8 x 10 Tasveer

It's probably a coincidence that the latest Bollywood offerings the last week had to do with photographs. In Aa Dekhen Zara, Neil Nitin Mukesh plays a photographer who discovers the secrets of a camera that has (well, I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag) powers to do with time. And in 8x10 Tasveer (photograph), Akshay Kumar plays forest ranger Jai, working for Environmental Protection in Alberta, Canada, who possesses the supernatural ability of transporting his soul back to the past, assuming the point of view of the person in the photograph whom he's staring at.

Unlike The Butterfly Effect, his abilities are more passive. He cannot manipulate events as experienced by the body he's staring out from, and neither can he linger around for more than a minute, as each transportation brings about some severe weakening of his macho physique, akin to being knocked out by a heavyweight champion. So it's a risk he has to undertake in order to assist strangers who sought him out to help in locating their loved ones, and nothing will prepare him to use this power to solve his dad's murder aboard a luxury yacht.

Akshay Kumar didn't get plenty of love from the box office for his previous kung-fu movie Chandni Chowk to China, which I had enjoyed actually. While I find this suspense thriller an above average flick thanks to Kumar's charismatic presence, one just cannot shrug away the sense of familiarity and deja vu in having watched a version of this film somewhere (someone jog my memory please!). 8x10 Tasveer still contains a decent "whodunnit" storyline that will keep you guessing, but only because it has that rug on standby just beneath your feet, which I think some would cry foul in being thrown an unexpected spanner from the blind side into the works.

Supporting Jai in his quest to seek the truth, even as he subscribes to unorthodox methods, is ex-cop Happi ("Happy with an I") played by Javed Jaffrey (who voiced the villain Charlie Anna in Roadside Romeo), taking an interest in the publicized death just because he was on the receiving end of tremendous assistance given by Jai's father in helping him to settle down in a strange new city (of Toronto!). Happi's an interesting character injected just for some light hearted laughs though, being a character afflicted with OCD and kudos to Jaffrey in having to play this socially awkward character misfit who should have deserved more screen time.

The narrative did feel draggy for a bit, despite clocking just under 2 hours with only one short musical ballad serving as a romantic interlude between Jai and his lady love Sheila (Ayesha Takia). And while you know that at some point Jai will have to perform a brute-force investigation by peeking through the eyes of everyone in a photograph, it just takes a while to get to that stage, before shifting into high gear during the last 30 minutes where you're likely to be surprised with a sudden turn of events. On one hand there was a sudden lift in the lull of the mystery, but on the other you'd feel it's one of those plot developments that felt a little of a cop out. It did answer some questions should you rewatch the film though, but seasoned mystery fans would likely clamour for more than the usual.

And does anyone think Akshay Kumar does look like Nicholas Cage with that hang-dog look and closely crop hairdo? That 8x10 Tasveer poster did make Akshay resemble Cage in that Ghost Rider poster, and this film did feel like one which Cage would have no problems stepping into as well. 8x10 Tasveer is decent, though there's nothing that will particularly make you sit up and exclaim Wow.

i saw this movie. i liked the story. but i felt there is some problem in the direction, they made the movie like a family drama or something like that. a bit of chill and would have made it better. in whole cinema in just one scene it looks like thriller, the scene where akshay and Ayesha searching the house. I also felt tired watching the same scene again again when it shows akshay going into the pic and his journey to the boat. in the movie they can give some clues about the ending to us, at once the ending feels like the '80's movie. but hats off to the production team to try a new genre... but whatever it is, it is not a thriller, you can say it mystery movie.

What a good movie. Well acted, good suspense, keeps you guessing. Yes a bit on the supernatural but that's the fun! Ignore negative reviews, give it a go!

Its not bad as it's projected to be. Akshay Kumar's flop-series have resulted in denting the prospects of 8x10 Tasveer. In my opinion, 8x10 is indeed quite an intelligent movie and deserves intelligent audience to appreciate it.

Akshay Kumar:: Delivers a good performance. And yes, special mention to his fresh look. Seems like he is back in shape.

Jaaved Jaffery:: At the risk of being repetitive, he indeed has potential. Pity Bollywood doesn't pay attention.

The rest of the star-cast is adequate.

The look of the movie is very much Hollywoodish and this cannot be refuted. Even the cycling scenes are aesthetically done. Notice the execution when the GMC revves the engines - indeed Hollywood standards. And yes, the execution and portrayal of Akshay Kumar ability is of top standards. The narrative deserves special mention here. At a given point in time, the audience is shown what is warranted thereby keeping the suspense alive. Kudos to Mr. Kukunoor (well, he has followed this format in Teen Deewarien earlier).

I seriously hope 8x10 gets critical acclaim for Mr. Kukunoor for he well-deserves it and indeed catapults him into the big league.

my rating - 8/10. another super performance from the best in the business "AKSHAY KUMAR". akki has a super natural power to go in the past time through pictures , the time whenever those pics were taken... n he uses this power to solve his own dad's murder mystery.. the story is simple but the visual effects r very well done... n the music is outstanding,both songs n background score , n i m glad that there is only one song in this movie.. the length of the movie is also ideal , almost 2 hours...

"u need to see it , go watch the "8 * 10"" (i need the picture , go get the "8 * 10") just hail the king of kings "AKSHAY KUMAR"....