First things first. Khakee is PAISA VASOOL!! Which is MOST IMPORTANT for me, since I spend good amount of money to enjoy selected movies on the Silver Screen. Secondly, it packs in some WONDERFUL Performances from the Entire cast, which is naturally expected from a man of Rajkumar Santoshi’s talent. But everything is not rosy in this Cop Flick.
Khakee tells us the story of 3 police officers with diverse personalities, who set off on a mission to bring back an ISI agent from the town of Chandangad back to Mumbai. The kind of setbacks and difficulties they face in their assignment forms the CRUX of the story. Delving a little deep into the main protagonists :
Amitabh Bacchhan aka Anand Srivastav is the Head of Police Training Academy, and leads the team. A little tired and weary, he leaves home right in between preparations for his daughters marriage. He’s out to prove a point to his conscience, which keeps poking at him that he didn’t do enough for either his family or his profession.
Akshay Kumar aka Shekhar Verma is the Witty, Street-smart cop who enjoys life with bullying rich people and being around with girls. He takes life as it comes and takes no tension. Upset at being included in this team, he says to another constable from the team “100% chance hai Uppar Jaane Ka”!!
Tusshar Kapoor aka Ashwin Gupte is a Fresher so to say and as expected, tough as nails with law-breakers. Nothing much to say about him….not much background provided.
Why they take off on this mission is because the earlier team of 8 who were supposed to bring Atul Kulkarni aka Dr. Iqbal Ansari aka ISI agent back were shot dead in cold blood by an unknown group, assumed terrorists. How the Police Chief thought a team of 5 would do something that 8 could not do is something surprising!
Anyways, coming back to the story, once in Chandangad, they receive a call from Aishwarya aka Mahalaxmi, saying some suspicious people were staying in the school quarters. Before the team arrives there, they escape, leaving behind a BOMB connected to the receiver of the telephone.
Mission proceeds full steam with the team traveling back to Mumbai through arid, barren roads….here’s where K.V.Anand’s cinematography takes Indian Cinema to new heights, capturing Landscapes and Mountains FABULOUSLY!! Not to say the scenes before this were less Beautiful, but this one was like WOW!
Not everything is Hunky-Dory though….there are Several Obstacles in their way…..master-minded by none other than Ajay Devgan aka Former Inspector Angre. Rajkumar Santoshi has gone that extra mile to make sure his Character looks and feels as Fiendish and Scary as possible, especially with that peculiar Background music that announces his arrival!
Rest of the first-half concentrates on the various incidents that take place and most involve LOT of Pulse-pounding action. It’s been a LONG LONG time since I saw a film with Exhaustive Action Sequences, and I’m happy to say that it was a Satisfying Experience. Tinu Verma deserves a pat on his back for the Slick Execution of the shots. The scenes at the Haveli deserve a Round of Applause especially for the scene where Ajay takes Bitter Revenge on Amitabh. Also, Atul’s flashback reminds us of our country’s Biggest problem : Politicians.
To tell the truth, there isn’t much of a Story to talk about. It’s all about incidents interwoven together that take the story to its logical end. Much is dependant on the Technical Chutzpah and Treatment, much like ManiRathnam movies. Needless to say, Raj Kumar Santoshi does a BRILLIANT job when it comes to Collaborating with the Cinematographer and Cast to deliver a Punch.
Where he misses the point is in the STORYLINE. The movie relies too heavily on the Screenplay and that’s where it starts going wrong. Several Logical flaws are evident in Sequences. Few are mentioned below :
Take the first scene itself, where Terrorists attack the Police team. The scene, though Well-Picturised, is a BLATANT copy of Saving Private Ryan. The scene ends with the inspector throwing Atul into a godown and getting shot subsequently. How Atul is brought back to police custody is a Mystery since the terrorists were dominating that place and there was no way they would have Not Searched for Atul.
Why is the Police Department hell bent on trying the same method again knowing that it hasn’t worked last time around? Isn’t Helicopter a better and time-saving option?
How come there’s an entire Battalion of terrorists attacking this Tiny Team and scaring the HELL out of ‘em everywhere they go?!! Ajay Dev”gun” ka jawab nahi!!
After traveling through the expressway why do they have to travel by Train? And why does Ajay Devgan shoot just the constable when Tusshar Kapoor was an even easier target to kill?!
Atul Kulkarni, speaking comfortably in the train, is declared dead on arrival at the hospital. How??
And howcome the elaborate fight between Akshay and Ajay near the climax results in Akshay spilling all the blood while Ajay remains spick and span, even after getting thrown around and kicked in the A**!
And finally, the implausible climax that shows Amitabh chasing Ajay in a military van that takes inspiration from the new Tata Safari ad….just keeps flying onto the road from nowhere!!! And the final fist fight, where Amitabh gets an Asthma attack, and suddenly recovers from it as Ajay strangles him!!!
Well by now I have SPILLED OUT EVERYTHING that could have been said about the movie….so before I bring the review to a close, some more analysis for those who’ve had the patience to read till here!
As far as Performances are concerned, Amitabh and Akshay come out trumps, delivering exactly what was expected of them and Lots More!! Especially notable are the intial sequences where Akshay convinces us that he’s in FULL FORM!!
And Amitabh, playing the role that fits his age and personality to a T, blasts the System away to smithereens in the speeches delivered to the Police Inspector and the crowd! Watch out for the scene between him and Tanuja. Such was the effect, the whole crowd went silent.
Aishwarya Rai was just looking pretty and running around with the crowd till the very end. Not much Flesh in her role. Same for Tusshar…..though he does a commendable job. Especially the scene where he visits the constable’s wife.
Ajay Devgan does a SUPERB job and acts the part with utmost conviction. His potrayal of Angre deserves ALL possible accolades!! Rajkumar Santoshi seems to have found his favorite artist!! And keeps giving him the Best Roles!
Music by Ram Sampat was Hummable, though the songs didn’t gel too well with the story. The background music was Intrusive and LOUD in some parts, Good in others.
Some sequences felt really heart wrenching, especially the scene where Atul’s body is kept outside and the scene after that. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I felt the plight of Atul’s family. Kudos to Rajkumar Santoshi for giving the film an International Look and Feel. Even the dialogues deserve a round of applause!
The last half an hour was the a BIG Disappointment, with the story going Nowhere!
Well, after reading through all this I’m sure you’ll be confused. So here’s my final take on it…..WATCH KHAKEE BUT DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH!!