Baadshaho

So JHC is passe' and people won't know if a plot, characters and even dialogues are plagiarized from the King of Thrillers' novels? Not quite, sir. Because this film is a straight lift from JHC's novel, "The World in My Pocket."

Now this plot is given the make-over, with a strange mish-mash of 1970s flavor, Rajasthani locales and some pretty good action sequences. But since there is no central plot, the film is disjointed and the actors / actresses are wasted. A fleeting reference is made to the (late) maniacal politician, Sanjay Gandhi. For some strange reason, to grab a local (female) ruler's gold hoard, the army is called in, who are present from the first to the last frame with their incompetent presence. I thought it would be the job of the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department, or at least the local police? The latter are there, bumbling along, without any purpose.

The armored invincible van bearing the loot is of course, from JHC's masterpiece. I could not exactly understand Ajai Devgun's character in the film. Was he a personal body guard, or lover, or villager full of angst? We have Vidyut playing an OTP army major. One almost feels like slapping the character played by him. In real life, majors do not strut about in civvies, direct civil operations or argue with their COs. Or carry on clandestine affairs with royalty. Or maybe few do.. I can't say.

The indeterminate ending is good, because the film itself in indeterminate. The sandstorms have been portrayed nicely. Ileana looks good as usual. Not much is expected from her anywaz. The rest come and go without any purpose.

Certainly worth a watch. But a watch without expectations.

The story is basic, yet wildly fanciful - a young RajputaniladyGitanjali Devi (Ileana D'Cruz) has her ancestral gold reserveconfiscated from her palace by the government. The year is 1975 and we hear the voice of Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, declaring Emergency (while exhorting her countrymen not to panic). The maharani has earned the wrath of a grasping Sanjay Gandhi look- alike whowields tremendous power even over the Indian army;his reel name is Sanjeev.

The affrontedGitanjali Devi who is serving time in jail orders her brooding personal security in-charge Bhawani Singh (Ajay Devgn) to grab the lost booty back for her.

The loyal Bhawani, who is the queen's retainer and secret lover, setts together a band of four gangsters. The gang includedGitanjali Devi'strusted aide Sanjana (Esha Gupta).They set on the mission to waylay the high-value consignment when it is transported from Rajasthan to Delhiin an armored truck. The distance between the source and destination was to be covered in an eight-hour road trip. "Woh army hai, hum haraamihai," Bhawani declares, playing down the risk involved, to allay the fears of both the ageing cat burglar Tikla (Sanjay Mishra) and the happy-go-lucky gun-for-hire Dalia (Emraan Hashmi) that he ropes in.The gang of badasses takes several detours as the gold is targeted and trailed. A stereotype army officer, Major Seher Singh (Vidyut Jammwal), becomes a massive obstacle in the way of Gitanjali Devi's assault team. To find out more, I would recommend you watch the film yourself.

The inspiration of the film was certainly from the emergency era where perhaps similar events unfolded. Ajay Devgan portrays his character with ease; not only that, he makes a remarkable impression with the dialogues that have been penned by Rajat Arora. Emraan Hashmi is yet another delight. Vidyut Jamwaleffortlessly plays the role of an army officer.

Once again Milan Luthriamanages to live up to his promise; although this is not one of his bests! He is the man who has has delivered 'KachcheDhaage' and 'Once Up on a Time in Mumbaai' and this piece is nowhere close to his earlier work. Powerful writing by Rajat Arora comes as a savior. Numerous scenes are packed with metaphorical dialogues that will build the required tension without any drama. The background score, picturesque cinematography and crisp editing also make this a commendable thriller. This one deserves good audience, especially the ones who enjoy the thrillin the chase!

This film has a lot of "style" and "substance"; slick in sepia-toned, sandy Rajasthan. :). You will enjoy this heist-action film despite the apparent flaws.Baadshaho strikes a perfect balance between story and swagger. It's gripping; however, the pace loses steam post-interval. Nevertheless, other departments are good enough to pull the film until the climax.

Most films give enough mind space to predict what will happen next; they also present an opportunity to think on whether or not you are enjoying a film. Baadshaho doesn't give you much of a chance to think about how you are feeling about the film and succeeds in keeping you guessing about the next twist in a good way – but only in the first half.

Every time Bhavani (Ajay Devgn) and his gang get into a troublesome and complicated situation, you think of the many ways that they will uncomplicate. The film surprises with its solution and that's the beauty. This is what we expect from seasoned filmmakers. Unfortunately, the second half just goes loose. Also, I would like to talk about parental guidance -there's loads of Violence and a couple of abusive words. We can seebare-chested men and bare-backed women. The film has a couple of making out scenes.

Coming back to the advantages of this action slick-flick – it has been showcased in an interesting and different setting. Rajasthan in the 70s has been used and the events are planned using the emergency. Characterization and its building is interesting. Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Sanjai Mishra, Vidyut Jamwal – have delivered their best. The surprise element was Ileana D'cruz - her character is of a shrewd ruler and she is convincing.

For the action part, I just need to summarize – it's an Ajay Devgn film!The songs are nice to listen to, and the background score is apt. Dialogues are the highlights; some could go down very well as Bollywood dialogue memories. You can definitely consider this over the weekend.

'Baadshaho' is a typical B-Movie, with a A-list budget, director & cast. And to its luck, it succeeds in being a thoroughly watchable heist flick, that has its own share of pros and cons.

'Baadshaho' Synopsis: An Indian queen (Ileana D'Cruz) asks her bodyguard (Ajay Devgn) to steal back gold taken from her by the Indian government during The Emergency period in 1975, when she is arrested wrongfully.

'Baadshaho' is well-paced & all the stuff revolving around the heist, has moments of fun. Sure, the dialogue are cheesy & done for effect, the Writing is never super-solid (despite a few nice twists) & even has a rather weak climax. But, these minuses don't take away its share of pluses, that are its fast-pace, crackling characters & a genuinely sexy background score, that adds hugely to the narrative.

Rajat Arora's Screenplay has its ups and downs, but luckily, it never runs out of breath. The cheesy dialogue merit a special mention. Milan Luthria's Direction is fair. Cinematography & Editing are alright. Action-Sequences are decent, while The Music has interesting tunes.

Performance-Wise: Ajay Devgn is as usual - macho & committed. Emrran Hashmi does very well in a massy role. Vidyut Jammwal is strictly okay. Ileana D'Cruz is passable, while Esha Gupta has her moments. Sanjay Mishra is first-rate, yet again! Sharad Kelkar is wasted.

On the whole, 'Baadshaho' is a fair watch.

Don't go by the ratings, this is a crap movie, a total waste of time. I don't write reviews professionally but I'm compelled to warn you after wasting my time and money.

Ajay Devgn,Emraan Hashmi & Sanjay Mishra are far better actors than what they did in this Milan Luthria's directorial failure. They couldn't depict the era according to the movie plot. It was full of shortcomings from the very start and add to it the most ambiguous climax.

It seemed like the acting talent and the plot was wasted very badly by monotonous repetitive dialogues and flawed sequences.