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One Two Three

One Two Three (वन टू थ्री) is a 2008 Hindi-language comedy film directed by Ashwani Dhir in his directorial debut, in which three men all named Laxminarayan converge on the same hotel in Pondicherry and are mistaken for one another.¹^•² It stars Tusshar Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal as the three Laxminarayans, with Esha Deol, Sameera Reddy, Neetu Chandra, Upen Patel, and Tanishaa in supporting roles.¹ The film was produced by Kumar Mangat for Big Screen Entertainment and Eros International and released in India on 28 March 2008.¹^•³

Key fact	Detail
Director / writer	Ashwani Dhir, his directorial debut; he also wrote the screenplay¹^•⁴
Release	28 March 2008 (India); earliest release 27 March 2008 (Australia)¹^•⁵
Lead cast	Tusshar Kapoor (Laxminarayan #1), Suniel Shetty (Laxminarayan #2), Paresh Rawal (Laxminarayan #3)¹
Source	Remake of Blame It on the Bellboy (1992)¹
Worldwide gross	$6,090,432, of which $274,589 came from the United States and Canada⁵
Indian box office	Budget Rs 140,000,000; total nett gross Rs 171,200,000 on 575 screens³
Audience rating	5.6/10 on IMDb from about 3,600 votes¹
Australian rating	PG, with consumer advice "mild comic violence"; classified 14 April 2008⁶

Spoilers

Plot

The premise is a comedy of errors built on mistaken identity. Three men share the name Laxminarayan and arrive on business at the Hotel Blue Diamond in Pondicherry, where letters and photographs meant for one are delivered to another.²^•⁷

The three men have separate errands. The first Laxminarayan (Tusshar Kapoor) comes from a mafia family and has taken a contract to kill the don Papa; the second (Suniel Shetty) is sent to collect a new car for his boss from Laila; the third (Paresh Rawal) is a former footpath undergarments seller who now runs a lingerie factory and has been sent to collect samples from the designer Jiya.⁷ A parallel thread involves diamonds worth Rs 100 million stolen from Papa, which fall into the hands of the young couple Chandu (Upen Patel) and Chandni (Tanishaa), who hide them in a car.⁸ The crossed deliveries drive the confusion: the hitman receives the designer's photograph, the car collector receives Papa's photograph and is beaten as a suspected killer, and the lingerie merchant receives Laila's photograph.⁷

Production and cast

Ashwani Dhir wrote and directed the film, having previously worked in television; reviewers noted he had written the serial Office Office before moving to cinema.¹^•⁹ Kumar Mangat produced; his earlier credits included Omkara and No Smoking.⁴ Raghav Sachar composed the music, Nirmal Jani was the cinematographer, and Manoj Mishra edited.¹⁰

The supporting cast included Esha Deol as Jiya, Sameera Reddy as Laila, Neetu Chandra as Inspector Mayawati Chautala, Upen Patel as Chandu, Tanishaa as Chandni, and Mukesh Tiwari as D'Mello Yadav, also called Papa.¹¹ Irrfan Khan served as the narrator, and Sanjay Mishra played Pinto, one of Yadav's goons.¹ According to IMDb trivia, Chandra's Haryani police officer was inspired by Kavita Kaushik's character Chandramukhi Chautala in the television serial FIR.¹ The film was shot on location in Goa, Delhi, and Pondicherry.⁴

Reception and box office

Critical response was negative. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 1.5 out of 5, writing that it rests on a wafer-thin plot and that the absence of a strong screenplay evokes mixed reactions; he judged Dhir a more accomplished dialogue writer than screenplay writer and found Sachar's music disappointing outside the title track.⁷ Khalid Mohamed in the Hindustan Times gave it one star, quipping that the director of the funny serial Office Office had made a not-funny film.⁹ Mehboob Bawa's review for IOL in South Africa called the execution a non-starter, criticized the cinematography as blurred and out of focus, and described the music as tuneless and noisy.⁴ The Economic Times noted the plot's use of the archaic mistaken-identity idea and a climax of car chases and confusion reminiscent of Priyadarshan film finales.¹²

Box office. The film opened in India on 28 March 2008 on 575 screens, taking Rs 21,500,000 on its first day and Rs 75,300,000 in its first weekend, against a stated budget of Rs 140,000,000; Box Office India records a total nett gross of Rs 171,200,000 and footfalls of 3,329,000.³ In the United States and Canada it earned $246,724 in its opening weekend at 42 theaters, which was 100 percent of its eventual domestic total of $274,589.¹³ Worldwide gross was $6,090,432, with international territories contributing about 95.5 percent.⁵ A Bollywood Hungama trade report in the first week called the opening a satisfactory first weekend, listing the film's plusses as a few comic scenes and its minuses as a wafer-thin plot and humor bordering on vulgarity.¹⁴

Versions and availability

Reported running times differ across databases: the Australian Classification Board records 138 minutes for the 35 mm print classified in April 2008,⁶ while IMDb, Box Office Mojo, and JustWatch list 135 minutes,¹^•⁵^•¹⁵ MUBI lists 137 minutes,² and Box Office India lists 124 minutes.³ The film carries a PG classification in Australia with consumer advice of mild comic violence.⁶ It has been released on home video and digital platforms in Hindi with English subtitles, and has been available for rent or purchase on Amazon Video and the Apple TV Store and for streaming on Sun Nxt.¹⁵

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Comedy films

Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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