Film Review - Phantom

Agent Rambo

Film: Phantom

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Mohammed Zeeshan  Ayub
Directed by: Kabir Khan
Duration: 2 hrs 27 mins
Rating: * *

After Kabul Express, Ek Tha Tiger and very recently Bajrangi Bhaijan, director Kabir Khan is on familiar terrain again with Phantom. Without a trace of doubt, this is his worst outing so far. The spark and drama of Bajrangi is not there and the fairly terse action drama of Ek Tha Tiger is missing. What we end up with is a screenplay which has as much fizz as a cola that has been left open for a week.

Based on Hussain Zaidi’s book Mumbai Avengers, Phantom is a cross between Agent Vinod and D-Day. The Sriram Raghvan film was superior because at least it had some interesting filmi references while D-Day was an enjoyable action thriller. Phantom is literally all over the place – Chicago, Syria, Pakistan we get to see it all. But what we miss is a screenplay that will keep us engaged.  

The idea of an Indian secret agent going solo and striking against terrorists responsible for the 26/11 attack itself sounds like a daunting plot. Starting with a rather unnecessary chase on the streets of Chicago we are introduced in flashback to the man involved, Daniyal Khan (Saif Ali Khan).  There is more than one explanatory flashback in the film and our directors still like to tell and show, sometimes the other way round. In a scene during the climax, we clearly see two dots on the radar screen retreating back towards Pakistan. Promptly, the officer says “Lagta hain yeh dono boat Pakistan ki taraf ja rahi hain” explaining verbally what has already been shown.        

Katrina Kaif plays an agent working for an American company called Darkwater (an obvious reference to Blackwater) that supplies arms and takes up contracts in conflict zones.  There is another of those silly background stories (with a flashback of course) as to why and how she landed up with such a job.

Meanwhile Daniyal Khan has been recruited on the sly by RAW. His job is to exterminate all those who are spreading terror in India. The fine actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub plays a newly recruited RAW agent who comes up with this idea. “Jab Pakistan hum pe hamla karta hain to zyaada se zyaada hum kya karte hain, sirf cricket khelna bandh kar dete hain.”  Well, we have also started making fictional films on those attacks now.  

There is David Headley who becomes Daniyal’s target along with the big fish Hafeez Sayyed (mentioned as Harris Sayyed in the film)

As far as the patriotism and jingoism is concerned, the film tries to walk the fine line but fails. In the process of attempting to be a crowd pleaser, it digs itself in a hole.  

The shoddy screenplay is to be blamed and the direction doesn’t rise above the ordinary. You can’t have the hero strutting around like a fictional James Bond or Jason Bourne kind of character in a story that alludes to real life references.  And it is also time for Saif Ali Khan to give up on such roles. It is a bit too late to play Rambo. 

The effort to infuse some romance is so lame that a door and a latch have more chemistry than Saif and Katrina. 

You will need lots of patience and the ability to withstand triteness if you encounter this Agent Rambo.

Published in The Navhind Times on 30th Aug 2015
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Film Review - Bajrangi Bhaijaan

All You Need Is Love

 

Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Cast: Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddique, Harshaali Malhotra, Kareena Kapoor

Directed by: Kabir Khan

Duration: 2 hrs 28 mins

Rating:  * * * 1 / 2

To put it plainly, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is the best Salman Khan film by light years. Or conversely, it is an above average film in which Salman Khan happens to participate. Be that as it may, the film scores highly on the emotional quotient in good old Bollywood fashion. Full credit goes to director Kabir Khan who pulls off a rabbit from the hat. While Kabul Express and Ek Tha Tiger were action oriented films, this time he has opted to pull the heart strings. Fair to say, he succeeds in doing and that too in style and when you leave the theatre in admiration of what the filmmakers had to offer. 

Call it prejudice, but the fact is very few walk into a Salman Khan film expecting something off the beaten path.  And a film that has some layers to it and offers more than just entertainment is like asking for the moon. Hence, Bajrangi Bhaijan comes as a pleasant surprise. 

Indo-Pak stories usually are about rhetoric like Gadar or the Heena, Veer Zaara kind of love stories. Kabir Khan looks at the larger canvas. There is no love struck man and woman on the either side of the border, although this is more about love, caring as is taught in moral science.  Barring a couple of state actors there are no villains in it either and yes, this is an India Pakistan story.

Somewhere along the most picturesque side of the Pakistan border lives a little girl named Shahida (Harshaali Malhotra, incredibly expressive). She can’t speak hence her mother brings her to Nizamuddin dargah in Delhi but in a twist of fate she is left behind. Her parents lament “Hindustan mein koi to khuda ka ek nek bandah hoga jo hamari beti ka khayal rakhega” The nek bandah, is Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi aka Bajrangi (Salman Khan), the biggest bhakt of Lord Hanuman and someone who will never ever tell a lie. Such characters are likable, even if they exist in films because you know in real life they are hard to come by.   

Pawan takes her under her wings not knowing anything about her background or parents. As is mandatory in Bollywood and most certainly in a Salman film, romance is also the order of the day and the glamour quotient is fulfilled by Rasika (Kareena Kapoor). In a progressive tilt, her father (Sharat Saxena) bluntly refuses a marriage proposal for her because she is not inclined to it.  These subtle touches are what make the movie rise above the ordinary.  

The story gets going when Bajrangi crosses the border in search of the little girl’s parents. Nawazuddin Siddique plays a news reporter who lends them a helping hand and he steals the show with his wisecracks and terrific sense of timing. The finale will bring a lump to your throat and if your lacrimal glands are stirred easily, then a tissue box will come in handy – even Manmohan Desai would have been proud of the climax. In fact the last ten minutes is perhaps the only time when Salman Khan actually plays a character and not himself.

It is the overall conscious effort of portraying optimism and heart warming characters that strike a chord. Good guys still finish first seems to be the message and it is narrated with conviction. After Rajkumar Hirani, this seems to be the first attempt to entertain and yet tell a story that talks about values, even though on a relatively smaller scale.

Of the cast, Kareena Kapoor has an insignificant role to play. The little Harshaali Malhotra charms you with her cute looks but more importantly, she can act. Salman’s character is such that he gets to play his usual self and to be fair to him, he is sincere and earnest in some of the key scenes. Nawazuddin is first rate, as he usually is.

So, believe it or faint, this Salman Khan film deserves a strong recommendation.  

Published in The Navhind Times on 19th July 2015

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