Suneel Darshan had a near-perfect story this time. He could have done so much with it. But unfortunately, Shakalaka Boom Boom losses big time because of poor presentation and absurd direction.
The story of the movie: AJ (Bobby Deol) is a popular singer-composer, who was loved by everyone. All his five consecutive albums were hits and was soon about to launch his sixth album, which was also expected to be a hit. AJ meets an upcoming singer Ruhi (Kangana Ranaut). They both get along very well and soon AJ falls in love with Ruhi. At this stage enters Raghav aka Reggie (Upen Patel). Reggie is a highly talented singer-composer, but unfortunately he had not got much success and recognition. Sheena (Celina Jaitly), a PR professional, helps Reggie to come to a little top. Sheena loved Reggie and she dreamt that they both would live happily. But Reggie ditched her as soon as he came to the top. On the other hand, AJ was jealous of Reggie’s natural talent and feared that soon Reggie will overtake him and will become successful. He was also angry with him, as he had snatched away Ruhi from her. But AJ would not let Reggie go ahead of him because for him winning is a habit and he had never learnt to lose. So what will AJ do now? Will he be successful in defeating Reggie?
Shakalaka Boom Boom is a classic example of what happens when a good story falls into wrong hands. Though the story was not a perfect one and had some glitches and flaws, it would have been a good entertainer if some other director had handled it. But unfortunately, director Suneel Darshan and screenplay writer Rajesh Pandey makes the movie a complete disastrous one.
The movie starts in an undesirable manner. The date scene of Kangana Ranaut and Bobby Deol was supposed to be humorous scene but it does not evoke any laughter at all. And if the director wanted to highlight Bobby as a villain, why was he shown in a positive light in the beginning? Even the climax was not directed properly.
Another big problem in Shakalaka Boom Boom-several scenes in the movie were inspired or copied from some Bollywood movies. The scene in the beginning where Kangana Ranaut is shown going to Bobby’s show with gun in her hand is taken from Gangster (which also starred Kangana). The scene where Kangana mistooks Upen as the killer is copied from the ‘Black Beast’ sequence of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. And the scene where Bobby and Upen sing multiple songs on the stage was clearly taken from the movie Deewane Huye Paagal.
But fortunately, there are some plusses too. The second half was interesting and the movie at times, was unpredictable. The Anupam Kher track was very beautiful. The last 20 minutes of the movie was really very nice and the ending was completely acceptable and it was because of the ending that one leaves the theatre feeling somewhat satisfied. But again, the ending could have become captivating and thrilling if someone else had handled it.
The movie is helpful to all the main actors as they have done really great job in it and can look upon it as one of their finest work.
Bobby Deol does a great job this time. This is the first time he had done a negative role. Though he gets over the top at times, he does his job very well and there is a possibility that he may get a nomination in Negative Role category.
Upen Patel is marvelous this time! He looks charming, handsome and attractive. And his performance rocks! The movie becomes a little interesting and lively after his entry and his performance in the end is worth watching. Really, this is the most important flick and landmark in Upen Patel’s career!
Kangana Ranaut also does a good job this time. Last seen in Gangster and Woh Lamhe, she manages to give a superb performance. Celina Jaitly was hardly there. Though she looked stunning and gorgeous, she did not have much to do in the movie. I wonder why she signed this movie.
Anupam Kher satisfies, even though he had a small role. Dalip Tahil was okay. Seema Rahmani does an okay job. Govind Namdeo as Bobby’s guru was laughable. He hardly spoke in the movie and Booby’s conversations with him were really boring. Asrani and Vivek Vaswani were okay.
Himesh Reshammiya’s music was soothing and melodious and does the same great job as he did in Namastey London. The songs which stand out are the title track, ‘Thaare Vaaste’, ‘Dil Lagaayenge’ (Upen’s entry song), and ‘Namumkin’.
Viju Shah’s background score was thrilling. Surendra Rao’s cinematography was alright but he does a good job in the song ‘Namumkin’. Anurag Kashyap’s dialogues were perfect.
As said earlier, Kamlesh Pandey does a worst job as a screenplay writer. Same for Suneel Darshan who disappoints with such absurd and pathetic direction.
On the whole, Shakalaka Boom Boom disappoints big time. It has some nice performances and music, but the soul of the movie (i.e. screenplay, direction) is what makes the movie a pathetic one. A Disappointing Fare.