Irfan Dances!

Sunday (2008) is a little self-consciously wacky for my taste, but let's face it, I got it for a particular reason: the "Loot Liya" number, in which Irfan Khan really dances for the first time that I've ever seen. (He did do some goofy dancing in the credits of The Killer -- odd, as he was a hardcore bad guy in that movie, but, like Sunday, he spent much of the film in the back of a cab). (I totally forgot that he sang in The Killer, too, but that's what YouTube is for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQlri4Nv5ZY).

There's still not enough Irfan for me in this movie (too many tangential characters in its convoluted plot), but here are some of the highlights from his role as an aspiring actor caught up in the drama surrounding a voice-over actress (who's lost all memory of a day in her life due to a date-rape drug, and may have unknowingly witnessed a murder):

-- The various costumes he wears to auditions and performances. The Dracula outfit is great, the Ravana outfit is great, and he looks suave and excellent in the black suit and shades he wears to audition for the role of Shahrukh's son in Don 3 -- ha!

-- The free-for-all fight scene in which he tickles an opponent.

-- The fact that when he first spots our heroine, he cries "Bhoot! Bhoot!" Made my day! Eventually, we get the full graveyard flashback that explains why he thinks she's a bhoot and his cab driver buddy thinks she owes him 42o rupees for a fare, and that's all pretty funny too.

As for the rest of the film: loved the guy wearing the Lost t-shirt in the police lineup.

There's an unexplained Jhoom Barabar Jhoom connection: the jangly musical intro to "Kiss of Love" plays at various points in the movie, and at one point, the out-of-it heroine sings "Jhoom" in the back of Arshad Warsi's cab.

And speaking of the heroine, she's personable and she cries prettily. Oddly, Ajay Devgan, usually a reliable presence (I mean, geez...he's OMI!), doesn't make much of an impression. Maybe it's the burden of coolness. He's being laid-back all the time, which doesn't lead to a dynamic performance. And those outfits he's wearing are really unflattering.

So, thumbs up for Irfan, and for the movie: thumbs sideways?