KHILADI 786 MOVIE REVIEW

Akshay Kumar has had a solid year with huge successes in the form of Housefull 2, Rowdy Rathore and Oh My God. Now, he looks to round off this year with another success through Khiladi 786. He came into prominence thanks to the previous Khiladi movies and now he looks to repeat the charm with Asin as company. Himesh Reshammiya has not only composed the music but has also written the story and is also playing a crucial role in the movie.

Akshay Kumar plays Bahattar Singh (72 Singh) in this and his dad and uncle are called 70 Singh and 71 Singh respectively. His lost brother is called 73 Singh and the ladies in his home are all from foreign lands like China, Canada and Africa. His dad wishes to get him married to an Indian bride but it is a Himalayan task to get a girl for 72 as his family’s means and ways of living are questionable.

Meanwhile in Mumbai, we have a dreaded don called TTT who is looking for a good groom for his sister Indu since long. Indu keeps escaping marriage as she is in love with a good for nothing guy who keeps landing in jail. We also have a failed wedding planner / match maker in the form of Mansukh who wishes to successfully perform atleast one marriage after several failed attempts.

The movie is predictable as you would have guessed the plot by now. Mansukh tries to bring 72 and Indu together in matrimony. A whole lot of role playing, false claims and drama are part of the movie as it moves to a predictable finale.

Akshay Kumar has done such buffoonery plenty of times before and this one is no different. Asin looks fabulous and stylish but her role doesn’t make any demands on her talent. Himesh Reshammiya has put in a lot of effort to succeed in comedy and he partially succeeds at places. The ensemble support cast comprising the likes of Mithun Chakravarthy and Raj Babbar is sizable but nothing of note to leave a mark. But Johnny Lever creates some healthy fun as always.

Himesh’s songs aren’t worth bragging about save the end credits song ‘Hookah Bar’ which is foot-tapping. Since this is yet another movie with a heavy Punjabi flavor, the art department has presented the movie through a blaze of colors. The multi-colored trucks, the colorful costumes and turbans are a few examples of this.

When the characters in the movie keep calling Akshay by his dubious name it results in some unintentional comedy. Asin’s boyfriend, who keeps landing in jail through some unlikely way or the other, also provides some silly and harmless fun. But the highpoint of the comedy in the movie is when the long-lost brother, 73 Singh, is introduced. The few minutes post this introduction are funny more so because of 73’s unabashedly funny makeover. 

The stunt sequences in the movie are again ‘over the top’ just like the other recent release ‘Son of Sardaar’.  Bollywood is actually taking the Rajinikanth style too far and just degrading what the Superstar stands for. His movies rarely have such silly and laughable stunts. Thank God, we have a proven stunt performer in Akshay Kumar to bring some style and panache to these sequences.

To sum it up, Khiladi 786 is just another of those silly ‘no-brainer’ movies that the Bollywood assembly line has been churning out with unfailing regularity over the past few years.