Akshay
Kumar was clinging to his last straw when Salman Khan's Wanted and Ajay
Devgn's Singham made him realise that there is one other way to claim
his lost glory at the box-office - Action. Hence the Khiladi is back in
his action packed avatar in this Friday's release Rowdy Rathore.
Directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali in
association with UTV Motion Pictures, the film promises to go extremely
raw when it comes to packing a punch. Let's find out if it fulfills its
promise.
Shiva (Akshay Kumar) is a thief who makes a living by stealing nearly
everything from ATM machines to metal detectors to jewelleries and hates
kids. But when Paro (Sonakshi Sinha) comes to his life he decides to
quit his thieving ways and take up a righteous route but only after he
commits his last stealing. But his plan goes horribly wrong when instead
of laying his hands on a treasure (literally); he ends up with a little
girl who can't quit calling him papa. He tries many ways to get rid of
her but fails every time. Later, he discovers that the girl is mistaking
him for her father as the latter looks like him and that makes him vow
to meet his twin. The moment comes sooner than later when a few goons
sent by Bapji from Devgarh, Bihar chase him and he is saved by his
lookalike, Assistant Superintendent of Police Vikram Rathore. But there
meeting stays brief as shortly after that Vikram is killed by the goons.
Shiva then vows to avenge Vikram's killing. Rest of the story follows
Shiva's vengeance journey.
The film is nothing but a sequence of various action scenes stitched
together interspersed by forced songs. It starts on a confusing note
with everything haphazardly placed. However, slowly, the story starts
picking, meaning slowly you make peace with the fact that whatever is
going on need not have logic.
Not much has been changed in the script of the movie from its Telugu
original. Dialogues, sequences and even attires in few scenes have been
repeated here. However, the one thing that caught us off guard was the
many continuity jerks and editing flaws. It's as if people were so busy
to see Akshay kick and punch that they forgot which side was he shot at
to let the blood ooze.
When talking about action, it is at its peak in this movie as you can
see Akki hitting someone at regular intervals. Slashing, slicing, flying
kicks and beastly punches, you name it and Rowdy Rathore displays it.
For a true blue action fanatic, this movie is a treat. But its
appearance too often in the script makes you feel bruised in the head.
There is an extent to which you can bear someone getting black and blue
but the makers of this film chose to test the audience's patience.
Also, apart from the repetitive action there is a typical Prabhu Deva
film treatment with excessive stress on the punch-lines too. So just
like Salman Khan's 'Ek bar jo maine commitment kar di to phir main apne
aapki bhi nahi sunta' there's a rephrased version of a punch-line for
Akshay Kumar too that goes like 'Main jo bolta hoon, woh main karta
hoon' which is literally hammered onto our brains over and over again.
Of all the props in the film, Sonakshi Sinha was the most beautiful one.
Relegated to just sway her waist the moment the music switches on, she
also flaunted garish and blingy sarees and salwar suits. Wonder what was
the point of her signing this film as all she had to do was look pretty
and dance dastardly? Beats us!
Having said all that, there are a few upsides of this film too. First is
Akshay Kumar. He looks completely at home in this marriage between two
of his favorite genres - slapstick comedy and action. His looks, though
tacky, work for his rowdy character. He is definitely the star of the
film, shouldering it all alone with his banal jokes but fantastic
stunts. He portrays both the role brilliantly but there is no novelty
factor. It's been there done that. If we disregard the fact that the
storyline is absurd and trite, never at any point does the film drags.
There is something happening in every frame whether you like it or no.
All in all, Rowdy Rathore is a heavy dose of Bollywood masala movie
which will be loved by the audience who fancy such preposterous outings.
But this film is definitely not for the intelligentsia
Peruvannamuzhi,[1] Kozhikode, Kerala, India
