Coolie No.1 (2020) is a remake of Coolie No.1 (1995), both directed by David Dhawan. The trailer for the 2020 film answers the question- Has the David Dhawan universe changed in 25 years?- in the negative. We have candy colours and cross-dressers, golf-balls smacking man-balls, and highly suggestive dance steps. The women are contained to foot-tapping dance songs, and machismo is what it's all about. There is even Varun Dhawan in drag, an old David Dhawan trope for mining humour.
The story is the same: Raju (Govinda then, Varun Dhawan now) a Coolie, pretends to be rich to marry the daughter (Karisma Kapoor then, Sara Ali Khan now) of a rich businessman (Kader Khan then, Paresh Rawal now). When he is caught in the act, he pretends to be a twin- one poor, and one rich, until it all descends to chaos and kitsch. Raju is now on hoverboards- the one change in the Dhawan universe- and we are promised earworm remixes to the much loved songs of the namesake- Mirchi Lagi, and Husn Hai Suhana.
Produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, directed by David Dhawan, and starring Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan, and Paresh Rawal, the film releases on Amazon Prime on December 25.