Airlift Movie Review: The Film Leaves an Impact Without Much Fuss

There is an innate calmness and simplicity about Airlift. No matter how big the scale or how herculean the task at hand is, Airlift goes about its business with an extraordinary easiness. There is no patriotic chest thumping (may be a little bit towards the end), no heart wrenching portrayal of war and its associated grief, no screeching or shouting. Most of the frames in Airlift are fittingly raw (sometimes eerily ‘still’) and heartwarmingly subtle. And, this is the biggest win for director Raja Krishna Menon and his team. They manage to tell an extraordinary story of courage and survival with an authentic, real-life ordinariness.

Inspired by true events during the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, which left lakhs of Indians stranded in the Gulf nation, Airlift mostly centers on the heroic deeds of an influential Indian businessman in Kuwait, Ranjeet Katyal (Akshay Kumar). Caught in the web of unfortunate circumstances, Katyal, originally a hard-bargaining, shrewd businessman, forgoes the opportunity to flee Kuwait with his wife (Nimrat Kaur) and daughter, and engineers and spearheads the near impossible evacuation of over a lakh Indians from the war-ravaged country. Aiding him in this mammoth task is an unassuming Indian bureaucrat Sanjeev Kohli (Kumud Mishra) who has to fight his own battles with political apathy and departmental non-cooperation.

Airlift boasts of authenticity right from the word go when we see Akshay Kumar, with distinct salt & pepper beard, undergoing massive change of fortunes within fifteen minutes of the film’s runtime. A slow-motion sequence where Akshay, a high-flying, politically well-connected businessman in Kuwait, cries in his car as he passes by Kuwait city and witnesses the rampage unleashed by the invading Iraqi soldiers, is truly terrifying and depicts the horrors of Gulf War with chilling finesse. The plight of ordinary Kuwaitis and mercilessness of Iraqi forces, who are visibly drunk on the name of Saddam Hussein, have been captured with sincerity and sensitivity – a trait very rare in most mainstream Hindi films.

Much of Airlift’s sincerity and authenticity is derived out of its director Raja Krishna Menon’s conviction in retelling a piece of history that most of us have forgotten. Menon is in full control of a possibly myriad subject and does not fall prey to the temptations of infusing unrealistic patriotism and Bollywood-ish heroism in the narrative. Apart from a small fist-fight scene towards the climax and a couple of songs, there’s hardly any scene in the film which you think that ‘couldn’t have really happened in real life’. Aiding Menon hugely in his endeavor is the pitch perfect cinematography by Priya Seth that almost transports you to the war-torn Kuwait of 1990.

But, any praise for Airlift would be grossly incomplete without giving due credit to its leading man. Akshay Kumar has rarely underplayed himself as beautifully as he does in Airlift and you almost forget that he is one of the biggest superstars of Hindi cinema. He makes the character of a tired-looking but hugely determined businessman his own and owns every frame that he is a part of. There is no bling, no rowdiness, rather this Akshay Kumar cries and does not look pretty, is not conscious of his greying beard and chest hair, he is simply Ranjeet Katyal in flesh and blood.

Nimrat Kaur plays her part with conviction and excels in a well-crafted monologue where she has to lash out at a suitably annoying Prakash Belawadi for questioning her husband’s efforts to safeguard stranded Indians. Purab Kohli and Inaamulhaq (of Filmistaan fame) do well in their respective roles of a stranded Indian trying to find his lost love in all the chaos and an Iraqi Major who speaks Hindi in an interesting accent. Kumud Mishra as the reluctant bureaucrat, who eventually helps Akshay’s character in his mission, is very believable. In fact, one of the high points of Airlift is how it subtly displays the day-to-day decision-making and functioning of Indian bureaucracy and political class. The way the establishment in Delhi reacts to the continued plea of stranded Indians in Kuwait is so slice-of-life that it hurts.

But, it is not as if Airlift is entirely flawless. The second half seems to meander a bit as it does not have the novelty and grip of the first half. Moreover, the climax of the film does not bring about the required urgency that you usually associate with war thrillers. Lakhs of people are evacuated way too easily in the end and it makes you wonder if the director should have focused a bit more on the hurdles that must have come up in the process. The possible challenges in the way of the big task are perhaps sidelined because the director invests a little too much in building smaller characters and their stories – many of which do not eventually leave a big impact.

But despite these minor flaws, Airlift is a very neat and balanced film that achieves the enormous task of being refreshingly simple yet effective. It never lets itself to be overwhelmed by the critical piece of history it deals with and retells a forgotten story with utmost honesty. Add to it a bravura performance by Akshay Kumar and you have a near-perfect and uplifting weekend deal.

Rating: **** (Excellent)

Welcome Back Review: More Painful Than a Headache, Toothache and Heartbreak Put Together

You can also read this review on Mad About Moviez.

Let me start this review by making a candid confession. I liked Anees Bazmee’s 2007 Blockbuster 'Welcome' to a great extent. The gangster duo Uday Shetty and Majnu bhai, played by a remarkable Nana Patekar and an ever-dramatic Anil Kapoor respectively, were etched in my mind for long. Add to it Akshay Kumar’s gifted sense of humor, Paresh Rawal’s impeccable comic timing and the iconic “Aloo Lelo, Kanda Lelo” sequence – Welcome had some genuinely uproarious moments. No wonder, the film was not just a huge box office success but also went on to become one of the most loved films on television that continues to garner great TRPs till date.

Eight years later, Bazmee comes with an absolute charade in the name of a sequel. There seems to be no genuine creative impetus or even an honest motive behind making Welcome Back, apart from the obvious urge for financial windfalls. Welcome Back has a plot that is so hackneyed, loop-ridden and even ridiculous at places that it makes a motley bunch of talented actors look like buffoons. Imagine yourself silently cursing Naseeruddin Shah towards the end because he and his uninspiring portrayal of ‘Wanted Bhai’ does nothing apart from stretching an already dreadfully boring film. Ditto for someone like Dimple Kapadia who does not know what she is supposed to do or the poor comeback man Shiney Ahuja who is put into a predictable and pointless role.

Poor Story, Screenplay and Direction:

The film’s story itself is a spin-off from its prequel’s plot with a couple of inexplicable son and daughter discoveries being used to repackage the old, worn-out drama. This time around Uday and Majnu bhai (Nana Patekar and Anil reprising their roles) take up the task of marrying off their yet another sister (Shruti Hassan) to a seedha and shareef man as the gangsters themselves have become good guys and settled down in Dubai. In their quest for a perfect groom, they yet again cross paths with Dr Ghungroo (Paresh Rawal) who has his own ‘son discovery’ to deal with. Ajju Bhai or Ajay (John Abraham) is Dr. Ghungroo’s step-son and a dreaded Mumbai gangster. Uday and Majnu themselves are in awe of a petite young thug (debutante Ankita Shrivastava) who along with her mother (Dimple Kapadia) pose as princess and queen of Najafgarh.

Welcome Back’s screenplay is over-complicated and overcrowded to a point that it annoys you. There are too many worthless sub-plots in the film and actors come into and go out of the frame on their will (you can’t imagine what they do with Rajpal Yadav’s character). Anees Bazmee is not an auteur in the genre of comedy but Welcome Back definitely pitches him at par with someone like Sajid Khan and his brand of intelligence-insulting humor. I am all game for lowbrow and leave-your-mind-at-home kind of comedy but a film like Welcome Back takes the audiences for granted and only tries to cash in (and eventually destroys) the existing goodwill for its prequel.

Wasted Ensemble Cast:

The biggest disservice by Anees Bazmee is probably how he assembles such fine actors and lets that advantage fritter away. Not just that, he replaces the very likeable lead pair of Akshay-Katrina from the prequel with an odd and insipid Jodi of John Abraham and Shruti Hassan. John Abraham tries to bulldoze his Shootout at Wadala act here but fails miserably. His contributions to the film end with his 10 packs, a good-looking face and a new found, weird baritone during dialogue delivery. Shruti Hassan, on the other hand, delivers such an amateurish performance that you wonder why is she in the film, or worse why is she into acting.

Ankita Shrivastava, the debutante who is there in the film to wear skimpy clothes and deliver dialogues like a 10-year old, is a bizarre choice for the role of a temptress. She tries too hard but does not achieve an iota of what Mallika Sherawat did effortlessly in Welcome. And also, the girl is way too young to be singing tacky songs with Nana and Anil who look like her granddads. Dimple Kapadia is cast in a role that gives her no scope whatsoever. Shiney Ahuja makes an entrance post interval and does a few predictable screechy scenes before falling in line with the film’s overall tediousness. Naseeruddin Shah fails to be a worthy replacement for the Late Firoz Khan and I will not mince words in saying that he is plain bad in the film. He might be a great actor otherwise but there is no harm in calling a spade a spade when there is a need.

Nana and Anil Salvage Some Pride:

Welcome Back’s only saving grace is the delectable duo of Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor. The two veterans are in the same old form and try hard to salvage the pride despite being handicapped by poorly-written dialogues (Raj Shandaliya). Despite all the lacuna, there’s a memorable sequence in a graveyard where Nana and Anil play Antakshari with the ghosts. This one scene underscores the incredible chemistry that the two share as affable goons and makes you wonder how a good script would have allowed these two to come into their elements. It’s a shame that Anees Bazemee wastes the potential of two fine characters and two great actors by making what is easily a lesser of sequel.  Similarly, Paresh Rawal, who sparkled as Dr. Ghungroo in the previous installment, is undone by sheer lack of witty one-liners that were a trademark of his character.

Outrageous Music and Tacky VFX:

Welcome Back perhaps features the most outrageous songs that I have had the misfortune of hearing to in recent times. Songs pop out of nowhere through the film and they are resplendent with horrible lyrics (Band kamre mein 20-20 hua!), suggestive dance moves and horrendous choreography. You would want to close your eyes and ears in disgust while these songs are bombarded on you without any prior warning. Do I need to say more?

As if the entire, almost 3-hour long film was not torturous enough, Welcome Back also has an inexplicable climax featuring hordes of camels, choppers, dessert gypsies, aircraft bombs and a sandstorm. The CGI of the sandstorm is a throwback to the 80s and it makes the special effects of a film like Hisss look good.

Final Verdict:

Welcome Back is an unbearable film that mocks your intelligence, breaches all the thresholds of stupidity and redefines the contempt with which many mainstream filmmakers treat their audiences these days. Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor try hard but fail to save this sinking ship and you dearly miss the good old Akhsay Kumar who was the rock-solid anchor of Welcome.

Do yourself a favor and do not watch Welcome Back. You, I and all of us deserve much better.

Rating: * (1/5) - Poor

Brothers Movie Review: Mother of Yawns and False Dawns

The review is also published on Mad About Moviez.

I haven’t yawned this much while watching a film in a long long time. Yes, Brothers is a rare gem of a film in that sense. But, I have had this feeling of ‘when will this film end’ for so many other Hindi films that have released this year. Brothers is truly run-of-mill in that sense.

Karan Malhotra, the director who gave us the commercially successful but perennially boring remake of the 90s cult classic Agneepath, comes back with another remake in form of Brothers (official remake of 2011 Hollywood film Warrior) and does exactly what he has done before – he bores us to death. Okay, near death (conceding the fact that I am still alive to write this review). At times, I struggle to respond to those ever-inquisitive souls who come up to you after you have watched a film and ask you – how was it? A film like Brothers makes your job easier – you can simply say ‘boring’ and the answer shall perfectly suffice.

Brothers is the story of two brothers (yes, you are a genius because you guessed it right), David Fernandes (Akshay Kumar) and Monty Fernandes (Sidharth Malhotra), who are victims of familial conflict courtesy their drunkard father Gary Fernandes (Jackie Shroff), who we are told is an ex-street fighter. Separated by cruel fate of destiny, the two brothers come face to face in a mixed martial arts competition called Right to Fight (R2F). Punches and kicks fly thick and fast as the two face off in a dramatic final leaving behind a trail of broken bones and smoothened emotions.

To be honest, Brothers has a riveting premise and it clearly reflects in the short description of the film that is given above. A drunkard father, a doting mother, two brothers who love each other but eventually fall apart, a tragic accident, street fighting, anger, repentance, forgiveness, redemption, underdog story, family melodrama – Brothers has all the ingredients of a typical Bollywood potboiler. But, sadly all these ingredients boil well over the brim and leave you with a bad taste in the mouth.

So what goes wrong with Brothers?

1. An unpardonable penchant for theatrics and melodrama: The background score in the film is so loud and boisterous that it almost becomes an overarching character. The director tries to force feed emotions to the audiences and it clearly does not work. There are times when the background score becomes so buoyant that you start searching for validation through visuals on the screen. But sadly, the proceedings on the screen remain dull and never really evoke strong emotions.
2. Lack of real emotions: Your eyes are never wet either when the brothers separate or predictably reunite towards the end. Much of the film’s first half is dedicated to pump up our emotions around the Fernandes family but you never really root for or hate any of the principal characters. Emotions fall flat on face perhaps because there is no room of subtlety in Brothers. Crucifixes, tattoos, cut marks on the same spot for every fighter, slow motion flashbacks, church shots – all of these stereotypical elements are thrown on your face and you are supposed to sob. Sorry, it does not work.
3. Marathon Runtime: With a runtime of nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes, Brothers is a remarkable snooze fest. The first half goes on and on to establish the characters and plot, while the second half just never stops with its montages of fight sequences and tacky commentary scenes. There are simply too many loo breaks and yawn distractions – a tighter editing would have helped Brothers salvage some of its pride.
4. An obnoxious ‘item song’: I have never come across a more pointless and lecherous ‘item song’ than ‘Mera Naam Mary Hai’. Principally, I am not opposed to the idea of an item song in a Bollywood potboiler as long as it serves some purpose in the narrative. Karan Malhotra’s Agneepath had an enjoyable item song in Chikni Chameli, but Mary arrives on the scene with no prior warnings and goes out without doing much. An item songs leading up to a film’s intermission? Really? Also, I wonder what made Kareena Kapoor Khan say yes to such a poorly written song with distasteful dance moves.
5. Uninspiring Support Cast: You have Ashutosh Rana in your support cast and you make him carry bottles in and out of the fighting ring. This is just one of the instances of talented actors being cast in rather insignificant roles in Brothers. Jackie Shroff is impressive in some scenes but accepting him as Akshay Kumar’s father seems a little difficult. True to his age, Shroff looks like Akshay’s elder brother and especially because the director decides not to shave off Akshay’s white beard and chest hair! Shefali Shah makes an impact in some of the emotional scenes and reminds us about her immense acting potential. Sidharth Malhotra looks a complete misfit and does little except for glaring and growling. It’s sad to see him struggle to get his emotions and body language right in a role that required immense intensity and dedication.
6. Lukewarm Fight Sequences: Let’s not forget that despite its brutal display of contrived emotions and melodrama, Brothers is essentially a sports film. It is perhaps the first time that a film on mixed martial arts (MMA) and street fighting has been attempted in Bollywood. But sadly, despite all the build-up and staged pre-launch media madness, the fight sequences fail to make an impact. The fighters look more comical than menacing, our two heroes look more tired and aggrieved than motivated and driven. Both the opening and final fight scenes are big letdowns with the audience (in the theater) wondering what to do and whom to cheer for!

There are a very few likeable aspects of Brothers. And Akshay Kumar is one of them. The actor comes up with a nuanced and restrained performance that is very different from the mostly comical or out-and-out action-oriented roles that he has been doing off late. Jacqueline Fernandez (the only real Fernandez in a film of Fernandes’) looks believable in a brief role. The film’s cinematography is above average but other technical departments leave you asking for more – especially the editing department, which seems to have gone on a vacation. The film’s music (Ajay Atul) is a letdown with none of the songs registering in your memory.

Overall, Brothers buys an age-old Bollywood formula from a Hollywood film and makes a mega mess of it. The film is a sleep-inducing cocktail of sibling rivalry, familial discord and sports extravaganza that tries to be too many things at the same time. And most worryingly, it tries to pass off exaggerated melodrama via some in-your-face theatrics but ends up with mud on its own face.

This Independence Day, you deserve freedom for this Karan Malhotra sham of a film.

Rating: *1/2 (Poor)

Movie Review: Gabbar Is Back, But You Will Not Care

They shouldn't have evoked Gabbar's name in the film. Gabbar, perhaps the most iconic villain in the history of Hindi Cinema, has nothing to do with this 2-hour, 10-minutes long humbug of a film that dangerously tries to blend formulaic action-masala with the tricky genre of vigilante justice. The film lacks conviction itself and fails to convince you because of its dangerous positioning where kidnapping, killing by hanging are glorified as legitimate means of rooting out corruption and serving 'justice'.

Akshay Kumar is a college professor who doubles up as a corruption crusader when he is not teaching. He christens himself as 'Gabbar', for reasons best known to him, and keeps reminding us that he is 'naam se villain, kaam se hero'! Eh! While vigilante justice films can be absolute revelations if they are beaming with purpose and sparkling with novelty (remember, A Wednesday and Akshay's own Special 26?), Gabbar Is Back is extremely preachy and devoid of any originality. I am not even trying to explain to you that this film is a remake of a Tamil film's Telugu remake. Did you get that?

To its credit, Gabbar Is Back maintains a good pace throughout and is backed by a hero who is punching hard at all the right places. In fact, the film's first half breezes through rather easily even though there is no moment of glory. The problem, or rather say potholes in the screenplay, arise in the second half when Gabbar's tragic back life comes into the fray. So, Mr. Director, is Gabbar a social reformer with PWD (Power Wala Danda!) or simply a disgruntled, frustrated man who is out there to avenge the death of his wife (guest appearance by Kareena Kapoor in a curious pink nose) and unborn child? From this point onwards, Gabbar Is Back falls flat as motive becomes hazy, modus operandi questionable and logic anyways was always sitting pretty out of the window. How does Gabbar shortlist the 'corrupt' ones from thousands of officers? Who verifies if the corruption charges are legitimate at first place? There are plethora of unanswered questions that you will perhaps not even bother to ask by the time the tedious second half assumes its predictable proportions. Even the investigating officers, featuring Jaideep Ahlawat as a CBI officer and Sunil Grover as a constable who is overzealous and uselessly curious, seem quite disinterested in tracing Gabbar and most of the time end up bickering among themselves or eating Samosas.

Gabbar Is Back has some funny one-liners that will make you chuckle and a few 90s style dialogues for the front row audience. Then, there is also Sunil Grover and Jaideep Ahlawat twisting their tongues while speaking in English. No disrespect meant, but these two actors look rather out of place while delivering their dialogues in English. And hello, why did they need to speak in horrible-sounding English? To show that they are more competent and honest than their peer police officers? Blah.

The film also has Shruti Haasan as a desperate-to-act-cute, decorative piece. Akin to what's reserved for actresses in films of this genre, Haasan's importance in the film's narrative is negligible and Gabbar's supposed romantic interest in her makes you wonder - wait, is this guy avenging his wife's death? Hmm.

The film's music is strictly okay. Special effects are tacky (the buildings collapse like a pack of cards, like how it used to be in good old Doordarshan serials). Screenplay and direction is messy to the say the least. Akshay Kumar is his usual confident and effective self. But, he is undone by a unremarkable script and screenplay that never challenge him to do what he has not done before.

Gabbar Is Back tries hard to blend and hard sell Bhagat Singh and Arvind Kejriwal schools of thought, but ends up being mostly stupid. Watch it only if you wish to save your electricity bill and enjoy a theater's air-conditioning in this sweltering heat, or you have a 'thing' for anything and everything anti-corruption.

Rating: ** (Average)

Movie Review: This ‘Baby’ is Worth Your Day Out!

When was the last time you saw an action-thriller that did not let your mind wander even for a minute? Think. Madras Café? Special 26? A Wednesday? Whatever your pick is, do notice that you are most likely to name a Neeraj Pandey film when it comes to genuine action thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat. Pandey does it again with ‘Baby’. Although, ‘A Wednesday’ remains my favorite in this genre, ‘Baby’ is nothing less than a giant leap when you ponder over the sheer dearth of quality thrillers in the Hindi film industry.

Read the full review here:

http://bit.ly/15x4EMS

Note: Watch out for film reviews every week, now exclusively on www.todaybollywood.com

Rowdy Rathore is Unintentionally Hilarious!

We all have waited for Akshay Kumar’s return to the genre that was bread and butter for him in early days of his career. The time was absolutely ripe for him to reinvent himself as an action hero, now that every leading actor had a Ghajini, Dabbang, Singham or Don to his credit. The promos of Rowdy Rathore looked rather promising with plenty of brawn and rowdiness, some scintillating musical score and a petite young leading actress. But alas, after spending two hours and twenty minutes inside the theatre, I could not help but regret the fact that Rowdy Rathore was less of action and more of comedy, and that too, quite sadly, unintentional and accidental.

The first half of the film is extremely lethargic with Akshay Kumar playing Shiva, a thug with a good heart. The emphasis here is mainly on inciting a few laughs, but the success rate in this regard is dismally low. Proceedings pick up only after the real ‘Vikram Rathore’ makes an entry. And from here on till the time director unforgivably decides to do away with feisty Rathore in favor of Shiva, the film enjoys its honeymoon period. Akshay Kumar plays a double role but excels only in the garb of a fearless and gutsy police officer Vikarm Rathore. Though the actor carries the entire film on his broad shoulders, but is somewhat undone by confused direction and wafer thin plot.

 Majority of the film is set in a fictional village of Devgarh, which we are told is a few kilometers away from Patna. But the locales and terrain of the village belie this presumption and even the characters of the village look confused in their attempt to look and behave like Biharis. Post interval, some bad boys break into horrible Bihari accent, only to do away with it whenever and wherever they feel like. All of this confusion does not ‘angry’ you, but makes you laugh, what if sarcastically. It was absolutely fine if logic and reasoning were given a backseat in a supposed all-out action flick, but here the twin pillars of storyline are mercilessly thrown out of the window.

Some of the scenes in the first half, such as the in-built rewind and play buttons in Shiva’s head are somewhat funny, but the very purpose of making this film is somewhat lost because the director invests too much into the romantic track of Akshay and Sonakshi . The pair breaks into unexplainable song and dance sequences in the first half, which reminds you of Jitendra brand of cinema. You get a feeling that there are a few songs too many in the film, but despite the abundance of songs the lead pair lacks the chemistry and verve. Overall, otherwise, the film boasts of reasonably peppy music (Sajid-Wajid) with ‘Chinta ta chita chita’ and ‘Pritam Pyare’ being pick of the lot.(the 3 'item girls' spew venom!)

Prabhudeva is the biggest criminal here. He had all the ingredients of a potential potboiler at his disposal, yet he flounders to handle what can easily be called as the most predictable formula Indian cinema has. The double role opportunity is terribly wasted. I mean, we have seen Akshay wasting himself and being wasted by directors again and again, but here two Akshays have been left underused! It's criminal! There is no swapping of look-alikes anywhere, no thrill, no twist.

 

The story starts in a reverse narrative mode with Shiva (who is later christened Rowdy by his beloved, for no practical reason) appearing before Rathore. Then story goes in a flashback mode and Rathore is eventually done away with. And predictably, Rowdy steps into the big shoes of Rathore. He brings with him his cheeky sense of humor, visual demonstration and analysis of the 'chinta ta ta' act. Rowdy’s stupidity and the ease with which he takes over Rathore somewhat undermines the otherwise well-sketched character of the later. In the second half, there are fight scenes after every ten minutes, but none of them leave an impression on your mind or set your adrenalin pumping. And not to mention, towards the end Prabhudeva is suddenly reminded that he has a winner one-liner, ‘Faulad ki Aulad’ still in hand. So, Sonakshi Sinha makes sure that she calls Shiva by this name a couple of times. And hold on, the most hilarious aspect is yet to come, which also highlights the director’s failure to tap the potentiality of a double-role. The villains in the film are not aware that Rowdy has taken over from Rathore throughout the unfolding drama. It is only in the closing reels that Sonakshi Sinha again comes to director’s rescue, telling goons in a very nonchalant way-‘ Aur haan yeh Rathore nahin hai, Shiva hai. Mera Shiva.’ Err.

You are not angered or agitated by Rowdy Rathore. You just laugh at the sight of a promised action film turning out to be unintentionally comical. The support actors in the film are absolutely not worth mentioning, specially the main villain, whatever his real name is. Sonakshi Sinha's makes her presence felt only through her creamy waist and elaborate forehead. Her Dabanng act was much more meatier compared to Rowdy Rathore. And Prabhudeva's Wanted looks like a classic in front of this. 

Sad to see that Akshay Kumar is still doing what he should not do. And what explains Sanjay Leela Bhansali producing this film? Perhaps he is hoping to collect a few easy bucks before canvassing his own magnum opus. Yes, you need money to build those extravagant sets.

There is no reason as such to watch this film. But as the IPL is over and the June sun promises to take away your sanity, go and catch Rowdy Rathore in the nearest air-conditioned theatre. Yes, the film is this much tolerable. Only this much.

Rating- ** (Average)

Film Review: Ready

Morning shows the day. Whosoever said this, must have been a man/woman with great wit and intelligence. When all the supposed Special appearances of Ready winded up within first 15 minutes of the film, I knew I was being taken for a ride. There was no logic whatsoever to cram Sanjay Dutt, Arbaaz Khan, Ajay Devgan, Kangana Ranaut and that Katrina Look alike (she finally has flab at right places) in the initial reels of the film. Cameos and special appearances are supposed to be ‘significant’ for the film, they are supposed to add some value. Only Zarine Khan had something to do as she sizzled in the character dheela number while Ajay and Sanjay looked completely out of place. I instantly got a feeling, Salman Khan, family (Arbaaz and Sohail, the producer) and friends (Sanjay, Kangana, Zarine) have made this film for fun, they must have had a gala time shooting in picturesque island of Sri Lanka.

So how is Ready? Firstly, it’s not just a no-brainer but actually a non-film, a tangy docu-drama, whose sole purpose is to glorify and further glorify the Larger than life image of Salman Khan, the lead protagonist. Nothing wrong with it. Salman Khan is a mega-star who is perhaps going through the purple patch of his career. In fact, he does give that periodic feeling of Vintage Salman. I mean only he can pee on a hay stack and ask you to go into interval and look cunningly at the audiences every time after getting hold of Asin’s Body. He plays it to the gallery and deserves all the sities and taalis. But…

There are several moments in the film when you feel like holding the director (Anees Bazmee) by his collar and ask him, “WHY”? This man has been dishing out rotten potatoes to the movie-goers for years now. I have seen good side of him (Deewangee, Pyar To Hona Hi Tha), he can be a master at comedy too (No Entry) but off late he seems to be driven by moolahs only. What explains his precarious decision of working on three films simultaneously (No Problem, Thank You, Ready). Even Ram Gopal Verma would be ashamed of such audacity. Bazmee virtually made No Entry Part 2 in form of Thank You (by the way, No Entry 2 is still on!), now he picks up Welcome’s script, replaces Bhais with mamas, expands the family on both sides and makes Ready! Outrageous.

Ready has no story to write about. There are simply too many characters. Salman has three uncles (sorry two if you do not count Paresh, his adopted uncle), each uncle has a wife. He has a father too, who also has a wife. Then there are two maids in his house, a Guruji and his accomplice. Asin’s family tree is worse. She has two Mamas, respective mamis, a rowdy cousin and the entire goon clan of the Chaudharies, as they call themselves.Thankfully, her parents are dead.

The entire first half is wasted in establishing the characters. Story and screenplay not just have loopholes but huge potholes. Talented actors like Paresh Rawal, Sharat Saxena, Akhilendra Mishra, Manoj Pahwa and Mahesh Manjerekar (he repeats Suneil Shetty's Act in Awara Pagal Deewana) have been terribly wasted. Only Sudesh Lahiri (of Comedy Circus fame) manages to tickle your bones. I have a feeling that director or the script writer contributed little to his achievements, his stint at Comedy Circus and his own sense of comedy saved the day for him. Asin Thottumkal needs to pay attention to her skin. Her face appears to be pimplified through out the film. For acting part, she is her natural self, vibrant in whatever little she has got to do.

Salman is the only savior. I am sorry, this film was made to show him as the savior. His screen presence his fantastic, you can not take your eyes off him when he is around. He throws some quirky one-liners (Its hilarious when he starts singing Chaudhary ka chand ho), packs some double meaning dialogues too. He is in top form, doing virtually everything possible in front of the audiences.

Music (by Pritam) is Ready's highpoint. Dhink chika and Character Dheela are chartbusters and other songs too suit the mood of the film. There is nothing special about Sunil Kumar's and Thomas Xavier's cinematography. As far as the story and script are concerned, well, JFI (Just Forget It).

I am not a Cinema scholar who tears apart every commercial cake thats on offering. But there should be a limit to what you offer in the name of fultoo entertainer or paisa vasool. The sad part is that makers of Ready seem to be arrogant and non-sensitive, in the way, they serve out this non-sense. Sheer star power of Salman Khan seems to have gone on to their heads rather than the actor himself.

Akshay Kumar too had a similar streak of success some years back. Salman Khan is different from him in the sense that he enjoys much larger and far more loyal fan following. It wont be an exaggeration if I say he is turning to be Rajnikanth of North. Wanted and Dabangg were the perfect fodder, but Ready flatters to deceive.

Final Verdict: You will be disappointed if you expected Ready to be the first big entertainer of the year. You will be exasperated if you thought Ready would give you a relief from scorching heat and overdose of cricket.

I would not state the cliche: The film is strictly for the die-hard Salman fans. 

My Rating: * 1/2 (Poor)