Rajveer has, in fact, double-crossed terrorist Omar Zafar (Danny Denzongpa) who has — through acolytes — commissioned him to steal the Kohinoor diamond from London. Rajveer has succeeded, but prefers not to hand it over to him.
Caught in the vortex, with both the bad guys and the Indian cops (headed by Pawan Malhotra as Zorawar) after him, the superman-like all-rounder Rajveer outwits them at every stage, and a hassled Harleen is forced to be his company for her own survival in this deadly game! The flip-flop between her feelings towards him — attraction, confusion, dislike, trust, awe and more — are splendidly brought out by Katrina Kaif in one of her more accomplished performances. She puts in some extra effort and succeeds in etching her humdrum character well.
While the dialogues (Abbas “Munna Bhai MBBS” Tyrewala) show frequent flashes of a higher degree of wit and humor, the screenplay (Sujoy “Kahaani” Ghosh with Suresh Nair who also co-wrote that film and many other hits) cares little for logic, which is okay for Hindi masala movies. But it also lacks in surprises and twists — a must for a true-blue Hindi film in this genre. Right from the beginning, we fathom who Rajveer must be, and the same is revealed well before the end in almost an anti-climax!
Another albatross around the film’s cinematic neck is the mediocre music, with not a single song registering after it is over or helping to bring in the audiences, unlike a “Kick” or the films in the “Dhoom” franchise of caper films.
Siddharth Anand’s direction is competent, but does not have that special chutzpah that marks the difference between the nice and the extraordinary. The only plus he can claim credit for is helping stunt coordinators Parvez Sheikh, Andy Armstrong (from the U.S.) and the team in visualizing and coming out with exceptional work despite the VFX contribution. In this respect, the film does up the ante of the action movies seen in Bollywood.
Hrithik Roshan is his usual self, though his compromised health during the shoot reflects often on his face. Superb at dance, he excels in action as well, going that one step beyond “Dhoom:2,” “Krrish” and “Krrish 3.” Danny Denzongpa is effective in his short role, and of the rest, Jimmy Shergill impresses in his cameo.
“Bang Bang!” will benefit from a weak opposition (co-release), but could have been much, much superior. The audiences were enjoying the fun and games when I watched the film — after all, when we get top stars, action, humor and incredible locations all together, few can resist such a heady package over a long, relaxing weekend.
It is only after this five-day phase ends that we will really know how much the film is “Bang Bang!” on (box office) target!
Rating: ***1/2
Fox Star Studios present
‘Bang Bang!’: Good Fun but Lacks Surprises
Produced by: FOX STAR STUDIOS
Directed by: SIDDHARTH ANAND
Written by: SUJOY GHOSH, SURESH NAIR & ABBAS TYREWALA
Music: VISHAL-SHKEHAR
Starring: HRITHIK ROSHAN, KATRINA KAIF, DANNY DENZONGPA, JAAVED JAFFERI, VIKRAM GOKHALE, PAWAN MALHOTRA, KANWALJEET SINGH, DEEPTI NAVAL & others Sp. app.: JIMMY SHERGILL
- www.indiawest.com