Tag: akshay kumar

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Toilet : Ek Prem Katha (2017)

The repeated use of certain words make the experience slightly cringe worthy, but it is a story that needed to be told. So many nuances of what people face while they do their daily business make you wonder how much we take for granted. The good thing was that they showed all points of view, the government, the people, the society and how it all affects having a toilet. Bhumi plays a girl who knows the need of the hour and is willing to go every mile to achieve it. Akshay is his usual dependable self, rattling off dialogues which range from a shrug response to closing your eyes in shock.

3/5

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Naam Shabana (2017)

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The April Fools day curse continues. Director Shivam Nair puts us through an unreal premise with a laughable sequence of events.

Taapsee Pannu puts in a sincere effort into a role which has no head nor tail. The logic quotient quickly descends from comic to nonsensical. After a few rounds of action, you feel trained enough to punch the director for his assault on your senses.

Touted as the prequel to ‘Baby’ it rides on a film which was supposedly good. This one isn’t. Akshay gives you his second film this year with poor content.

0.5/5

Jolly LLB 2 (2017)

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Touted as a black comedy this film is a total contempt of any genre, as it can’t make up its mind. Defying logic, with a graph trembling out of control, it’s filled with moronic highs and lows and tacky product placements.

Akshay Kumar usually does good content but here it’s beyond laughable. It’s shocking how much mockery has been made of the legal system, a judge and lawyers. One moment you are in a tense situation, the next moment you have foolish jokes and crass references.

Let’s examine the ‘law’ aspect of things. There is none. No respect at all, hence no fear or accountability. It’s a film with caricatures and planted emotions which anger you instead of creating empathy. Forced songs which are so lame that your eyes roll behind your head. Huma Qureshi is wasted, Annu Kapoor is an idiot, Saurabh Shukla is silly.

A big step down for director Subhash Kapoor after Jolly LLB. Absurd to say the least.

Enough ranting.

1/5

Rustom (2016)

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Touted as a thriller the film directed by Tinu Suresh Desai is an average story, engaging at points and recreating parts of the era successfully.

‘Decorated Navy Officer’ Akshay Kumar is happily married to Illeana D’Cruz. Something which they establish quickly. Why things fall apart is unclear, and when it’s revealed its not convincing. What ensues is clear, but how well it was planned wasn’t. In short, characters are not developed well, some half baked and others erratic. Akshay is generic while Illeana is the female lead, who has a few scenes.

Pavan Malhotra as the good cop, Arjan Bajwa as the victim and Esha Gupta as his vamp sister pay homage to the black/white characters in the 60s. But somewhere along the line contemporary and period film making are blurred.

It is doing well because of the ruin running alongside it. It’s based on a true story which makes it more appealing and everyone likes to see a cleaner vintage Mumbai.

2.5/5

Dishoom

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At its best a ‘kuch bhi’ silliness, at worst a no brainer, abandon logic, zero logic flick by Rohit Dhawan, where Varun Dhawan entertains sporadically with his silly antics. John Abraham is wooden, but it serves his character well. Jacqueline is eye candy who has her promised item number. Poor Akshay Khanna is a laughable villain and Rahul Dev even more so. Akshay Kumar’s cameo steals the show.

1.5/5

Airlift (2016)

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Touted as ‘Akshay Kumar’s career best’ and other such superlatives, I was intrigued to watch it. Having grown up in the Gulf, and lived through a time like this (though only on the news), it was insightful to see a dramatised version of it.

Director Raja Krishna Menon has built an authentic Kuwait (in the tiny emirate of Ras Al Khaimah) and showed us the larger perspective of what happened during its invasion by Iraq. Though certain bits are given superficial treatment, the story as a whole works.

We all know what will happen at the end, but the tension in the plot is built well. I only wish certain proceedings were given the same treatment as most of the film, the weight of the subject matter would have hit us harder. There was a struggle but not enough, it was painful to watch but didn’t rouse emotion.

Akshay Kumar has done better work, though this one is no doubt sincere. He as usual carries the film on his shoulders, communicating a ‘changed man’ very well. Nimrat Kaur, another talented actor, has little screen time, but shows us her prowess too. Purab Kohli has a short but impactful role.

All in all, the film had some missing ingredients which would have made it a complete experience. It was a solid attempt, at a modest budget, a sensible strategy 🙂

3/5