Coolie No 1 actor Shikha Talsania defends film against negative reviews, says viewers can choose what they want to watch

Coolie No 1 actor Shikha Talsania has defended the film against negative reactions targeting its dated humour and offensive tone. The film, directed by David Dhawan and starring Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles, was released on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, to overwhelmingly negative reviews.

Shikha in an interview said that humour is subjective, and that a handful of negative reactions doesn’t offer a full picture.

She told Mid-Day, “Entertainment can be different for different people. A certain kind of humour works for me, while another doesn’t. But, I can choose to watch what I enjoy.” Shikha’s father, Tiku Talsania, appeared in the original Coolie No 1, which starred Govinda and Karisma Kapoor in lead roles.

Previously, Sara was asked in an interview about the ‘problematic’ aspects of the original film, in which Govinda’s character cons Karisma’s character into falling for him -- which is replicated in the remake as well. She said that if one views everything through a politically correct lens, ‘any scope of humour in our lives will be lost’.

She told Mid-Day in an interview, “I’d urge people to watch the film with the honest intention with which it is told. There is a difference between what you say on Twitter, and what an entertaining comedy tries to say. If everybody [expects] everything to be politically correct, any scope of humour in our lives will be [lost]. Of course, you can’t be demeaning. Govinda sir duping Karisma to make her believe that he is not a coolie, is funny. It’s not about him cheating. Ultimately, he falls in love with her, and that’s what most of us look forward to in life.”

Also read: Coolie No 1 movie review: Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan’s film is limp spoof of the original

The new Coolie No 1 currently has a 1.4 rating on IMDb, but Amazon claims it registered the streamer’s biggest opening of the year. No concrete numbers were revealed. The Hindustan Times review called it a ‘limp spoof’ and a ‘rehash’ of the original.

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