Sajid-Farhad are one of the accomplished writers today in Bollywood. The manner in which they add wit and humour in their dialogues leaves audiences stunned and in splits. And now the talented director duo has donned the director’s hat with the comic caper, Entertainment. And the duo now proves that not only are they excellent writers but excellent directors as well!
The story of the movie: Akhil Lokhande(Akshay Kumar) is struggling to make ends meet. He wants to get rich so that he can marry Saakshi(Tamannaah Bhatia). One day, he finds out that he is the biological son of the Bangkok-based wealthy diamond businessman Pannalal Johari(Dalip Tahil). Before Akhil can meet his father, Johari passes away. Akhil reaches Bangkok and finds out that he can’t inherit Johari’s wealth as Johari has bequeathed his entire fortune to his dog – Entertainment(Junior)!
The trailer made it very clear that this one is going to be an outrageous and mindless flick. And sure enough, Entertainment goes crazy at places. But it is highly entertaining and hilarious from the very first scene. In fact, Akshay Kumar’s entry is much unexpected and will be loved. The fun begins in the very start and the tempo rarely goes down. The story takes a while to reach the crux but nevertheless, it’s engaging and fun. And the dialogues play a major role in enhancing the humour quotient. At the same time, the emotional scenes are equally powerful. In fact, the finale is quite moving and Akshay Kumar kills it with his performance.
Entertainment however has its share of blemishes. The sequence where Akhil attempts to kill Entertainment starts off well but then it loses charm. The sequence at the Snow World is brilliant but the question that arises instantly is – how on earth can there be an open-air Snow World on the outskirts of Bangkok?! Even a couple of scenes here and there in the second half didn’t quite make an impact. Songs aren’t memorable either although each track is well shot.
It’s good to see Akshay Kumar back in the comic genre and as expected, he brings the house down with his antics and performance. At the same time, he excels in the emotional scenes which make his performance a comprehensive one. The actor started the year on a great note with the success of Holiday – A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and it seems he’s all set to score a sixer with Entertainment as well!
Tamannaah Bhatia looks absolutely stunning and performance wise, she is first rate. In fact, she never properly got a chance to showcase her acting skills in Himmatwala and Humshakals. It’s in Entertainment that she proves her worth. Krushna Abhishek is splendid and raises tons and tons of laughs with his crazy dialogues. Watch out! Johny Lever(Habibullah) too contributes to the fun in the film. Sonu Sood(Arjun) and Prakash Raj(Karan) rock as the villains. Both put their best feet forward and come up with impressive performances! Mithun Chakraborty(Saakshi’s father) is strictly okay. Darshan Jariwala is there for a scene and is one of the best of the film! Dalip Tahil is hardly there but acts well. Vrajesh Hirjee, Remo DSouza, Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade and Sajid-Farhad were fine in their respective cameos. And lastly, Junior the dog is the soul of the film. He looks very charming and instantly wins hearts!
Sachin-Jigar’s music is fine but nothing great. But their background score is much better. Manoj Soni’s cinematography is eye-catching. The locales of Bangkok are well captured. Action is bit over the top but works in such kind of a film. VFX could have been better at some places. K Subhash’s story is too good, without a shred of doubt. Sajid-Farhad’s dialogues are one of the hallmarks of the film. It’s amazing how the brothers are able to come up with such great one-liners in each and every film. Their direction too is fine, although few scenes didn’t make the desired impact. But they make it clear that they have it in them for directing Bollywood entertainers and here’s hoping they fare even better in their next directorial venture!
Some of the best scenes:
Akhil’s entry
Akhil with Mr Lokhande in hospital
Akhil finds his mother’s letters
Entertainment’s entry(quite dramatic!)
Saakshi’s entry
Karan-Arjun escape from jail
Akhil attempts to electrocute Entertainment
The intermission point
Karan-Arjun get scared of a ghost
The climax
On the whole, Entertainment justifies its title very well. It’s highly entertaining and is bound to leave audiences in splits. At the same time, it has few touching moments that’ll touch viewers’ hearts. Junior the dog is quite charming, performances are great while the dialogues are outrageously funny! The film could have been better but nevertheless, it deserves a watch. Go for it. Get ENTERTAINED!
My rating - 3.5/5!