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Other Critic Reviews
The direction is bad. The writing doesn't make any sense. The dialogues are pathetic. And the music (Shankar Ehsaan Loy), which is a key in Musicals, is disappointing. The runtime is short by Bollywood standards (1 hour 45 minutes) but you feel extremely relieved when the end credits roll.

By Ashok Nayak  1 Stars
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'Marigold', an aesthetically shot love story

By Subhash K. Jha  2 Stars
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1.5 stars Marigold is a deliriously bad film, suffering in almost every department of filmmaking- so much so that it is almost a textbook case on how not to make a film. What starts off as an earnest, somewhat watch able flick soon turns into an awful showcase for some truly lazy, lackluster direction by Willard Carroll. - Jahan Bakshi    Fri, 17 Aug 2007
The only thing that is probably mildly amusing about Marigold is that its plot- though wafer-thin and absolutely ludicrous- also uncannily, though unintentionally resembles reality.

For Marigold, the lead character of the film played rather well by Hollywood starlet Ali Larter, could well be the story of the actress herself, as she comes to India and looks both genuinely amused and bemused working in a decidedly weird Bollywood production.

Okay, well- let me not call this a Bollywood production- after all so much time has been spent in talking about this apology of a film being Salman Khan's first 'Hollywood' foray. But nothing hides the fact that Marigold is hardly worthy of even being called an A grade Bollywood- in fact the real tragedy of Marigold is that it ultimately becomes what it occasionally tries to spoof: B-grade Bollywood- the only difference being that it is infinitely less entertaining.

Marigold is a deliriously bad film, suffering in almost every department of filmmaking- so much so that it is almost a textbook case on how not to make a film. What starts off as an earnest, somewhat watch able flick soon turns into an awful showcase for some truly lazy, lackluster direction by Willard Carroll. The story- or the lack of it thereof- could have possibly been compensated for with some energy or inventiveness in the film. But Marigold simply drags on lifelessly, almost as if daring you to keep watching it.

It almost seems as if everyone just lost interest in the film midway- as you hear Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's shockingly tepid songs pass through you ears and watch ace cinematographer's Anil Mehta's surprisingly mediocre camerawork, which barely passes muster. The screenplay is absolutely dull, and the dialogues are the most terribly artificial and clunky I have heard in a long time.

It doesn't quite help that Salman Khan mouths many of these lines in the film armed with an unearthly accent that is often amazingly difficult to comprehend. Salman has never been much of an actor, yet there has always been a kind of fun, goofy quality about him that has always charmed his fans.

But even that is missing here- instead; Salman looks sheepish, tired and puffy-eyed as he plays a totally cardboard character called (ahem) Prem- a wimp with a permanently glazed expression, who keeps spouts holier-than-thou philosophy to Larter's Marigold as he tries to woo her, half asleep. Watching him in this film is pain beyond measure- he is absolutely insufferable, with each word that he utters making you squirm.

Ali Larter tries hard to carry the film on her shoulders- and she certainly deserves brownie points for the valiant effort. She is the only watchable factor in this thoroughly worthless film, and she does lessen the torture of watching the film to a great extent, as she lights up every frame she appears in. It may not be great acting, but it is an immensely likeable and charming performance, and also one that provides a lot of relief through the sheer tedium of watching this film.

But what you really remember long after you walk out of Marigold is Gulshan Grover, playing a Rajput guard in the film, with a hilariously stony expression and without a word of dialogue till the very end. Why he is in the film remains a mystery, as is the reason why this film ever got made.


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