The successful combination of Akshay Kumar & Priyadarshan assures the viewers of one thing i.e. tons & tons of laughter. At least that is what we have seen right from Hera Pheri till De Dana Dan. Every time they come up with a new film, people expect a laugh riot & they get one at the end of the day.
The combination is back with yet another film Khatta Meetha, which though has it’s share of laughter at frequent intervals but is not an out & out comedy film. So people who have complained in the past about Akshay has been repeating himself in every film, now has all the reasons to accept the actor in a different role, which takes you on a journey that goes through the lanes of corruption amidst the family issues.
The film narrates the tale of a common man (Akshay Kumar) of principles, who can abandon anything that comes in his way & even if it has to be his girlfriend (Trisha). He is also a family man, living with a huge family of brothers, sisters & their spouses.
His brothers & brother-in-laws are corrupt & due to a bridge that collapsed because of substandard construction, are neck deep in trouble, though with power (politician) in their favour they try to cover the issue.
By destiny Akshay Kumar, a man of principles, adopts the corruption as he realises that was the only way to move ahead. But can every common man succeed after having adopted corruption? Is the corrupt method so easy to take you to the heights of success? Is it as simple as people think it is? He realises that though he opted for the only option left with him, but that wasn’t a bed of roses, as he owes a lot of money to his workers, keeps selling his possessions to feed them while he struggles to get his bill passed from the municipal office.
The worst comes when Trisha takes the charge as municipal commissioner & he has to face her every day to get his bills approved.
Makrand Deshpande, whose wife & child gets killed in the incident of the bridge collapse has proof against the culprits, but gets killed. Before dying, he tells Akshay Kumar about his sister’s plight & the latter fights the battle.
The film has 4 songs out of which "Aila re" is brilliantly choreographed & performed. ’Bull shit’ is another attempt to wake up the people who continue to be in deep slumber. Thanks to Akshay’s energy that lifts these songs to a respectable level.
Photography is passable.
Dialogues are very smartly written because though they rip the system but in a very witty manner. It also exposes a lot about the game people play to pass the contracts & the favours they do for each other.
Kulbhushan Kharbanda does a good job & succeeds in bringing smile on your face during his scenes with Akshay Kumar. Also shows helplessness as the father of a girl, who he could not stop from getting married to a corrupt politician.
Aruna Irani & Tinnu Anand has very small roles, so nothing to talk about them. Milind Gunaji & Manoj Joshi does well as corrupt brother-in-laws. Urvashi Sharma looks good & does a passable job as the unmarried sister.
Trisha was strictly ok in her Bollywood debut film.
Rajpal Yadav as Akshay’s sidekick is hilarious throughout the film.
Asrani brings the house down in the scene where he is talking to his wife on one line and on other line he is with his customer, while he tries to listen to the problems of Akshay Kumar and his staff and at the same time he is giving orders to his another staff. In fact after a long time Asrani has given a winning performance.
Had Priyadarshan not written the film himself, this could have ended up as a mess. Because the film is a satire on the system, but there is no heavy dose of it, though it is a vital part of the film. There are family issues that could have become melodramatic, but the film is devoid of it, as it comes as a part of the film for short duration & then the film moves on it’s track.
The film is smartly written that handles every situation with comedy & full credit goes to Akshay Kumar who carries the film on his shoulders. Be it taking delivery of road roller, getting it repaired, using oily tongue to government employees, convincing Neeraj Vohra’s wife to allow his staff to cook inside their house, beating the politician in his office & the scene thereafter, his scenes with Asrani, etc. etc. etc. etc. You name it & Akshay is there with 100% effort that will be loved by every one.
This is a very good effort by Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan who presented issues of corrupt system in a very different way and this film is highly recommended for it. Go for it.