By Martin D’Souza, Bollywood Trade News Network

With NISHABD failing to ignite the passion on screen NEHLE PE DEHLA sends you out of the theatre still trying to stifle that giggle! Director Ajay Chandok is in complete control of things once he lets loose Johnny (Sanjay Dutt) and Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan), two small time crooks who dream of hitting the jackpot.

From the time Sanjay makes his entry walking off with a Rs 1.5 lakh watch till he and Kim (Kim Sharma) find the booty to save Pooja (Bipasha Basu) and Jimmy from the crooks 70s style, it’s a laugh riot all the way.

Hotel manager Balram (Shakti Kapoor) embezzles Rs 30 crore from his company. Johnny and Jimmy come to know about it and want to blackmail him. They join the hotel as waiters and are waiting for the perfect opportunity. But a terrible mobster trio (Mukesh Rishi, Aasif Shaikh and Shiva) kills the manager.

When Johnny and Jimmy find the manager dead, they take his dead body and present him as alive. Bipasha Basu plays the owner of the hotel who dreams to open a new hotel in Mauritius. But unknown to her, Balram has already dented her dream. Kim Sharma plays her friend.

Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan complement each other with their comic timing. Saif is growing with each passing role and Sanjay Dutt is only stamping his class every time he steps on screen. Totally in command, he delivers his dialogues with deadpan expression to get the desired effect. The dialogues are witty, the music peppy with some good choreography.

Among the girls it’s Kim Sharma who surprises by scoring over Bipasha Basu. Agreed Bips has the meatier part of being the hotel owner but its Kim, cast opposite Saif who steals a march over her seasoned co-star. Her clothes and make-up are a tad better than the bong bombshell. Neha Dhupia’s special appearance in a song is, however, wasted as she comes on screen when the credit lines begin to roll and the audience is halfway out of the theatre.

It’s surprising to see Shweta Menon in an item number. The last time she was the centre of attraction between Ajay Devgan and Aamir Khan in ISHQ. This time, she heats things up with Dutt and Khan.

Though run-of-the-mill, it’s a trip worth making for this 120-minute fare, which is crisp, comic and sometimes cruelly funny.

Ratings: 2/5