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Wednesday, April 24, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD ROWDY RATHORE
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ***1/2
Rowdy Rathore races on the premise that heroes are made by
circumstances, not design. That`s how the street-smart Shiva ends up in a town
run by garish goons, where homes, humans and hopes are burnt in effigies mocking
human rights.
It is an old-fashioned good-versus-evil comedy-action-drama with paisa-vasool
written in every frame.
Prabhu Deva, who earlier directed Salman Khan`s cop-on-a-rampage saga
Wanted puts Akshay on the same page. To his credit, Akshay manages
to create his own world in that Salman-space. Never letting go of that twinkle
in his eye, Akshay sinks his crooked teeth into the meaty double role with the
warmth, affection and relish of a dinner guest who knows all the yummy dishes on
the table have been cooked only for him.
Akshay goes for the sumptuous meal with the hunger of a man who may not see
tomorrow. It`s high-octane performance full of warmth and fury, never
over-the-top, even when all hell breaks loose.
The fights are ferocious, but never gut-churning. You can watch the bloodshed
with the kids. They`d know, Uncle Akshay is going to win.
The thing about Rowdy Rathore is it never takes itself seriously.
The cop and his double won`t kow-tow to the powers-that-be. Ironically, the film
grandly bows its head to the Great Bollywood Formula. The dialogues are
bombastic, bordering on the corny, nevertheless fun in their intended
ideological inferences.
A profound reverence for every trick in the book of filmic formulas sees the
accelerated narration to its breathless finale. Even when the going gets gory,
there is a tongue-in-cheek humour in the violence.
It`s not the arrogant aggression of Salman in Dabangg or
Wanted. In Rowdy Rathore, Akshay creates a new language
of heroic aggression. He is goofy, wonky, clumsy and oafish. He has no respect
for the rules of the office. But his character loves doing what he does, because
a man has got to do what he has to do, and really someone has to do the dirty
job of cleaning up the mess we`ve created.
Metal rods from rickety machines are wrenched out and used to teach the
anti-socials a lesson. The `ouch` is never unwelcome. Akshay creates a `no
wince` situation.
Whether its wooing a Patna girl (Sonakshi Sinha) all over Mumbai streets and
right into a wedding venue, or in the second half, taking on the vile villainy
of a self-appointed lord of diabolism named Baapji (Nasser), who is so uncouth,
unwashed and unmannered that he is downright funny in his obscene rowdyism.
The generous splash of colour and music (Sajid-Wajid at their peppy pinnacle)
pitches the film at a massy level without toppling over into a revolting
rowdyism.
Formulistic cinema has never been celebrated with more gusto.
Rowdy Rathore revives the years of Eastman colour cinema in the
1960s and 1970s, when movies were crazily colourful and rollicking fun, when you
knew the villains would get their cacaphonic come-uppance.
Pulling out all stops to give us a spicy meal, Prabhu Deva succeeds in putting a
dizzying spin into Akshay`s double-role act. Twirling his moustache in Rajputana
pride, romancing the spirited small-town chick or beating up 23 goons with one
weapon (self-determination), Akshay delivers a performance that makes you want
to jump out of your seat, clapping, whistling and cheering in appreciation.
While the fights are brilliantly conceived and executed, it`s Akshay`s courtship
with Sonakshi that had me giggling non-stop. If he is outrageously coy in his
wooing act, Sonakshi gives him tit-for-tat, matching steps with her far more
experienced co-star, never letting the age difference daunt her.
The rest of the cast only has to stand around to extol and cheer our
down-to-earth superhero cop. All the while, the narration never loses its tempo,
warmth or humour.
The choreography ensures that the dances merge with seamless elan into the
action.
Rowdy Rathore is quite a gravity-defying feat. It often finds the
villains being hurled into the air. But the narration manages to keep its feet
on the ground. Really, Akshay as the angry cop is more entertaining than
intimidating.
Three cheers for producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali for coming out of his comfort
zone to celebrate the spirit of Hindi commercial cinema at its dizziest and
craziest.
Success has ruined more people than failure, believes actress Sonakshi Sinha, who says she neither shouts from the rooftop when her films do well, nor does she sit in the dark and cry over her movie debacles.Read More
Akshay's film doing Jolly good business at Box OfficeLike always, Khiladi Kumar has managed to give a good competition to the Khans as his recent release 'Jolly LLB 2' was received well, despite releasing on a normal weekend, unlike SRK's 'Raees'.Read More
Shiva (Akshay Kumar) is a small time conman in love with Priya (Sonakshi Sinha), a pretty girl whom he met at a wedding he wasn`t invited to. Into this picture perfect world enters six year old Neha who inexplicably believes Shiva to be her dad! And if this wasn`t bad enough, Shiva also becomes the object of a series of life threatening attacks by a gang of deadly criminals who seem to know something he doesn`t. While trying desperately to save his life and love, Shiva stumbles upon a deadly secret. A secret that will take him to a small town in Bihar; a town terrorized by its ruthless MLA and the mafia he controls; a town whose inhabitants` only hope for redemption is... Shiva!
DVD Launch of Movie Rowdy Rathore Stills