Naqaab

The film's tag-line said it all which is "The most shocking thriller of the year". It was really shocking with twists & turns that were impossible to predict. You just don't know who is bad, who is good? and what is their motive? Do not mistake this film as another love triangle about two guys fighting for one girl because it's completely different. Urvashi Sharma (Sophie) was OK for her first film but Bobby Deol (Karan) and Akshaye Khanna (Vicky) were terrific as usual, it is great to see them again after Humraaz. Music is excellent composed by one of my favourite composers Pritam. The best songs are Ek Din (which stands out with its memorable Spanish guitar intro) and Aye Dil sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. Abbas-Mustan are known for creating good music in all of their films. They are one of my favourite directors; I loved their films ever since I seen Baazigar. Although they are inspired from Hollywood movies but their films are better than the original which are:

Naqaab- Dot the I (2003)

36 China Town- Chinatown (1974)

Aitraaz- Disclosure (1994)

Humraaz- A Perfect Murder (1998)

Ajnabee- Consenting Adults (1992)

Daraar- Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)

Baazigar- A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

Having seen this with no idea what it was about, I wasn't sure if it was going to be a complete song-and-dance-fest..or not. But, I stuck through it all. A couple of minutes of no subtitles in some sections, subtitles of spoken English that didn't match the spoken English and spelling mistakes in the subtitles added to the hilarity. It doesn't try to be a comedy, but is completely unbelievable throughout and features a ridiculous storyline that becomes more hilarious towards the end.

If you didn't pay to see the film (I used my unlimited pass, so I can see as many films as I like in a month for one price), then great, it's a passable form of entertainment as long as you don't expect, well, anything at all. Otherwise, unlucky.

So Naqaab includes three amazing actors Bobby Deol, Urvashi Sharma and Akshay Khanna. This movie consists of a roller coaster ride where we can see a poor girl and a millionaire with a fantasy love story with a twist of a third person entering into their lives. Sophie (Urvashi Sharma) who believes in living-in the moment with independent aspirations; who loves to earn money for herself despite of having a lavish live-in life with Karan (Bobby Deol); a multi-millionaire who fell in love with her despite of knowing that she was poor. Their lives were perfect until on the day of the engagement party Vicky Malhotra aka Akshay Khanna crashes the event and dances with the gorgeous bride in the absence of Karan... How the story takes turns with some spicy love scenes happening between Sophie and Vicky despite of her marriage and the main twist arrives when Karan gets to know about them and he did nothing... In order to see a gentleman Karan's story you need to dig into this movie to know a crazy twist...

Review of the Best Song(10/10): Ek Din Teri Rahoon For an amazing song coordination of the beats and KK's voice.

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.

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