Masti 4 review: A tired franchise running on fast, lazy and dull jokes

If you are planning to watch Milap Zaveri’s ‘Masti 4’, you are advised to carry a balm with you, because at any given moment, the jokes may not trigger laughter so much as cause a headache. The film brings back Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh and Aftab Shivdasani as Meet, Amar and Prem, but this time they are a threesome that you will definitely want to miss.

True to the spirit of the franchise’s first two films, ‘Masti’ and ‘Grand Masti’, this installment also promotes the cheesy ‘Great Grand Masti’ joke despite poor reception and makes no attempt to hide its intention, which is unapologetic to fans of the franchise who enjoy this kind of humor.

Established in the United Kingdom, The story revolves around three friends Live in the same neighborhood. Riteish Deshmukh’s Amar is a Master, coincidentally the look of the actor’s upcoming directorial venture ‘Raja Shivaji’). He is married to Bindiya (Elnaz Norozi), a woman who goes above and beyond with his generous acts of charity.

Then there’s Meet (Vivek Oberoi) and his overly cautious wife, Aanchal (Shreya Sharma), who is so suspicious that she even keeps an eye on her husband’s blood flow and health through a tracking app on his phone. The third friend, Prem (Aftab Shivdasani), is a doctor, married to Geeta (Roohi Singh), who embraces all religions, faithfully follows their rituals and prepares dishes to suit each celebration.

Watch the trailer here:

Trapped in their suffocating marriage and frustrated with their mundane lives, Amar, Prem and Meet, all three yearn for their lost bachelor days. In doing so, they seek advice from their friends Kamaraj (Arshad Warsi) and Maneka (Nargis Fakhri), and become fascinated by the concept of love visas.

Their half-baked escapades include dramatic romance, secret escapes and the promise of carefree fun away from their wives. There are expected to be ‘no rules’ for sex outside marriage, which turns out to be an elaborate excuse for double-meaning dialogues and sloppy confrontations.

The most exciting twist in the franchise comes with ‘Reverse Masti’, where the wives also take advantage of the Love Visa opportunity and jet off on a foreign holiday, leaving behind their extra baggage, their husbands, for an entire week.

The repetitive jokes and below-the-belt comedy make the narrative spineless and strangely mean.

Now, If we talk about fun then it is completely incomplete without it. The added craziness is believed to elevate the plot. The film introduces three interesting characters: Don Pablo Putintsava (Tusshar Kapoor), Prince of Good Times (Nishant Malkani), and Inspector Virat (Shaad Randhawa). However, all three, who manage to seduce the women into teaching their husbands a lesson, are ultimately disappointed.

As for the climax, which promised laughs, sadly it fails completely. The ending may remind you of the first installment, but I’ll stop there, because that would be a cruel gift.

While songs have always been the saving grace for the franchise, this time around that support system is also missing. Lyrics like ‘Twinkle twinkle chamke star, something troubling mujhko yaar’ sound painfully juvenile and forced, adding to the overall bad tone rather than providing charming relief to the series.

If the film remains barely watchable in parts, it’s because the original trio is experienced enough that it can sell the weak material through familiarity alone. Riteish Deshmukh is back to his tried and tested comic rhythm. His timing remains sharp, but the writing doesn’t really give him anything funny, making most of his moments feel like stale leftovers of ‘masti’ and ‘grand masti’.

Vivek Oberoi’s Meat offers fleeting glimpses of the effortless charm he once brought to lighter roles, but here it’s buried under a barrage of forced punchlines and exaggerated reactions. Aftab Shivdasani, arguably the most underestimated of the three, is the most stranded.

However, Arshad Warsi and Tusshar Kapoor, who are part of the supporting cast, have emerged as the biggest failures. Known for his strong comedy, he has been reduced to noisy caricatures, shouting his way through scenes rather than relying on timing or nuance.

The writing is clearly weak, and moments where the script could have really scored are ruined by the lazy approach. The cast seem to be performing in a vacuum, obsessed with the idea of ​​comedy, yet relying entirely on forceful delivery and repetitive movements rather than sharp, organic comedy.

Some franchises mature gracefully over time. Unfortunately, the ‘Masti’ series is not one of them. Now it feels like stale soda was left at the bottom of a plastic cup after the party is over. It ends brilliantly. In the end, fans will be faced with an expected surprise, which the makers need to seriously consider whether it is needed or not.