Police-based stories are lapped up eagerly by ’mainstream’ film-makers throughout the world. In many Indian movies, cops go along with the bad guys while in a few, the man in uniform is a valiant hero. How about having all the shades in a single movie? That’s Khakee for you.
The story though begins with incidents straight out of recent terrorist news and later moves onto corrupt politician-police nexus. The principal characters are what make the movie interesting -- a man of principles at the fag end of his career, a carefree chap comfortable with corruption, a rookie coming to terms with the state of the system and an evil being who has crossed over to the other side.
Initially, there seem to be many loopholes in the screenplay; but with the progress of time, most of them are answered to the surprise of the audience. Suspense is limited, but good enough. The flash-back sequence (within a flash-back) and masala ventures towards the end slow down the pace drastically.
Nearly three hours with a few ’half-songs’ are reason enough to make viewers impatient. Dialogues are sharp and witty, but Bachchan’s baritone voice being sufficient to change the minds of a corrupt policeman and a huge crowd of people is baffling.
Bachchan, as usual, doesn’t fail his director. Notice the majestic walk and impeccable clothing go missing. He lends great respectability to his non-super-heroic character. Kumar is at ease with his role, but found wanting in some scenes. Devgan’s scope is limited, but he fulfills expectations that people have now come to have from him. Rai and Tusshar are just adequate. Kulkarni’s controlled performance is impressive as is the support cast.
Ram Sampat makes a notable debut. Songs are chart-busting while adventurism is reserved for the background score. Cinematography and art direction splendidly create the right environment.
There are quite a few directors in India who constantly work on achieving the right mix of good stories and commercial interests. Santoshi is definitely one of them, but Khakee shows yet again that he hasn’t yet discovered the perfect formula.
Bottom-line: If the audience is just waiting for Aisa jaadoo daala re..., you know that the serious effort hasn’t touched them.
Category: Action / Thriller / Drama
Starring: Amitaabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai, Tusshar, Atul Kulkarni
Music: Ram Sampat
Direction: Rajkumar Santoshi