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| The Rowdy duo |
Rowdy Rathore has for its title Akshay Kumar. The Khiladi man is back to action after a
long hiatus. He has unfortunately disappointed us with his comical disasters in
the recent past but his Rowdy return to the action genre is indeed a pleasure.
This man is the only one who makes the boat sail. Be it his comic timings, his
angry looks, his action sequences or his romance, it is this Khiladi who can assure a safe run at the
Box-Office. The film rests on a confusion of identities and how it is resolved
till the roles are reversed for the evil to be punished and for the goodness to
prevail. Shiv (Akshay Kumar) falls in love with Priya (Sonakshi Sinha). He
chases her, she smiles. He steals, she smiles. He adores, she smiles. He sings,
she smiles. He confesses, she smiles. Come a child in his life and his life is
turned topsy-turvy. The truth is revealed and the second half is dedicated to a
flashback, singing the saga of brave Vikram Rathore(Akshay) and how he had
managed to dispense justice in a small town. The second half sees Akshay’s
Shiva returning to the town to bring relief to the natives from the hands of
tyrant. Witty dialogues and funny one-liners will draw accolades from the
audience. The larger than life hero struggles against all odds to make his
audience happy.Rowdy Rathore (the Faulad Ki Aulad, as the poster goes!) surely thrives on the three magic words, courtesy
Silk Smitha: Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment (albeit, at the
altar of aesthetics!) Eternally
suspended disbelief is the sole mantra for this Telegu rem
ake. The original Vikramarkudu has been reframed and remade in several other languages and the Bengali version Bikram Singha is presently running at the city theatres. Prabhu Deva’s second Hindi directorial venture (after Salman starrer Wanted) demands that the audience never gets angry with the film. I have not seen the original, so it would be pointless to compare and contrast. But as far this Hindi remake is concerned; you can neither hate it nor ignore it. It might question your sanity yet it promises to intoxicate you with its absurdities, its incongruities and its madness. “Ek ticket main double dhamaka” says the posters of the film, and if you want that paisa-vasool feel, a morning show of RR won’t be of harm. But, be cautious; do not try to find a method for this madness.
ake. The original Vikramarkudu has been reframed and remade in several other languages and the Bengali version Bikram Singha is presently running at the city theatres. Prabhu Deva’s second Hindi directorial venture (after Salman starrer Wanted) demands that the audience never gets angry with the film. I have not seen the original, so it would be pointless to compare and contrast. But as far this Hindi remake is concerned; you can neither hate it nor ignore it. It might question your sanity yet it promises to intoxicate you with its absurdities, its incongruities and its madness. “Ek ticket main double dhamaka” says the posters of the film, and if you want that paisa-vasool feel, a morning show of RR won’t be of harm. But, be cautious; do not try to find a method for this madness.
Prabhu Deva scrounges the essence of the
original movie and probably moulds it for the Hindi knowing public. He perfectly blends
every ingredient and creates a pot-boiler that is replete with vivid colours,
rustic paints, melodious song and dance sequences, vibrancy and entertainment.
The homespun product is an example of brilliant execution on the part of the
director. There is no point critiquing the screenplay. Shiraz Ahmad maintains a
taut screenplay and never fumbles. He is the chief cook who adds the exact
amount of the masalas to every frame.
The first half is fun but sometimes drags unnecessarily bordering on the
romantic affair between the Rowdy man and his damsel. The second half
comparatively runs faster. Prabhu Deva applies histrionic nuances from South and the
fight sequences, the cinematography and the choreography talk of his mastery. Santosh
Thundiyil’s cinematography is the treasure. Just imagine the camera zooming out
of injured Akshay. It moves behind the clouds till it focuses on a large drop
of rain from the clouds falling on our hero’s face, saving his momentary brain
cells and giving him time to keep his word, “Jo main bolta hoon, woh main karta hoon”. And yes, there are so
many of them! Akshay plays a double role (after Kukunoor’s Tasveer) and he ends up performing action, romance, dances and his
comedy with elan. Sonakshi, with her cellulite-laden-baby-fat-figure, does
justice to the screen time she has been allotted. The rest of the cast includes
Paresh Ganatra, Nasser, Yaspal Sharma, Mushtaq Khan, Gurdeep Kohli and Darshan
Jariwalla. Nasser as the antagonist is a delight and Paresh Ganatra as 2G is
remarkable. The others adequately play their parts and yes, our Bebo in her
cameo, shines like no one else!
Rowdy Rathore has its loose moments (countless, may be!) but the
background score by Sandeep Chowta raises it above mediocrity. And Sajid-Wajid
deliver a perfect blend of romantic numbers and hip-shaking melodies. Chin tata has already affected the
masses and the brilliant choreography in Are
Pritam Pyaare and Dhadang Dhadang adds feathers to the film. Rekha Prakash and Vishnu Deva leave no
stone unturned to add to the spicy cuisine.As for the rest, Kumar Sanu sings for a film after a long time, there is a cameo
by South superstar Vijay and the director himself and an epical dénouement
which recalls Duryodhan’s fate. As good as it gets!
No pretensions, no false hopes,
no effort to play with your grey cell. Rowdy
Rathore is an entertainment package that makes you laugh and gives a scope
to indulge in Coleridge’s best theorem ever written for Bollywood movies. Get
Rowdy, grab Rathore!
