Wanted – Salman’s One Man Show
There are Certain charismatic heroes in bollywood like Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar & Salman Khan, they belong to an altogether different league. You may like their films, you may hate their films, but you can never ignore their films.
If you can digest an overdose of violence, gang wars, then Wanted – Dead & Alive is a film you shouldn’t miss for Salman Khan’s unforgettable, sincere & action packed performance. It is Salman & salman everywhere. He dominates from the first scene to the last frame.
This movie demands one thing from the audience and that is to lock your brains back at home and enter the movie hall. The next few hours that you spend are entertaining to a certain extent. The movie is similar to watching a super hero of comic book on screen. The story has no real substance but just a package of many entertainment rides.
Wanted Dead and Alive is directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Boney Kapoor. This movie is a remake of the Telugu movie Pokiri, which is also directed by Prabhu Deva.
Synopsis:
There’s not much novelty in the plot.Radhe (Salman Khan) is a fearless shooter, who works for only money & is associated with a mafia gang. Radhe switches sides from one gang to another and makes his entry into the gang of Gani Bhai (Prakash Raj), the dreaded gangster on the most wanted list of Mumbai police.
Radhe kills the mafia people in cold blood but his toughness melts when he meets Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia) and falls in love with her. Jhanvi tries to take him away from the crime world. And in between, there are cops, gangsters & international mafia. However, the story does throw up a few unexpected twists and a surprise disclosure in the climax.
Performances:
Salman Khan has Literally set the screen on fire. It is he who makes this movie watchable, who breathes life and fire into it. His screen presence, his acting and his sheer charm, more than compensate for the movie’s down points.
Ayesha Takia is fabulous. She looks fresh and photogenic and acts her part brilliantly.
Superintendent Talpade’s [Mahesh Manjrekar] is a delightful surprise. You will love to hate this character.
Gani Bhai (Prakash Raj) the recent National Award winner as a mafia don has given a powerful performance.
Ashraf Khan (Govind Namdeo) as Mumbai Police commissioner is good.
Plus Points:
Prabhu Deva the chorographer & dancing sensation of India is not a brilliant filmmaker, but he certainly deserves applause for a job well done here. He adds his own style to the shots and manages to keep the overall movie little different from the other recent bollywood action movies.
There’s one thing great about the director Prabhu Deva is, though Wanted may not have the original storyline or brilliant techniques, but he has utilized the multitalented Salman Khan in the best possible way, in my opinion, this is the USP of his film.
The director again deserves a clap for staying away from choreography, I think he wanted to concentrate fully on his job as a director & did not want to lose focus by getting involved in choreography. Hats of to the India’s best chorographer Prabhu Deva for promoting other chorographers Vaibhavi Merchant & Rajeev Surti.
The cinematographer definitely deserves a clap for the awesome work. The film’s dialogue is top-notch. Specially Salman’s dialogues are witty at places keeping your interest level on. The action scenes are very well coordinated and extremely well shot.
The twist in the second half is the highlight of the movie.
Minus Points:
Vinod Khanna the charismatic hero of eighties just appears in a few scene & has nothing much to do. He is wasted in a small & insignificant role. One wonders though what made Vinod Khanna to sign a film that doesn’t fetch him a single decent scene, except the last death scene.
Inder Kumar another young actor has very little to perform. His acting is just an ok and he could have been better.
Music by Sajid-Wajid is above average (With the exception of two songs) they act as speed breakers.
Some of the scenes in the film are filled with too much of violence and that is the drawback of the film. Family audiences may stay away from it.
Amongst the sequences that stand out are:
When the doctor refuse to treat the patient.
Salman & Ayesha’s conversation in the elevator & Mumbai’s local train.
When the spoiled son is forced to take care of his old mother, specially the train scene.
Salman’s fight in the local train.
Vinod khanna’s last scene is the turning point of the movie.
The final Verdict :
Wanted rests on the strong shoulders of Salman. This movie definitely belongs to Salman Khan. He is Unstoppable and Unbeatable. As a sharp shooter he enthralls with great action. As a lover, he delivers some of the cleverest lines in recent movies. What he has performed only a few charismatic stars can pull up the show, He has the capacity to make an ordinary scene worth watching by his sheer presence.
The beautiful locations, excellent photography, superb direction and amazing special effects, makes Wanted stand above any recent action films in bollywood. Despite a two hours & thirty minutes running time, the story’s tempo remains refreshingly relentless from start to finish.
To sum up, Wanted Dead & Alive is commercial Hindi movie at its best & Salman at his best