The full-on action genre is back and many popular actors have made use of it to consolidate their position at the BO. Salman did it with Wanted and Dabangg. Ajay did it with the powerful Singham while Hrithik with Agneepath. Even John had his moments with Force. It was high time that the Khiladi of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar, too got its due. Rowdy Rathore gives him this opportunity and the versatile actor excels and how. The cinematic liberties in the film are huge and yet, one doesn’t mind as the film has enough entertainment to keep you excited or busy whistling, clapping and hooting for our hero! Mazaa aa gaya!
The story of the movie: Shiva (Akshay Kumar) is a small-time thief in Mumbai who gets smitten by a Bihar girl, Paro (Sonakshi Sinha). Things were going fine with him when one day, he bumps into a girl who claims to be his daughter. More people turn up, some calling him ‘Bhaiya’ and ‘sir’ while the rest to eliminate him! As the devastating truth unveils, Shiva is compelled to move to the town of Devgarh in Bihar where a powerful goon is the ultimate power and has wrecked total havoc.
Many, including me, felt that Rowdy Rathore is a clone of Wanted and other Southern remakes. But Rowdy Rathore has a lot more than what the promos indicated. The film, like Prabhu Dheva’s Wanted, begins with a dramatic action scene followed by a flashback. The romantic scenes are funny and at a juncture, crazy (Shiva doing a rewind, zoom and volume increase…hahaha!). However, the best is reserved for the pre-intermission moment in the first half. Simply jhakaas! The flashback part in the second half is also terrific but gets a bit stretched and one starts missing the present-day portions. Also, few scenes are simply over-the-top. The manner in which Akshay robs with ease and not to forget, pour-water-on-your-head-and-you’ll-survive scene will be thrashed by those who seek for logic and practicality. However, in case of Rowdy Rathore, there’s so much exciting happening in the film that one doesn’t mind!
Talking of performance, Akshay Kumar as expected throws a solid punch with his performance! His comic timing is first-rate as we all know very well and he looks great with his moustache. And of course, he excels in action scenes and it was a treat to see Akshay as an action hero after a hiatus! After delivering flops and average films consecutively, Akki now seems to be on a blockbuster spree with Housefull 2 already a huge hit and Rowdy Rathore also following the same track. Great going AK!
Contrary to what most people feel, I find Sonakshi Sinha extremely beautiful! Dabangg didn’t give her much of a chance to showcase her acting talent but Rowdy Rathore does. Again, in Rowdy Rathore too, she was missing in the middle portions and arguably, didn’t have a significant part to play with the main story. Yet, her portions didn’t seem unwanted and gelled well with the film.
Nassar (Baapji) looked every inch a villain. However, Supreeth Reddy (Titla) took his negative role quite seriously. He over-acted although his fight with Akshay was awesome! Paresh Ganatra (2G) contributed to the fun quotient. Gurdeep Kohli (Razia Khan) does great. Yashpal Sharma, Mushtaq Khan (Baapji’s junior), Anant Jog (the ‘don’t mind’ minister), lady inspector and the handicapped villager perform very well. Darshan Jariwala shines in a guest appearance. The item girls – Maryam Zakaria, Shakti Mohan and Mumait Khan – were sizzling. Kareena Kapoor looks stunning but wonder what was the need for her to do a cameo! Prabhu Dheva does his customary guest appearance and this time, also brings Vijay. And lastly, the girl who played the Chinki was damn cute!
Sajid-Wajid’s music is of the super-hit variety! Aa Re Pritam Pyaare, Chinta Ta Ta, Dhadang Dhadang and Tera Ishq Bada Teekha rock the show! Except Chammak Challo, all songs gel well with the narrative. Sandeep Chowta’s background score works to a great extent. Santosh Thundiyil’s cinematography is stunning. The locales are beautiful, especially the one in the climax. Awesome is the word! Sets are great, especially Akshay Kumar’s abode (which had a post box, ATM, metal detector, BMC chair etc!). Action was one of the strengths of the film. Too good! Story was damn interesting and had several loose ends. Shiraz Ahmed’s screenplay in a way fails to hide them. Also, one can argue that the twist about Akshay and his Bihar connection could have been revealed directly at the pre-intermission portions instead of giving hints before. That would have made a greater impact. But nevertheless, the script works and succeeds in engrossing the viewers. And not to forget, the dialogues are clap and whistle worthy!
I didn’t quite like Prabhu Dheva’s work in Wanted but in Rowdy Rathore, he does simply a great job! The Southern hangover remains but there’s a Bollywood flavor as well. Hope Prabhu Dheva comes up with many more such films with different actors of Bollywood!
Some of the best scenes:
Akshay’s entry
Akshay meets Sonakshi at the marriage
Akshay meets his ‘daughter’
The fight at the intermission point
The flashback portion
Akshay back in Devgadh
Akshay loots the granary
The climax
On the whole, Rowdy Rathore is a brilliant action-entertainer. The cinematic liberties are immense and as expected, the critics and the so-called connoisseurs of cinema have loathed the film. But does anyone care?! The film entertains like anything and that’s what was expected from Rowdy Rathore! This should be Akshay Kumar’s biggest hit of his career and at the box office, the film is surely going to work like magic! Go for it and have fun!!