ENTERTAINMENT MOVIE REVIEW

After tasting creditable success with Holiday, Akshay Kumar is back with 'Entertainment', another of those films which are in his comfort zone of 'mindless comic capers'. From the trailer and all the promos, it is now clear that a dog has a major role in the movie.

Akshay plays Akhil, a loafer and an orphan in Mumbai who flies to Bangkok after getting to know that his actual father, a very rich businessman, has just died, leaving behind crores of money and property. Landing in Bangkok with big dreams of inheriting easy money and thereby impressing his girlfriend’s greedy dad, Akhil, to his horror, discovers that all the lavish riches are going to be inherited by his father’s dog named ‘Entertainment’. Initially Akhil and his friend scheme in all possible angles to get rid of the dog but gradually 'dog' and 'man' become inseparable and a sentimental bond is formed between the two. We also have the comic villains in the plot, played by Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood, who are also after the money. Akhil has to somehow keep these two at bay.

The movie is peppered with a lot of rhyming lines which don’t please us to the desired effect. Krishna Abhishek plays Akshay's filmy friend who looks to bring in film references, characters and dialogues in every line that he speaks. These ‘PJ’ moments are entertaining to an extent. thanks to the element of parody.

Johnny Lever as a lawyer whose name (Habibullah) is often mispronounced, is another comedic veteran in the movie and scores with ease. Prakash Raj shows his range of histrionics, even shaking his leg with Tamannaah in a song, while Sonu Sood has a long way to go in the comedy stakes. The 'Karan Arjun' reference when these two are on screen is hilarious. 

Akshay Kumar does his best to entertain the gallery and there is nothing extra-ordinary from him. He waltzes through in typical style. Tamannaah is all dolled up and flaunts her curves in revealing attires but such films aren’t going to help her fledgling Bollywood career one bit. She confidently tries to utter her lines, which are often a satire on Hindi TV serial dialogues, but appears clueless when she has nothing to speak and has to just stand in the atmosphere. Better luck next time, to this pretty young thing.

The dog’s role has been intended to make us laugh and also shed a couple of tears. It has been trained well and is a cute presence, particularly for dog lovers. But the melodrama with Akshay and the dog, towards the end drags the movie further down. There is another sequence involving many breeds of dogs and this one also doesn’t bring in the expected ‘entertainment’

Sachin – Jigar’s songs are a highlight, without being out of the world. Catch them on TV. The film’s VFX work is sub-standard, particularly in the ambitious pre-interval segment which was supposed to be good on screen. And don't look for things like logic, subtlety and continuity here.

On the whole, 'Entertainment' can be seen when it premieres soon on TV. There is nothing in it to warrant a visit to the theater as there aren’t any boisterous ‘LOL’ moments which are a must for such comedy flicks.