The Shaukeens

There is nothing new in the name of story or idea. Screenplay is pushy and routine. Dialogues are fairly good. Story, screenplay and dialogues are by Tigmanshu Dhuliya. Plot is clearly lifted from old SHAUKEEN but still how they can solo claim about story, I am unable to understand. First half is very slow. Second half saves a bit. One side you try to strict yourself for exploring the possibility of naughty side of subject but then expose the lead lady in bikini!!! This is contradiction in makers vision. Satire on industry is very subtle, as that Bengali Director track, which is lengthy but hardly funny. Persons belonging to industry can get that Nav Ras, Methodical Acting satire but difficult for a common audience to get it. Only one thing that saves this film from being unbearably bore is performance. Anuu Kapoor, Anupam Kher and Piyush Mishra are superb. Lisa Haydon is just OK. Akshay Kumar is fine. Music is OK but choreography is over board.

A remake of the delightful 1982 film Shaukeen directed by Basu Chatterjee, 'The Shaukeens' is a disappointing remake. This one lacks humor & most importantly charm, which its much-loved original proudly boasted. If there is anything that works in 'The Shaukeens', its Akshay Kumar, who entertains throughly in a cameo.

'The Shaukeens' Synopsis: In order to sleep with a sexy young girl, 3 old lecherous men hatch a plan to get her to meet her film idol, in order for naughty returns.

The original also was about 3 old men trying to woo a young girl, but the humor & storytelling there was neat, clean & cute. But, this remake is crass & crude. There's nothing wrong by giving a story an all new interpretation, but it will only work if the Writing Material is strong. In 'The Shaukeens' case, the Writing also doesn't support much.

The Screenplay Written by Tigmanshu Dhulia & Sai Kabir offers some genuinely funny moments & the addition Akshay's track, which didn't exist in the original, is indeed super. But otherwise, the tale of the 3 old men & the young lady, is a tad under-whelming.

Abhishek Sharma's Direction is limited to a few frames. Cinematography captures the locales of Mauritius well. Editing is fairly done. Music by Various Artists, is melodious.

Performance-Wise: Akshay Kumar steals the show, hands down! As an alcoholic superstar who's in desperate need to win an Indian Oscar, Akshay nails the part & is also the film's best joke. Annu Kapoor, Piyush Mishra & Anupam Kher enact the lecherous oldies with sincerity. Annu, especially, leaves a mark. Lisa Haydon looks hot, but is strictly okay acting wise. Kavin Dave & Vineet are mention-worthy in minor roles.

On the whole, Watch 'The Shaukeens' for Akshay, who spoofs himself hilariously! Otherwise, this one's a yawn!

The Shaukeens is a story of three oldies - KD, Lali and Pinki. These lusty old men plan a trip to Mauritius after it becomes difficult, rather life-threatening for them to get some action in Delhi.

In Mauritius the trio stay with a young fashion designer Ahana (Lisa Haydon). Ahana, a huge Akshay Kumar fan, is nursing a broken heart.

Akshay Kumar (playing himself), is an alcoholic superstar desperately wanting to win the National Award. He is stuck between a Bengali director who gives him tips on method-acting and a secretary, hell bent on getting his superstar boss focus on Rs.200- cr club.

When Akshay Kumar comes to Mauritius for a shoot, Ahana falls in love with him. The three oldies, needless to say, are already in love (read lust) with Ahana. In the end, who gets whom and what, is all that The Shaukeens is about.

The Shaukeens is a remake, rather recreation of Basu Chatterjee's 1982 Shaukeen starring Ashok Kumar, Utapal Dutt, AK Hangal, Rati Agnihotri and Mithun Chakraborty. Directed by Abhishek Sharma, The Shukeens boasts of pace and crispy dialogs. Tigmanshu Dhulia's tight screenplay and flawless act by the three veterans make the film immensely watchable.

3 friends are in search of a lady partner to satisfy their ever long lust. So they try various things from local farmhouse to bangkok, and gets landed in between which is Mauritius, and story unfolds in unexpected way and finishes in unexpected way too. Rest is suspense.

Acting is undoubtedly very good by all actors involved. Akshay is no suspense as he is shown in all promos. How he is involved in this story is very unexpected too. Technically film is very good, music is super good. Costumes, sets are lively and colorful. Dialogs are very good too. But after watching the film you will feel that you actually liked the film and something remains missing.

That something can be attributed to unpolished script. First half is senseless and one might wonder what was achieved in first half ? If one watches second half only then also that will have same effect.

Improvisation could have been done in first half like how they come to Mauritius can be made like a chase and run thriller. Guys chasing a gal , gal goes to Mauritius and these guys lands there too but meets another gal to fall for. Bit more speed was needed in first half taking the climax to much higher speed.

Overall it is one time watch for your money.

The movie was among the few I was waiting to watch mainly because of the three brilliant oldies. After a brief spell in the first half where it I was intrigued at what's gonna happen it all fell apart in the second half. The pace of the movie somehow fell drastically. Nothing unexpected happened and you will feel it was like that could have been the worst possible ending.

Akshay was brilliant to begin with but as the movie progressed he showed signs of Chandni Chowk to China once again. The actress around which the whole movie revolves did not show any signs of acting and at times it was irritating to see her say everything in the same manner. Oh boy, how much she could do with some acting lessons.

It is a one time watch hardly and that's only because of the sheer respect towards the senior citizens of Bollywood.