Rowdy Rathore review

2.5 / 5

Following the massive success of Housefull 2, Akshay Kumar is back in action with Rowdy Rathore, the remake of Vikramarkudu which was also made as Siruthai in Tamil. The trailers met with good response from the general masses. Whether this film directed by Prabhudheva (yes that is how he spells it now) and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali in association with UTV, does provide the expected entertainment quotient? Read on to find out.

Shiva (Akshay) is a petty thief who is an expert conman along with his partner in crime, 2G. He makes a lot of money out of this and also succeeds in bowling a girl over (Sonakshi as Paro) with his dubious charm and antics. But after the entry of a little girl (Chinki) into his life who calls him as her father, things turn upside down for Shiva. Certain people are behind his life while certain people swear by his side. The reason for this is Vikram Rathore, a perfect lookalike and a daredevil, proud and larger than life cop.

We come to know of Vikram’s unfinished business in a village called Devgarh which is tormented by three goons, Baapji, Munna and Titla. How Shiva gets involved in finishing the job started by Vikram is the remaining part of Rowdy Rathore.

There is no point in comparing this movie with the original as it is more or less a faithful remake. The essence of the original is not lost though as comedy, action, sentiment and masala are there in correct doses.

Akshay Kumar is in home territory as funny antics, punch dialogs, clumsy body language, atrocious dressing sense etc. are so easy for him. He pulls it off convincingly though a proper mustache would have helped his looks much more than the artificial mustache. Sonakshi Sinha dresses properly as the mandatory eye-candy in a commercial movie though the scenes involving her waist give us doubts whether they are graphically enhanced. The villains are all loud, inclusive of the seasoned Nassar as Baapji.

Among the songs, ‘Chinta Ta’ is a universally likeable number with special appearances for Vijay, Kareena and Prabhudheva himself. They are all ‘blink you miss’ type cameos. The other songs will appeal to the masses though placement of these numbers has been done randomly. Costumes for the songs are pretty crude and could have been toned down. Action choreography by Arasu Kumar has the necessary punch what with Akshay’s proven prowess at martial arts.

The mother sentiment element in the movie might be laughable for the youth but, will appeal in the heartland of the country.  Ultimately, this is a movie that will give critics a lot of fodder to pan the fact that this is a mindless commercial movie. But, this is escapist cinema and it is meant to be enjoyed. Just switch off your analytical mind and you will find yourself clapping and whistling happily at many points in the movie

To conclude, Rowdy Rathore in all probability will join the list of blockbusters (Bodyguard, Ready, Singham, Wanted) remade from Southern super hits. This will also give that much needed solo hit for Akshay Kumar who has generally been riding on multi-starrer comedies for the past few years. This being another cop movie based on the South, after Singham, Force and Wanted is another coincidence.

VERDICT: Proper masala fest guaranteed to please the average movie goer

Housefull 2 movie review

Another Akshay Kumar multi-starrer comic caper has released and it is by the same director who gave us the 2010 hit ‘Housefull’. Sajid Nadiadwala has produced this movie and it has music by Sajid-Wajid. Almost entirely shot in London, ‘Housefull 2’ has kick started the lineup of big budgeted Hindi releases for this summer. It has taken on the IPL bravely. The plot which is heavily inspired by Crazy Mohan and Kamal’s brand of comedy goes like this

2 step brothers (Daboo and Chintu) are always at loggerheads with each other. While Daboo calls his family, Kapoor and son, Chintu calls his family, Kapoor and ‘real’ son. Such is the level of their nonsensical rivalry.

Their wives and daughters (Bobby and Henna) can’t stand one another too. The only goal of these 2 brothers is to get their daughters married to the son of the richest man in London, which happens to be JD, a former dacoit. Jolly is his only son who is pretty scared about his uptight father. Jolly is in love with J Lo. 2 useless loafers, Sunny and Max are lured into this comedy of errors and mistaken identities & both of them are paid to act as Jolly. While Sunny goes to Chintu’s house and woos Henna, Max goes to Daboo’s house and woos Bobby.

This drama is initiated by Jai who wants to get even with Chintu for his father’s ill health. Jai is in love with Parul.

In the climax, all the people who were merely behind money reform and all is well, according to typical Indian cinema rules. There is some stupid drama in the climax which tests our patience. The jokes work at places while at other places they are downright silly. The episodes at the island are entertaining while the scenes with the crocodile and snake are absurd to say the least.

Chunki Pandey as the marriage broker and Johnny Lever as JD’s assistant add value to the movie with their silly laugh-cracks. The veterans Rishi, Randhir, Mithun and Boman play their requisite parts which require them to be loud. John Abraham tries too hard to succeed at comedy. Shreyas and Ritesh don’t have the screen presence and they also try too hard like John. Akshay is a riot and he is a past master at such comic roles. His one liner “kyuu takrei” and his “eeeii” gesture are his USPs in this movie.

The girls are all hot and look picture-perfect. Asin looks super chic and has really spiced up her clothes with her generous necklines, micro-minis and hot pants. The other 3 girls, Shazahn, Jacqueline and Zarine, have even more miniscule roles but look good as expected. 

3 of the songs are real winners – ‘Anarkali’ featuring the ever-hot Malaika, ‘Papa Toh’ and ‘Right Now’. The girls make sure all the songs aren’t just mere excuses to go out for a smoke. The frames are picture perfect like all big budgeted Hindi films. No compromise on the production values.

The single screen audiences will really love this one while the multiplex counters should also keep buzzing over the next week or so. Akshay Kumar can bank on this one for a hit after a pretty lean patch.

VERDICT: Leave your brains at home for some mad fun which is silly yet entertaining too.

Desi Boyz (2011)

It is recession time in London in the year 2009 and 2 'cheddi' buddies Jerry and Nick lose their jobs. Nick has a demanding girlfriend Radhika to maintain while Jerry needs to take care of his sister's orphaned son Veer. They are desperate to find a job but don't find any. Then they come to know of 'desi boyz', a service where hunky handsome men escort and satisfy women with varying needs.

They make money, satisfy many desperate women but soon they lose Radhika (breakup) and Veer to a foster home, respectively. Nick convinces Radhika after persisting for long. Jerry goes back to college, graduates, finds his lady love, convinces the social services department and wins back Jerry. The movie ends with the premise for a sequel in Mumbai.

Hits

• Both the handsome hunks play to their strengths. John Abraham flaunts his body and his looks while Akshay flaunts his energy, charm and comic sense. The lead ladies are hot as well, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh. They match their Hollywood counterparts in style. The movie has gloss written all over. 
• Nice peppy songs by Pritam. 
• Light hearted movie. Good for killing some time. 

Comments

• The movie has 2 cameos by Sanjay Dutt and Omi Vaidya. While Sanjay is macho, Omi irritates with his gayish style. Anupam Kher plays another of his innumerable so-called funny roles. 
• The college romance scenes between Akshay and Chitrangada are similar to Main Hoon Na

VERDICT

Light hearted time pass movie with the 'male escorts' theme being particularly entertaining. 

Tees Maar Khan (2010)

Whats it about
Tabrez Mirza Khan aka Tees Maar Khan aka TMK is a wanted criminal. He has his 3 side kicks. He is the only intelligent person in the whole film. The rest of the cast are all jokers and incompetent people.
                 His next task is to loot government valuables worth billions and many kilos, and deliver it to the Johri Siamese twins. He plans to shoot a movie along the Dhuliya railway track where the train is supposed to come. He casts a big Oscar obsessed superstar and the entire Dhuliya village in his movie. And they blindly obey his orders without a second thought. He loots and then escapes as usual.

                                                                          

Hits

• The punch dialogs spoken by the side kicks in praise of TMK are a scream.
• The Oscar mania spoofed in this film is also laugh worthy. Danny Toyle, Manoj Day Ramalan etc etc. lol indeed. Akshaye Khanna with a trendy wig has really brought in the laughs. 
• Nice peppy songs. 
• Some good laughs. 

Misses

• Logic-less. Senseless. Mindless. Typical Akshay Kumar masala film with a foolish glam doll as the heroine. An over emotional mother. Timid, comic police officers. May be that is exactly what Farah Khan wanted to do. 

VERDICT

Worth some laughs. Feel good comedy. But totally unbelievable stuff. Cinematic liberties have been stretched to the core.