Naqaab

Another off beat movie for the Indian movie-goers, and it ain't that bad. Naqaab has a distinctly different style of story telling, and coupled with some exquisite shooting locations it is a visual treat to the eye. Urvashi Sharma is pretty good too. She's a delight to the eyes of every unmarried male. Although I must say the acting in this movie especially of Bobby Deol and Urvashi Sharma was pathetic. Akshaye Khanna is good, but this isn't his best of roles either.

The story is like any Abbas-Mustan thriller. Ripped/adapted from classic Holly flicks. This time around its loosely based on The Truman Show, and no, SLV isn't the derived movie theme. It has a lot of twists and turns towards the end, which makes up for the pathetic first hour of the movie. At one point of time it was hard to imagine if the movie is a thriller or a comedy. The songs aren't that good, the camera work which should have been exquisite,considering video camera plays a chief role in the movie, isn't up to the mark as well.

No point harping on the plot, it is basically a love triangle with a good twist in it. Its a fun watch at the end of the week, after facing the brunt of your boss' wrath.

This movie's a poor remake of a 2003 movie called "Dot The i" written and directed by Matthew Parkhill and starred Gael Garcia Bernal, Natalia Verbeke and James D'Arcy. I loved that movie and was saddened to see this awful remake. This not an adaptation or an interesting take on the original. It is totally ripped off, scene for scene. The location has been changed to Dubai- that's it. This travesty is made worse by forgettable songs and third rate acting by the whole cast. I don't think anyone ever acknowledged the original movie. I wonder how anyone can get away with this in this day and age when everyone is sensitive about intellectual property rights.

'Naqaab' which comes from the stable of the director duo Abbas-Mustan is a watchable movie! One wouldn't come out of the theater cursing it or ruing the wasted money!!! The first half of the movie is below par but I have given it a rating of 6 because the last 30 minutes really takes the graph of the movie to a new level. The first half seems a half-baked plot where all the three leading protagonists (Akshaye Khanna, Bobby Deol and the new Urvashi Sharma) are trying to create a love-triangle/drama of sorts. The character sketch in the first half not up to the mark and I can see a lot of viewers losing patience at the intermission mark. But boy, the movies does take a good turn in the second half. Though the movie is a rip off from a Hollywood flick (I would not name it though), it would come as a good enough thriller for Bollywood fans. Acting is not the strong point of the movie, Akshaye is strictly O.K. and Bobby Deol needs to get back to form really quickly. For her first movie, Urvashi is fine (and she is a quite a treat on the eyes). Another good thing is that song interruption is minimum in the movie (just 3 songs and one is kind of introduction). So all in all an average movie! Watch it just for sizzling Urvashi and the last 30 minutes.

I always like Abbas-Mustan films like KHILADI, BAAZIGAR Off late their films are being bad like AITRAAZ, TAARZAN, 36 CHINA TOWN

NAQAAB a remake of DOT THE 1

Sadly this film is a complete joke of a film

First half is typical Hindi love triangle with everything looking fake Be it Bobby- Urvashi love story or Akshaye- Urvashi or even the too much cuts- edit and everything actually

the kiss after The EK DIN song and all the hot scenes are badly handled

Few comic scenes are fine here and there but then the film does a 360 turn and becomes even worse in the last few reels

The entire turn of events make the illogical film a farce

Imagine you are laughing at the film being typical Hindi stuff first and then when it tries to be bold it makes you cringe

The sets, wardrobe design all seem too cheap

Abbas-Mustan gives one of their worst films ever Music is saving grace, EK DIN is good

Cinematography is good

Bobby looks bored in first half and manages some scenes towards the end well Akshaye Khanna with a bad wardrobe is wasted though he manages to leave a mark as always but now his role, style is getting predictable

Urvashi reminds you of Udita Goswami and Rakhi Sawant which isn't a good thing, her voice is awfully dubbed too

Vikas Kalantri and Vishal Malhotra tax your nerves

Abbas-Mustan, who have introduced bold concepts of wife-swapping, surrogate mother and sexual harassment to Indian cinema, true to their unique style of storytelling, try something different yet again. Naqaab certainly isn't your ordinary run-off-the-mill Bollywood love triangle. And true to the directors' trademark, the film is filled with twists and turns. Saying anymore would be giving the plot away.

While the film is a far cry from Khiladi or Baazigar, it is far better than their recent "36 China town" and "Tarzan the wonder car" Casting is where the directors probably lost it: Akshaye Khanna, an old mascot in the A-M camp, seems not only out of shape to play a struggling actor, he seems 10 years too old for the part. Bobby Deol, another old favorite of A-M's still manages to look the part of the flamboyant rich man, but can't pull it off with finesse. Urvashi Sharma is a major let down in the acting department. her emotions seem concocted and superficial. While she looks decent enough in places, there are parts where she is either made to look bad, or achieves it naturally. The supporting cast is feeble. Vikas Kalantri and Vishal seem to be playing buffoons stuck with a serous job. who knows why Raj Zutshi is even there in the film? While the locations and camera work merge seamlessly into the film and the plot is complex and well conceived, the film loses out in its execution: at times focusing on the obvious and at times playing a tangent to the storyline. while it scores points for originality and keeping the audience curious, it loses points for performances, or lack thereof and one twist too many.

The first half sets the plot in motion with haphazard character introductions and development, and the second half has a twist every few minutes, intentionally put to keep the audience in their seats. character motivations seem strong enough but somehow the film lacks flow.

the good: plot has interesting concept, interesting twists the bad: the acting, the execution of the plot the ugly: the supporting cast final verdict: Could have been better, but worth one watch