Consortium of corny punchlines

Film: Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara

Director: Milan Luthria

Shouldn't it have been Twice Upon A Time? Or a conventional Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2? Maybe a suffixed Returns or a completely different title altogether? But no, they decided to go with Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara (OUATIMD). And sadly, in this sequel to the film which was a decent re-creation of the 80s flamboyance, there are no talking points that go deeper than how the title should have been composed. In fact the entire film is as insignificant as the Y in the Ay and the A that was in the prequel's Mumbaai.

Overconfident from having sold the prequel, Luthria's film goes overboard with heavy-duty dialogues that swell up like helium balloons before bursting into nothingness. Every single line in the film, except perhaps the lyrics of the songs, is punctuated and exaggerated to sound deliberately ostentatious, which after a point makes you sick. The punches are only ironically amusing and it is hard not to judge the person sitting next to you, if he/she is genuinely falling for them.

Set roughly in the late 80s, the film picks nearly a decade after the climax of the previous film. Shoaib, played by Emraan Hashmi earlier, grows up and indigestibly turns into Akshay Kumar. And while the setting of a gangster thriller idly loiters around; OUATIMD plays itself out like a ridiculously childish, set-piece love triangle.

After Lootera, the sudden rise in expectations from Sonakshi have led to further disappointment as her character Jasmine sees her regress into the submissive, powerless role where she is at the mercy of two powerful men. One of those men, Shoaib, played by Akshay, is the villain, while Imran's Aslam is the archetypal hero.

Akshay Kumar simply recites punchlines throughout the film, with a cigarette, that has no regard for continuity, constantly lit between his fingers. Lacking the powerful aura of Ajay Devgn's Sultan Mirza and the charisma of Emraan's Shoaib, his black shades and well-kept hair hardly create a persona. While the first film gave us the memorable “Duaa mein yaad rakhna” by Sultan Mirza, Akshay's Shoaib throws one too many dialogues for us to remember any of them. And Imran Khan disappoints once again (or dobaara, if you may), with his contemporary body language and South Bombay accent. Maybe he never received the text that said the movie was set in the 80s.

Overall, OUATIMD is a null and void movie which serves no purpose other than killing time inside an air-conditioned dark-room. However, it will make truck loads of money and set precedents for more dobaaras of the same category.

At 160 minutes, the film is a fitting punishment to give to someone who has just lost a bet. With repetitive sentiments and caricatured leads, the film is a long test of endurance for anyone with a good taste in cinema. Beyond redemption, it wouldn't matter what the critics say. To put it in Shoaib's words, (read in Akshay's husky voice) -- “Agar aisi film ko rating diya, toh number bura maan jayenge.”

Rating: 1 out of 5 

Published in DNA (Pune) on August 17, 2013 

Not That Special

We are a country of a billion people and considering each person has at least one interesting story to tell, we live among a billion untold stories. Our films are not known to look for inspiration from the real world as our film culture has born out of selling a distant romantic dream and the wishful thinking that distances us from our reality. Therefore, when a film like

Special 26, based on true events from within us is made, the excitement is obvious. Rare and fascinating alright, the film is not a well packaged product and although brilliant in sparks it never lights a fire.

A group of four individuals, who pretend to be from the CBI, conduct raids all over the country and loot the politicians and businessmen off their ill gotten money. And since it is black money, the victims aren't willing to complain. However, when the real CBI hears of this, the enquiry begins -- just in time for the biggest con that the fake CBI are about to pull. In short, the plot has immense potential and the story just cannot be a dull affair, which it isn't.

However, the screenplay is not consistent and fails to raise the story to the magnitude that it deserves. Ajay (Akshay Kumar) having a romance going on the side is an unnecessary wastage of screen time; the absence of which would have made no difference; the absence of which was the main reason why A Wednesday is so crisp and perfect. The plot unfolds in a very point by point manner and brings nothing new into the telling of this story.

The climax of the film is derivative and although based on a true story, the haphazard manner in which it is narrated, dents the overall impact of the film.

Akshay Kumar is himself, as usual, but the character he plays, Ajay, required that typical performance which only Akshay Kumar can deliver. Anupam Kher, collaborating once again with Neeraj Pandey delivers a great performance and similarly, Jimmy Shergill, who too continues his partnership with the A Wednesday director, does a great job in his supporting role alongside Divya Dutta. Manoj Bajpai continues to impress in what is his second coming into the film industry with Gangs of Wasseypur. Chittagong and Chakravyuh; Kajal Aggarwal, in her lifelong role as the eye candy in Singham and now this film, is an unnecessary recruit.

Special 26 is what can be called a TV movie and the treatment that the content has got, makes it look like a decent three-part TV series. The screenplay is the weakest link in the film and if it was written any differently, maybe it would have not been such a letdown. However, as they say, 'ifs' and 'buts' only make good arguments, they don't make good films.

Rating - 2.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on February 9, 2013