Monday, June 11, 2007

Movie Review: Shootout At Lokhandwala

Had been a while since I watched a Bollywood movie in a theater. This weekend I decided to break the spell with Shootout At Lokhandwala. There were other options like Oceans 13 or Cheeni Kum, but decided to see this as I wanted to know how the director managed to handle the casting coup of sorts with so many big names in a single movie.

The movie on the whole was a disappointment! There are very few things that one can appreciate in the movie and I will make an honest effort to remember as many of them. Sanjay and Vivek looked good doing macho roles. Sanjay has matured so much as an actor, that I would now not mind going to see a movie just based on him being in it. Ok.. I went a bit far there. He was good in the movie, and that is enough. :-) Vivek doing a Company like role and giving a Company like performance, he has been applauded so much for his performance that he has lost all the extra '"i's" and "e's" in his name is back to Vivek Oberoi. Good for him. There were a few scenes that were intense and well shot. Thats it, I am done with the good stuff, now to the bad. Abhishek bachchan is totally wasted in the movie, in fact he has absolutely nothing to do with the plot or the storyline and is done with role in a 5 minute burst. The director/producer just doing an item number equivalent with respect to a role. Amitabh's is another totally wasted character. He is seen ridiculing the police force all along but when it matters, like any other slimy lawyer, lets his own views take a backseat. Quite irritatingly and pompously portrayed. The songs are absolute damp squibs! No relation to the story and always in the same dance bar. Diya mirza has a role which didn't need a star, she just hangs around for no reason. Aarti Chaabria is just for bosom show and since no one expects her to act, she doesn't disappoint anyone. Neha Dhupia.... ok, she got a mention in this review, more than good enough for her. Last but not the least, Tushar Kapoor! His was the worst performance in the movie. Since Balaji Telefims (owned by father/sister) is producing the movie, Tushar seems to have got into the cast. He has absolutely no dialogue delivery power. In the middle of gangsters and encounter cops, he seems like this "I want milk" character. Unfortunately there are far too many scenes of his peppered throughout the movie to kill any excitement or continuity that did conjour. I think I can go on and on...

All in all, a very big disappointment, since I did go in with a lot of hopes. But for people who like to see the usual gangster-encounter kinda movies, there is enough in the movie to keep you from yawning. I give it a merciful 5.5 on 10!

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