Andhra Pradesh

Lots of style, no substance

Star-studded: Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan in Tashan.

Film: Tashan (Hindi)

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor

Direction: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Every man has a right to fail. Vijay Krishna Acharya, not quite a master filmmaker yet, exercises his right here by giving us a film that falls between two generations. On the surface, “Tashan” is a high octane drama with lots of bronzed bodies, lithe figures, great action and innovative choreography. Just the kind aimed at youngsters who care for little more than a couple of good laughs and a loud guffaw or two. Look a little deeper, and it is yet another R 16;lost in Kumbh Mela’ drama, where a young boy – well, not exactly a boy considering he has more than a thin moustache – and a not-so-young girl separate the day they are supposed to meet! Lots of water flows down the Ganga, many, many reels are wasted before the two meet. Not quite the fare cola-sipping, bike-riding generation would be accustomed to!

Sorry, Acharya ji, this old, obsolete school of filmmaking with modern technique is akin to dressing up a corpse in brocade. It just does not gel with a film where music is all noise, lyrics all forgettable, where Vaibhavi Merchant as a choreographer works in a vacuum and Peter Hein’s action blast is wasted. And Aki Narula? Well, the seasoned designer has little to do considering how little Kareena Kapoor wears, and when he gets a chance – the film has three heroes, Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan – he does a fine job of a ragtag accumulation. All the heroes, be it the don or the hired killer or the English-speaking thug, tend to dress alike.

And Acharya ji himself fails the test when two of his heroes, not quite proficient in English, make the same bloomers. Heard of two guys walking and dressing alike, but speaking the same lingo, the same turn of phrases, the same howlers! And to top it, there are frequent below-the-belt shots which do little credit to the Yash Raj banner, otherwise known for clean cinema. Nor indeed do the pelvic gyrations of Akshay Kumar, who has shaved off his chest growth for the film, much like the even uglier Anil Kapoor, who shows off his clean slate towards the end.

Well, let’s not be too harsh. After all, the director has just taken the ‘Kumbh Mela’ saga and given it a dash of the modern. The soul remains timeless, you see. We could have condoned that too if there was a strand of consistency in the film. Here, it is all jumbled up, confused fare. It begins with the story. Anil Kapoor plays a bhai with predictable gimmicks.

The only time he arouses interest is when he tries to learn English from Saif who, as an English-speaking guru, gets to mouth all ‘dude’ kind of dialogues. Now this don has a girl, whom he would rather use as a moll – Kareena Kapoor. And poor Kareena, well, she is poor, really poor. She gives it all. Slips into mini midis, minier minis, even a bikini. But all along manages to look as hot and inviting as yesterday’s pizza left in the fridge! The poor little girl has other things on her mind. Read deceit. Enter a hired killer – Akshay Kumar – who is given the task of finding the guru and the gal who have eloped with all the moolah. It is here that the director imparts the Kumbh Mela kind of twist, and a little dash of emotion, and lo, Acharya’s tutelage is complete.

Sorry guys, this Acharya has a lot of learning to do. Great budget, good locales don’t make a good film. “Tashan” has lots of style and almost nil substance to back it up. It does not augur well for Yash Raj Films at all. For a solitary “Chak De India!”, they have given us “Kabul Express”, “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom”, “Tara Rum Pum”, “Aaja Nachle” and “Laga Chunari Mein Daag”. And now this. Yawn.

ZIYA US SALAM

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