Written by: Aatish Kapadia & Suresh Nair with dialogue by Ritesh Shah
Directed by: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Om Puri, Kiron Kher
The successful actor-director combination of Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah are back with Action Replayy. This time for company they have Aishwarya Rai, who has had a line of-big-budget releases in 2010. It is supposedly based on a play, which is very much similar to Back to the Future (Part 1). The movie is supposed to be a romantic comedy with the flavor of the 70s, and with Akshay known for his comic timing one expects excellent entertainment…and the movie does not disappoint.
The story is about Bunty (Aditya Roy Kapoor), who is against the institution known as “marriage.” Main reason being: he is fed up with the maritial fights between his nerdy father Kishen (Akshay Kumar) and shopoholic, dominating mother Mala (Aishwarya Rai). The main reason being: they don’t love each other, but were married as their parents forced them into it. Thanks to his girlfriend’s scientist-grandfather Anthony’s (Randhir Kapoor) time machine, he gets to travel back in time to the 70s, the time when his parents are about to meet. How he goes about changing his nerdy father-to-be and dominating mother-to-be’s lives and helps them fall in love with one another and change their future forms the main plot of the story.
[ad#longpost]Akshay Kumar is excellent. First as the nerdy idiotic Kishen and then the transformed Kishen with the punch-line “Awwaaz Neeche.” He acts well and fits into the role perfectly…though the role does not have much of a challenge for him, as he’s done characters like this far too many times. However, there is nothing to complain about because, well, the results are excellent. Aishwarya Rai looks and gives a great performance; the 70s look fits on perfectly for her and the transformation of her character from the hard-hitting dominating Mala to the soft-shy in-love-with-Kishen Mala is enacted amazingly well. The pair looks great and they share a great rapport, which is visible on screen. Now, the surprise package: Aditya Roy Kapoor as Bunty. He gives a commendable performance and ensures he is noted even among all the biggies in the movie. He looks great and his acting is top class; he shows great promise as an actor–this is surely a very big break for him and he has definitely grasped the opportunity with both hands!
Om Puri and Kiron Kher as Kishen’s dad and Mala’s mother respectively add to the comic troupe. They are hilarious whenever they are on-screen. Rannvijay Singh as the prankster dual-voice singer Kundanlal is good. For once, he shows he can act, and he too has a small but important role in the movie and does well. Rajpal Yadav as his sidekick is superb. He delivers his impactful one-liner “sab kaam main hi karon” with hilarous effect. Neha Dupia has nothing much to do other than dancing around. Randhir Kapoor as the scientist is okay–another small role, which he could have given the miss.
All the songs are good and slowly build on you with “Zor ka Jhatka” as the catchy number. Music director Pritam continues his good run. Cinematography is good. Art direction, which was very important as the movie is set in Bombay of the 70s, is good. Full marks to the director, Vipul Shah, getting the best out of everyone involved. The script, though inspired, ensures there is never a single dull moment, the dialogue and the acting ensure the proceedings on-screen are hilarious and keeps one occupied right through.
On the negative side, the songs, though good, appear one-too-many towards the climax, which could have been edited. Randhir Kapoor’s role seems to have got most of the chop which results in small hiccups in the narration related to the time-machine. Also, Aditya’s very visible bushy hairdo which goes on-off very frequently towards/post interval.
The story is, as mentioned, obviously inspired by Back to the Future, so don’t expect anything new…however this is a clean family film that entertains with great performances from the leads and everyone involved, pleasing music, top class direction and has some hilarious moments. Surely worth a watch.
