.jpg)
Joker – External Movie Review
Theater - Abu Dhabi National Cinemas, UAE
30/08/2012 - 9.30 pm
Occupancy - 80% (50% are kids with family, thanks to U/G certification)
Akshay Kumar is going through one of the best phases of his
career now. Thanks to his two 100crore blockbusters in a row in the form of
Housefull2 & Rowdy Rathore. Joker is his third film of 2012 to hit the
screens. Joker is reportedly Akshay Kumar's 100th film. Joker released today in
UAE. Joker is a fantasy adventure film directed by Shirish Kunder, and also his
second directorial venture after Jaan-E-Mann also starred Akshay Kumar with
Salman Khan. Shirish made a grand entry in Bollywood as a director by getting
excellent reviews from the critics for the film. But since it’s opened on
Diwali 2006 with stiff competition from Shahrukh Khan’s Don, Jaan-e-mann didn’t click as it deserved to
be. After 4 years he again came back with Akshay Kumar in the form of script
writer for his wife Farah Khan’s third directorial venture, Tees Maar Khan
.
Luckily for them & unfortunately for the audience the film looted maximum
collection within 1st week only thanks to the Sheila Ki Jawaani
mania & the hype around TMK for being a Christmas release. Frankly speaking
TMK was an undeserved success for the Akshay-Farah-Kunder team. Their intention
was clear. Just make audience fool and earn
maximum money within 1st week. Since TMK was co-produced by Akshay &
Farah, it gained profits… But at the same time TMK remains a favorite punching
bag to this day for Akshay-Farah-Kunder. And now with Joker, the same team
coming again, this time directed by Shirish & co-produced by Akshay &
Farah. Sonakshi Sinha is the heroine of Joker. This will be her second film paired
opposite Akshay after Rowdy Rathore.
In 1947 when the maps of India and Pakistan were being
drawn, an oversight ensured that the village of Paglapur didn't find a place in
either country. The village had the distinction of housing the largest mental
asylum in the region that ensued during partition, the asylum inmates broke
loose, drove away the villagers and established their own republic in Paglapur.
And that's how it stayed for the next 60 years! While the world outside
changed, Paglapur remained isolated, with no electricity, television or sanity.
Now, decades after the world forgot this village, a NASA scientist of Indian
origin, Agastya played by Akshay Kumar and his beautiful wife Diva played by
Sonakshi Sinha find themselves on the road to Paglapur. Agastya is working on a
top secret project for creating a device to communicate with aliens. So why is
he in a village whose colorful inhabitants include a man who speaks in Gibberish
(Akshay’s brother played by Shreyas Talpade), another who thinks he is a lamp
post and everyone else who think Mahatma Gandhi is still around, fighting for
independence? And more importantly, what are they going to do that will soon
turn the universe's spotlight on this forgotten village?
Let me go straight to the positives of the film first.
Joker is well executed in the first half. Infact everything
about the first half is simply superb. Akshay Kumar who entertained us in
Housefull2 & Rowdy Rathore got a serious role here. And no surprise he is
good in this film too. Sonakshi Sinha is strictly OK. Shreyas Talpade is a big
surprise. Infact he entertained us more in this film. Asrani is funny. And his
english subtitles for his each hindi lines are really witty. All other actors
are good in their own roles. The much talked Alien Golkot is very entertaining
and it’s a visual treat for all the kids. Music composed by famous Tamil
Composer GV Prakash (Nephew of AR Rahman) is excellent and all the 4 songs
Kaafirana, Jugnu, Singh Raja & Yeh Joker are really good. Shirish Kunder
directed the first half brilliantly. No two opinions on that. Frankly speaking
really impressed by his film making STRICTLY on the first half. Whatever others
say, he got an extra good oblongata when attempting new themes in Bollywood. His
background score is epic stuff. Hats Off to him for letting us see this Place
Paglapur. Excellent location & production value is just superb. Infact
everything till first half was just wow and I was hoping for the same treatment
in the second half.
UNFORTUNATELY……. A Big NO, But Why ???...
Here comes the negatives of the film. Well it will be better
if I say Second Half itself is a negative for the film. I have no idea what
Mr.Kunder was thinking while writing the script for second half? The lesser I
say, the better it would be. Some scenes are absolute crap. At one point I asked myself, am I watching the
second half of Joker? Infact I had a feeling of watching Tees Maar Khan 2 !!!
Agreed Joker is touted as a film for kids. But atleast some Logic ??? The only
good thing about second half is that 5 min scene by Alien Golkot. It was really
entertaining. But that’s about it. So many questions remained unknown… What
happened to Akshay Kumar’s job which he need to finish within the target of 1
month??? No clue… Minisha Lamba is totally wasted. Sonakshi got only 3
dialogues in the second half. And Sonakshi in a village dress? Ufff No Way…
Last but not least, I was wondering why Askhay Kumar was keeping distance from
the promotion of Joker, that too being his 100th film ??? if rumours
are to be believed true, then we can’t blame Akshay. Sincerely feel bad for
Akshay to get Joker as his 100th film.
On the Whole Joker is just about an average film which has
excellent first half & music as its plusses and the whole second half as a
letdown. Take your kids, they will enjoy for sure. Akshay Kumar films will
always recieve bumper opening at the box office. But in the case of Joker, considering its lack of promotion & the
superstar’s absence on promotions, chances are very less to open 10cr+ on
opening day. If weekend cross 30+, then its ONLY because of the star power of
AkshayKumar. Good news for Joker is that it’s a 40 crore film co-produced by
Akshay & Farah and already recovered 32 crore before the release. So
whatever the film gonna gain will be a profit for the makers &
distributors.
Verdict – Strictly Average
Its an Udtha Firtha Half cooked 'Omelet' which fails to hit the 'Bulls Eye'
Rating – 2and Half stars ( 2 for the film and half for the
production value)
This
Reviewer can be contacted here : https://twitter.com/i_spn
No comments :
Post a Comment