from Shankar as he tries to flee India to Dubai, but eventually ends up on an Indian Medical-team chartered flight to Bangkok. Once in Thailand, he encounters Jasmine (Lina Christianson), a beautiful massage parlour "make you happy" girl. Their slow romance development is the main theme of the movie. The apparent cultural disparities as evident in Shankar's lack of Thai skills (neither does Jasmine know English) have been realistically portrayed and are delightful to watch (I remember having had similar encounters with Thai girls on my trip). Also, Shankar is portrayed shocked by his clear failure to understand unique aspects of Thai/South-East Asian culture e.g. a society with easier morals compared to India (there was one funny debate between the Indian man and the Thai girl about their respective views of prostitution - also, Shankar made a faux pas when he mistook Jasmine's brother as a thief because he took his bag only to return it later. It became apparent when he entered into the fold of monks and that was his last "fun night"). Being of the easy and gullible Indian male mentality -Shankar didn't waste time to fall in love with his Thai enchantress whereas she was visibly mad at him after it became clear Shankar was a fugitive and in deep trouble; Jasmine got arrested by Police for her involvement with Shankar - there was some action. Of course, in the end after a few twists and turns; both Shankar was finally able to convince his sweetheart how much he was in iove with her and by the time of credits, they were shown carrying a 6-year old kid.Among side-plots: my favorite character was that fat Thai Sardarji who doubled as interpreter and assistant to Shankar in his numerous adventures. Man, I would have loved someone like him around when I had an unpleasant encounter in Thailand- communication is SO DIFFICULT in that country! Another character called Javed Khan, the son of Khan Bhai the Don was interesting - he's a wannabe rapper and has a personality disorder which is cured by a beautiful doctor on the Indian Medical team, Dr. Rati. They have a funny romance! Having travelled to Thailand 2 years back, I have fond memories of its beautiful Buddhism-based culture, accepting/hospitable people and of course, such pretty girls. "Bombay to Bangkok" for me is a refreshing and nostalgic journey into that phase of life. Needless to say, I really enjoyed this movie; Nagesh Kukunoor has written a brilliant script (coming from Nagesh Kukunoor of Hyderabad Blues fame, I take it as original and not cheap Bollywood plagiarism.

Bombay to Bangkok is the story of a small time cook in a dingy restaurant named Shankar (Shreyas Talpade). Faith leads him to Bangkok... well actually local Mafia goons makes him escape because he had stolen the money that they had received. There Shankar meets Jasmine (Lina Christianson). She is a masseur at a local club. Shankar falls in love with her. Because Shankar pretends he is a doctor and the Mafia keeps on chasing him Shankar hides the bag of money into one of the medical supplies going with the team of doctors that he is a part of now. Now after reaching Bangkok Shankar must take the help of his lady love to get the money hidden into one of the numerous medical supply boxes... Thats Bombay to Bangkok for you. The rest is all running around (read riding around)and some poor attempts at making this a comedy. The only highlights of the film are the songs that plays in the background whenever Shankar meets Jasmine and his dialogue "Ab bas mooh mat kholna!" (Now just don't open your mouth!) whenever Jasmin walks towards him because Jasmin cannot speak English properly and the only words that come out of her mouth are in Thai. Overall just a time pass film, that too if you have nothing else to do. Its hard to believe this as a venture of Nagesh Kukunoor. The same guy who gave us films like Hyderabad blues and Dor. Nagesh should stick to making 'his kind' of cinema and not try to be commercial. He has just proved he is not good at it at all. Good acting by Shreyas (as usual) and the man who played his friend 'Rashminder singh' or Rashes. The guy who plays KMK, the mafia Don's son definitely deserves special mention too. Other than that the whole cast of the film is a waste. Lina has a long way to go as far as acting is concerned. Lets face it - she is too wooden to act. Go watch it... if you have absolutely nothing else to do. NOTHING.

Even though I would have to confess that I can be categorized as a cult follower of Nagesh Kukunoor, I haven't let that bias this review of the movie. The movie is narrative at its best. The director has a grip on the screen play and knows exactly the plot and the purpose of the characters played. The casting is apt. Even the Thai actors deliver their best. The naissance of any movie is in its details. The scene in particular where the "sardar" guide uses war as a metaphor to choose what food to "attack" first. Last but not the least, the social taboo of prostitution is aptly dealt with. What ever amount of modernization that you bring into a society, selling sex for money is still looked down upon. Kukunoor brings about this social issue may not be deliberately but the subject does brush off. Then there is the epitomizing of "Love" beyond boundaries and language. The kind of chemistry the film showcases between "Shankar" and "Jasmine" is commendable. Anyone would agree that to make viewers believe that two people from different parts of the world with nothing in common to be in love on screen is as difficult as making a "Zonkey" or "Zeebrass". Do excuse the metaphor.Do see the movie to enjoy the humor and story telling.