Talking Movies

Talking Movies
Talking movies

Friday 29 November 2013

BULLET RAJA: AIMLESS FUN

Bullet Raja packs in all the typical Tigmanshu Dhulia elements: rustic sprawling, terrain, hardcore native dialect, reminiscent of Paan Singh Tomar; long political gang wars as seen in Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns, entertaining dialogues full of humour and meaning. Yet, Bullet Raja carries just the whiff of gunpowder punch.

Like Saheb, Biwi, Gangster, there are too many characters and one can easily be lost in the steady stream of bullets and one liners for the first 40 minutes or so. Raja (Saif Ali Khan) is on the run from some goons. He gatecrashes a wedding. Rudra (Jimmy Shergill) becomes his best pal, overnight. Soon, they are ready to kill for each other. Apparently, that’s the only thing they know and the only kind of job they can get despite their reluctance.

They end up working for politicians. Now the story gets interesting. A corporate big wig, Bajaj, (Gulshan Grover) happens to call them ‘monkeys’. Raja and Rudra forget their deal with politician (Raj Babbar) and are out on a personal vengeance now. A clash of personal, political, business vendettas follow. What starts off as a hilarious kidnap scene with a bizarre, romantic spin, becomes a confusing tale of friendship, revenge, and political traps.

The main strength of the film lies in a wonderful and funny bonding shown between Saif and Jimmy. Saif seems to have a knack for being at his best when paired with any actor; be it Akshay Kumar in “Main Khiladi, Tu Anadi” or with Shah Rukh in “Kal Ho Na Ho” or with Amir and Akshay Khanna in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. It does not matter if he is not made for action films like Bullet Raja or that when he says “Yeh gussa hai ki maanta nahin” and does not look angry at all. He is still fun to watch all the way through, especially in romantic sequences with Sonakshi who has a light and pleasant screen presence in the role of a Bengali girl, Mitali, who wants to be a heroine and does not mind the company of two men with guns, always on the run.

Mahie Gill and Vidyut Jamwal, make their presence felt with their special appearances. Mahie’s sizzling item number. “ ..Don’t touch my body..” displays her unlimited energy matching every beat of the music. Vidyut, clearly, has a blast and delivers every action scene with the smoothness of a ramp walk.

Bullet Raja is a film you don't take seriously but simply enjoy. Just like the sincere Saif.