Rowdy Rathore Review

Akshay Kumar was clinging to his last straw when Salman Khan's Wanted and Ajay Devgn's Singham made him realise that there is one other way to claim his lost glory at the box-office - Action. Hence the Khiladi is back in his action packed avatar in this Friday's release Rowdy Rathore. Directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali in association with UTV Motion Pictures, the film promises to go extremely raw when it comes to packing a punch. Let's find out if it fulfills its promise. Shiva (Akshay Kumar) is a thief who makes a living by stealing nearly everything from ATM machines to metal detectors to jewelleries and hates kids. But when Paro (Sonakshi Sinha) comes to his life he decides to quit his thieving ways and take up a righteous route but only after he commits his last stealing. But his plan goes horribly wrong when instead of laying his hands on a treasure (literally); he ends up with a little girl who can't quit calling him papa. He tries many ways to get rid of her but fails every time. Later, he discovers that the girl is mistaking him for her father as the latter looks like him and that makes him vow to meet his twin. The moment comes sooner than later when a few goons sent by Bapji from Devgarh, Bihar chase him and he is saved by his lookalike, Assistant Superintendent of Police Vikram Rathore. But there meeting stays brief as shortly after that Vikram is killed by the goons. Shiva then vows to avenge Vikram's killing. Rest of the story follows Shiva's vengeance journey. The film is nothing but a sequence of various action scenes stitched together interspersed by forced songs. It starts on a confusing note with everything haphazardly placed. However, slowly, the story starts picking, meaning slowly you make peace with the fact that whatever is going on need not have logic. Not much has been changed in the script of the movie from its Telugu original. Dialogues, sequences and even attires in few scenes have been repeated here. However, the one thing that caught us off guard was the many continuity jerks and editing flaws. It's as if people were so busy to see Akshay kick and punch that they forgot which side was he shot at to let the blood ooze. When talking about action, it is at its peak in this movie as you can see Akki hitting someone at regular intervals. Slashing, slicing, flying kicks and beastly punches, you name it and Rowdy Rathore displays it. For a true blue action fanatic, this movie is a treat. But its appearance too often in the script makes you feel bruised in the head. There is an extent to which you can bear someone getting black and blue but the makers of this film chose to test the audience's patience. Also, apart from the repetitive action there is a typical Prabhu Deva film treatment with excessive stress on the punch-lines too. So just like Salman Khan's 'Ek bar jo maine commitment kar di to phir main apne aapki bhi nahi sunta' there's a rephrased version of a punch-line for Akshay Kumar too that goes like 'Main jo bolta hoon, woh main karta hoon' which is literally hammered onto our brains over and over again. Of all the props in the film, Sonakshi Sinha was the most beautiful one. Relegated to just sway her waist the moment the music switches on, she also flaunted garish and blingy sarees and salwar suits. Wonder what was the point of her signing this film as all she had to do was look pretty and dance dastardly? Beats us! Having said all that, there are a few upsides of this film too. First is Akshay Kumar. He looks completely at home in this marriage between two of his favorite genres - slapstick comedy and action. His looks, though tacky, work for his rowdy character. He is definitely the star of the film, shouldering it all alone with his banal jokes but fantastic stunts. He portrays both the role brilliantly but there is no novelty factor. It's been there done that. If we disregard the fact that the storyline is absurd and trite, never at any point does the film drags. There is something happening in every frame whether you like it or no. All in all, Rowdy Rathore is a heavy dose of Bollywood masala movie which will be loved by the audience who fancy such preposterous outings. But this film is definitely not for the intelligentsia.