Thank God Review - The Indian Adaptation of 'Sorte Kugler' Is Quite Watchable With Expected Flaws

Anders Matthesen's Danish flick, Sorte Kugler, gets an extended Indian adaptation by Indra Kumar as Thank God, starring Sidharth Malhotra, Rakul Preet and Ajay Devgn. Sorte Kugler is a very pacy film and wraps everything in just 70 minutes, whereas Thank God is about 120 minutes, with added Indian masala and songs. The Danish flick isn't really that great to have a remake in India. Let's be frank about that. But yes, it definitely makes for a decent one-time watch. However, Indra Kumar's lighthearted comedy makes good use of it. Thank God is not a good film, but it's not a bad one either. A few laughs here and there, a couple of emotional moments and a dozen life lessons are not harmless if you are planning to watch the film during this festive season.Based on Sorte Kugler, Thank God is a story of a confused, over-anxious, egoistic, greedy, and cheating real estate agent, Ayaan Kapoor (Sidharth Malhotra). Annoyed with every single problem in his life, he blames others for it, including his wife, Roohi (Rakul Preet), his daughter, Pihu (Kiara Khanna), and even God. Ayaan is involved in an accident, and the next thing he knows, he's in heaven. CG (Ajay Devgn) offers a 'Game of Life' to him, where he has to make a balance of white balls (good deeds) and black balls (bad deeds) with his decisions. Ayaan will die if black balls are filled first, and if white balls are filled more, he gets to live. Self-centered and greedy, Ayaan has to control his weaknesses and strengths against his own sins.As a whole, Thank God is a very enjoyable script. But that doesn't mean it has no flaws. In fact, it is full of flaws. It is just that comedy has no barriers to logic and sense, so you get over it quickly. Believe me, comedies are very rare nowadays. Many good directors have failed to stay calm in the face of commercialised humour. Take Indra Kumar, for instance. His last film, Total Dhamaal (2019), hardly had any good, organic laughs, but here he has improved it. However, the script and screenplay aren't really worthwhile. The film tries to be child-friendly on many occasions, only to attract underage audiences and families. It succeeds somewhere, but it also loses a large number of intelligent viewers at the same time. Sorte Kugler's potential was limited, and Thank God expands it well in a well-balanced family entertainer. Like the filmmaker claimed, "It is a Rajkumar Hirani type of film, but a mini version."Thank God it's not a performance-oriented film, so let's not blame the actors here. Ajay Devgn is one of the finest actors we have in the industry, but this role of CG isn't suitable for the actor in him. But the superstar Ajay Devgn can have fun like this. Yes, it's a funny role with a lot of brain and emotions attached to it. You expect CG to be an intelligent and philosophical person, and Ajay is that person here, but he comes with a light-hearted approach rather than some heavy stuff. Sidharth Malhotra appears irritating in his first scene, as if he is impersonating a child, but after a while, you grow to like him. It gets better with each passing scene, and then Sid shows a mature actor in him in the climax scene. Rakul Preet's role was quite ordinary, but it has many shades. Rakul had Attack, Runway 34 (the most challenging role for her), Cuttputtli and Doctor G this year, but Thank God was the easiest role amongst them. Nora Fatehi looks super hot in her item number and the supporting unit of Urmila Kothare, Seema Pahwa and Sumit Gulati is very okay.Indra Kumar's comedy isn't made for brainstorming people because it never intends to be one. The humour and jokes are a little silly, but they are guaranteed to make families and masses laugh. The music is average, despite one remake song. In 120 minutes, the most boring parts are the songs, but you have to endure them. That Dil De Diya Hai sad version works well, though. Aakash Kaushik and Madhur Sharma's script is weak considering the intelligent quota, but they have kept the heart in the right place. Indra Kumar, who ran off the track in Total Dhamaal, seems to have caught the track again. It's not on the level of Dhamaal (2007) and Masti (2004), but better than his last 3-4 outings. There are flaws, yet you are going to enjoy many segments, such as Singham, Hanuman, Temple, Mother, Money, and most importantly, the decision-making of 'life and death'. Keep your brains at home and enjoy this decent comedy at cinemas nearby.