The much-awaited Tashan (meaning ‘style’), with big names such as Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Anil Kapoor, is a mixed bag.
The film gives you some moments of brilliant humour but, at the same time, bores you to death with prolonged and clichéd sequences.
The film initially promises to be one of those offbeat, entertaining Quentin Tarantino treats but soon fizzles into a typical Bollywood masala flick. It fails to maintain the abstract mood.
The film starts rather unconventionally. One can hear both rock and Hindi music wafting from a Mercedes just before it plunges into the sea. The film then goes into flashback mode.
Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan), a call centre executive and compulsive flirt, falls for Pooja (Kareena Kapoor), who works for mafia don Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor).
The fun begins
The local don is fascinated with speaking English and hires Jimmy to help him.
Pooja double-crosses Jimmy and Bhaiyyaji and runs away with the don’s money. Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar), a gangster wannabe, is hired to recover the cash.
In the process, Bachchan, Jimmy and Pooja are forced to take a road trip that is filled with action, lost-and-found romance, dreamy song sequences and a Bhojpurish (read as a cross between English and Bhojpuri, a north Indian dialect) dance number, with the stars wearing blonde wigs and outlandish costumes.
A quirky sense of humour and a couple of interesting and entertaining lead characters keep the film alive.
It is, indeed, sleek and stylish but lacks a meaty screenplay in the second half, which drags with clichéd scenes that could have been edited.
The script could have gone a couple of notches higher if it had given typical Bollywood moments a miss.
The film belongs to Akshay and Anil as they shine in unconventional roles.
Akshay’s screen presence is amazing and he brings his distinctive charm to the film and Anil proves his versatility yet again, though some of his dialogues get repetitive.
Saif is good but the role doesn’t offer him much scope. If Kareena is remembered in this film, it will only be for her zero-size figure and two-piece bikini that she carries off in style.
Manoj Pahwa and Sanjay Mishra, who act as Anil’s clownish sidekicks, are a disappointment.
Vijay Krishna Acharya’s debut direction scores brownie points but loses out because of his over-indulgent writing, which spoils the party.
Probably, his earlier successful script of Dhoom made him overconfident.
Vishal-Shekhar’s music is cool and the upbeat Dance Maare track is Bollywood’s first Bhojpurish number.
Peter Hein’s action is over-the-top and also gets outrageously funny at times.
The exotic locales where the film has been shot make the cinematography a visual treat.
Well, it is an escapist film that tries hard to deliver and, perhaps, can be enjoyed as long as the fun lasts.
Unfortunately, Tashan was a great opportunity missed at making a trendsetting entertainer.
Barometer
Critic’s Rating: 2-1/2 stars
Rating parameters:
1 star — Poor; 2 stars — Average; 3 stars — Good; 4 stars — Very Good; 5 stars — Excellent
