Tezz review

Genre: Action Thriller

Prolific director Priyadarshan has decided to try out some thrills and spills, leaving behind his favorite comedy genre. Senior statesmen Ajay Devgn and Anil Kapoor are part of the cast which includes some more bankable names in Boman Irani and Sameera Reddy. Made at a generous budget of 40 crores, Tezz released in close to 2000 screens. Does it provide the expected adrenaline rush?

An Indian immigrant (Aakash Rana) with a maligned past suddenly lands up in London after a 4 year exile and decides to plant bombs in a  goods train and more importantly in the London – Glasgow bullet train. Expectedly the railway network and the police force are forced to take the requisite measures. What forced Aakash to take this step, what happens to the bomb & the 500 passengers and whether he unites with his estranged family are certain questions for which the answers may be found in a theater near you where Tezz is playing.

Though the actual trigger that makes Aakash do what he does, is not very convincing, the action on screen and the pacy screenplay make you forget such glitches. There are all sorts of terrific action blocks featuring Parkour, bike stunts and river rafting. The cinematographer Tirru must be given major credit for the superior cinematography and the aforementioned pulsating action fest.

On the performance front, Anil Kapoor and Boman Irani compete for the cake. After a long time, Anil is intensity personified and really turns in a solid show as the investigating cop. His working style is reminiscent of the legendary Harry Callahan. Boman Irani also keeps the tension going with his proactive moves as the railways traffic head. Ajay Devgn doesn’t have much scope as the lead other than looking grim, manly and speaking some serious lines. Zayed Khan must be a proud man for all the Parkour stunts that have been credited to him, thanks to the stunt double.  On the ladies front, Sameera Reddy has an action packed role in which she excels while Kangana Ranaut is crying most of the time in her artificial style. Mohan Lal in a cameo as the cop looks pretty stuffed and there isn’t much required out of him.

Technically, the movie is superior thanks to some stunning cinematography by Tirru. His aerial shots of the bullet train are captivating. The songs by Sajid-Wajid pop up at odd times including the totally unwarranted item number by Mallika Sherawat right at the beginning of the movie. But, despite these speed breakers, Tezz mostly gallops to the finish line.

If only the setup to why Aakash decides to plant these bombs had been convincing and the needless songs had been chopped off completely, this movie would have been more taut and riveting.

To conclude, Priyadarshan has come out with an action thriller that is convincing to a large extent inspite of the obvious inspiration from ‘Speed’, that classic Keanu Reeves action thriller.

VERDICT: Save a few minor glitches, this one fittingly lives up to its title

2.5 stars

Singham (2011)

The Hindi remake of the highly successful Tamil movie Singam starring Surya. There are some nativity changes that are obvious. Some portions have been modified while some have been retained. The punch of the original movie is there, importantly.

The plot as we know is a police officer, Bajirao Singham taking on a big goon, Jaikant Shikre singlehandedly. Goa is the scene of action while the initial portions are in Shivgad, a small village.

Ajay Devgn outshines Suriya thanks to his superior physicality and apt body language. His punch dialogs resonate. Prakash Raj is another solid highlight with his intensity. He is much better suited to this role than he was in the Tamil version. Such a versatile artist adept at any language. Kajal is also very pleasing and cute and is better than Anushka. Her decent clothes are classy.

The climax looks pretty lopsided after a solid first 2 hours. Thanks to a sermon, the entire police force reforms at the drop of a hat and they all decide to put an end to Shikre's hold once and for all.

There are some funny scenes involving Sachin Khedekar as 'Gotya'. The 2 sub-inspectors Abbas and Phadnis at the Goa station are fit and look the part. Head constable Savalkar keeps chipping in with his wisecracks and he also gives one nice poignant sermon on the police force.

There is also a subplot of a wife trying to prove the innocence of her husband, officer Kadam who commits suicide after being falsely accused of being corrupt. He tries in vain to bring down Shikre. Kadam's name is cleared in the end along with the death of Shikre.

The action scenes are as good as the original. They are over-the-top and imaginative. There are just 3 songs, each a winner. The title song is a scream. It comes at apt places in the movie to add the necessary heroism.

VERDICT: If only the final resolution had been better, this one would have been a solid police story. Nevertheless, a good one.