Rating: 3/5
Audience: Urban Multiplex
Review: Johnny Gaddar the title suggests a cheesy movie and it almost is one, almost being the key word there. This one is a tribute to the cliched thrillers in the bollywood movie world and beyond. Sriram Raghavan has earlier directed the uber-fast and exciting Ek Hasina Thi. If you have seen that one, you would agree when I say that I had high expectations. Raghavan almost got the high bar he set with his first movie, again almost being the key word.
The Plot: JG begins on a very intriguing note and keeps you interested all through. There is never a dull moment. The movie though a thriller, has no elements of suspense. It makes this one churn up a different brand of storytelling. The lack of suspense does get to you in the second half. I am cruel enough to give away the plot.
The protagonist or should I say antagonist is a double crossing average Joe "Vikram" played by newcomer Neil Mukesh. He is involved in a heist with the stately ex-smuggler Seshadri (Dharmendra in a good role sans the English tit bits...he seems to be on a roll after Life in a metro...Whatever happened to Main tumhara Khoon Pee jaaoonga Kutte), temperamental gambler Prakash (Vinay Pathak the new Mr. Dependable these days when it comes to comedy and\or drama), sinister Shardul (Zakir Hussain.....Remember Rashid from Sarkar?....another feather in his cap this one) and the calm Shiva (Daya Shetty). And as fate would have it....(thats what he says!)...he ends up double crossing them for the money. The supporting cast also has Govind Namdeo (awesome as always), Rimmi Sen (watever happened to the girl from Shik dum!!!) and Ashvini Kalsekar (Not found on the main credits but amazing actress if directors use her well which has been done the second time after Khakee). The soundtrack is exquisitely fused with the storytelling and brings out the mood of the screeenplay perfectly. The movie falters marginally in the dialogue department. There aren't very many one liners which become part of your vocabulary after the movie. Neil Mukesh does a commendable debut. But somewhere I believe he underplays his character, unfortunately putting him in the Fardeen bracket. I sure do hope that the portrayal was due to the character he was playing and hope to see him in his next flick. All in all, a good movie worth a dekko.
