Race

A nice movie by the promising duo. Another thriller that binds you till the end and where you don't know what is going to happen next. Acting performances of Anil Kapoor, Saif and Akshaye are all good, especially Anil Kapoor. He comes up with another good comic type role after Welcome. To see Johny Lever after such a long time was heartening. His 2 minute performance reminded of vintage Johny. And this film had something in it for the female leads as well. But I think that what the Indian directors need to learn is that the films can work even if you don't put songs in them. See Sarkar and Black. Alright this movie was not as intense as those two, but putting three songs while an investigation is going on in a thriller is a waste. That is why I rated this movie as 7 instead of 8. Overall a nice time pass movie which could be watched once.

After seeing "Race", I could say that keeping the inspiration fact aside from their track record, Abbas Mastan are no doubt one of the top 3 directors of thrillers movies in Indian Cinema. And "Race" proves that again and the movie can be stated as the most impressive work from the director duo after their last few pale attempts.

"Race" is a high paced and slickly edited thriller with shocks & more shocks for the viewers at regular intervals. And with each new turn you come forward on the edge of your seat. As I don't prefer wasting words on giving out the story of the movie in my reviews, I would just like to add that its one of the most tightly written script and you dare don't go for a popcorn in between the movie or else you will miss a new twist in the story.

All the characters have a well defined role and the casting is just near to perfect too (with only Sameera Reddy as a miscast). Each person in the script has a plan against the other and after the light 20 minutes in the opening, the movie just picks up the speed with a kick start. At times you feel that its going too pacy and there are too much twists and turns in the plot, but still its all enjoyable to a great extent.

The first half has Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Khanna, Bipasha & Katrina as the lead. Saif clearly gives another powerful performance after "Omkara". Akshay Khanna too performs a tough role in an impressive manner. He can easily add this movie in his career's Top 3. Bipasha looks more ravishing than Katrina, but they both surely give the required "Oomph Impact" to the racy thriller.

At the end of the first half enters Anil Kapoor as the detective. And from here onwards you start enjoying the movie more with his one liners and comic timings. But Sameera seems to be unfit in her "Kitty-Karmachand" role as an assistant to Anil. Anil is very entertaining eating all kinds of fruits while he is investigating. Johny Lever is wasted as he is there only for one scene, but he had to be there since he is the lucky mascot of the director duo from "Khiladi" days. While watching "RACE", each time you think that now the whole plan is told, there comes another twist and this continues till the last scene of the movie.

The one thing which can be said as the weakness in the script is that there is no Police involvement shown in the crime. Anil Kapoor is supposed to be the only official detective looking into the case and he is too involved in the plot. The second half belongs to Anil and Saif equally and they both simply excel. The Climax is one of best in the recent times as it is not concerned in showing the victory of truth, but shows how the conmen win and respect the intelligence of the other. The songs are quite enjoyable but there is already plagiarism factor involved with "Pritam" lifting more than one tunes. The background score also seems to be inspired from "Mission Impossible" and "James Bond" Themes. I think the fast paced instrumental version of "Allah Duhai Hai" should have been used repeatedly in the background rather than the slow theme music. It would have given more pace to the scenes.

Summing up, this is one of the best works of Abbas Mastan, and one of the best Thrillers coming out of the Indian Film Industry. The only fear I have is that I should not receive any mails in the coming days that the movie is an inspired one. I pray that it should be an original work from the makers as this is indeed a commendable one.

Go for it, the movie can turn you into a fan of thrillers.

I wouldn't say that race is a great movie. It is good and different. It is not the usual triangle love story and betrayal and it is unpredictable. The plot should not be known completely before as it has many twists and turns. Knowing the plot reduces the effect of watching like many other thrillers The twists are the main attraction of this film.

Coming to the plot Ranvir(Saif Ali Khan) and Rajiv(Akshay Khanna) are brothers who has so many different likes and dislikes. Ranvir is very mature and serious while Rajiv is semi alcoholic. Both of them share a common interest one is racing and the other is supermodel Sonia (Bipasha Basu). Ranvir's secretary Sophia(Katrina Kaif) has a crush on him. She remembers his birthday and presents him with a birthday greeting card.

Songs composed by Pritam are great. Songs like pehli nazar mein and allah duhai are wonderful to listen.

Acting is good. My opinion about Saif Ali Khan in a serious role has changed after seeing this. Akshay Khanna has done his best performance so far. Bipasha was good in her respective role. Even though Katrina Kaif is not considered a great actress, she was above average in this movie.

It is worth a look if you admire bollywood film. And this film is worth watching if you are a fan of either Saif or Bipasha.

8/10

Race was a mixed bag of surprises. Primararily I went to watch the movie because I really liked their promos. Race Saanson ki (the title track) also happened to be my current favorite. What is best about this movie is that the director ensures that you are glued to your seat from start to finish. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing for more. Of course the credit for keeping the audience engaged also goes to Saif who is fantastic as the ambitious go getter brother. Akshaye Khanna also deserves a special mention for being on par with Saif in the acting department! His comic timing is really good. The ladies Katrina and Bipasha have been given a beautiful wardrobe and carry it off extremely well. They do add value to the star cast. The only dampener that I felt was the comedy department could have been better.The dialogues between Anil Kapoor and Sameera were way too silly! Like trying really hard to make you laugh but absolutely run of the mill jokes..Sameera was looking silly trying to act like a dumb blonde..! The ACTION sequences deserve a special mention (clap clap)..as they are very stylized. The director seems to have really invested some time and money in this department. All in all a movie worth a watch as it is especially heart warming to see old time directors like Abbas Mustan try to keep up with the current times when it comes to packaging a movie in a stylized way.

My rating 8 out of 10...

Right from the start, this movie will hold you down. Frankly speaking, this movie's story is not that great, and you might have seen it earlier, with two brother fighting over money. But what is different is the way and manner of presentation. We have so many love stories, but every time it's the manner of presentation that makes movies great! Same is true for Race. Arguably the best movie of 2008. So many twists and turns, this makes for the best popcorn flick of 2008! I suggest you to watch it before the end of the year and make is count in the top movies! Katrina Kaif's acting skills have definitely improved, Bipasha is fine, Akshay Khanna is good but Saif's acting is the top notch point of this movie. He should go for more action movies...

A Must Watch! Go for it!