Elaan

I hate to downplay a movie specially when the Filmamakers spend enormous amount of money on a foreign location but when they come up with a jalopy action film-it is well deserved. First and foremost is the music or lack of it specially the background music. The Story is as stagnant as the waters of Venice(It appears that Venice has only two cars and both are used by Baba Secunder). The two actors who cannot emote are Lara Dutta and Arjun Rampal and the two who can are Amisha Patel and John Abraham-and the one who really did some acting was Rahul Khanna. As far as Amisha Patel-this square jawed actress with ears as big as Himachal Pradesh looks cute in Anna Singh designed clothes but she has peaked in her acting with "Gadar" and looks with "Humraaz". As far as John Abraham-a good actor under state of confusion.Mithun Chakraborty--fits the bill as a Hindi Villain, since he is tall,dark,has long sideburns (or freshly painted)), and his voice comes across as strong and mean for ransom demands on Board room speaker phones!. I can't fathom a director in the caliber of Vikram Bhatt (Raaz) directing this "junk Bond" film. The song breaks and the "personal narration" that breaks into a song interludes are the only break from the monotony of endless gunfire when the ammo runs out a lifeless character is doneaway. The movie has nothing to offer in the way of entertainment or action-a disappointment coming from Vikram Bhatt.

At the start, it was a little slow to pick up but once all five main characters have been established, then the true action begins. A prominent business man in Mumbai is murdered, and his son puts together a team of heroes to help bring his father's killer to justice. That would be the best way to summarise it. But I will go further in the next paragraphs because I loved this film so much. Basically, the story is about NRI Karan Shah who returns home to India when he is summoned that his father has been receiving death threats due to an extortion that he (the father) refuses to cave in to. When KS reaches India, instead of adhering to his sister's pleas to send the money to the underworld lord who has been bothering them, he advices his father to stick to his guns and not cave in to the madness. In the process, the father is killed and the sister alienates herself from the brother.

The brother then takes the task upon himself to seek revenge for his father's death, in the process he meets a plucky reporter played by Amisha Patel, who instantly is smitten with him but to whom he does not return her affections. He reluctantly allows her to tang along on the journey to Switzerland which along the way he also recruits Arjun Rampal's character, a former police officer who is also a widower with a little daughter at home. Rampal's characters leads the assembling team to John Abraham's character, who is a career criminal and former henchman for Baba Sikander (the underworld lord). Currently doing time behind bars, they help him escape from prison and he leads them to Lara Dutta's character, whom he tells them is Baba's the underworld lord girlfriend. The team of five unlikely heroes is then assembled and the plot thickens as Baba leads them on a wild goose chase through Europe. The truth about Lara Dutta's character is soon revealed and the team wonder if they can ever trust Abraham again.

This film reminded me very much about Khakee but with a different spin on the idea of extraditing a criminal from point A to point B. The grail here is not so holy, in fact, the grail here is not holy at all. The character introductions were excellent, I really enjoyed the way they slowly panned that out and the way one character always led to another. One scene that really stuck out to me was the one in which the director capture's Arjun's powerful rage when he attacks Baba Sikander's underworld henchmen following the death of his wife. The action scenes in the rain (at the French border) were also awesome! especially John Abraham's umbrella stunts. Amisha Patel plays her reporter babe with decent fervour. She is feisty, this woman! :) And Lara Dutta captures sexy like you've never seen before!

But as much as I loved this film, there were a few problems that I had with it, and they are as follows:

1.] What kind of tight security allows for an assassin hiding in an elevator shaft to go undetected?

2.] The character Arjun is a former police inspector who lost both his job and wife yet he can still afford to live in a swanky hill top retreat-like home?

3.] Nurses in the ICU bring Arjun's newborn baby out into the hospital's reception where Arjun is waiting. A newborn baby? weren't they worried about the baby catching anything or being exposed and stuff? I dunno, but it didn't look right to me.

4.] If Baba Sikander was so powerful, then why didn't he order a hit on Karan Shah when he was threatened?

5.] The blatant disregard for the dead. {see John Abraham's jail breakout scene}

6.] Abhimanu (John Abraham) is given a fake name which he never bothers to use during the course of the film.

That said, how many films can you find so many problems with and yet still love it? Elaan totally rocked. Maybe it was the double-dose of eye-candy they gave use by casting John Abraham and Arjun Rampal, I dunno but whatever they did, I liked it. :)

I also liked and picked up on the love triangle that many people may miss or may have missed watching the film. Amisha Patel's character is in love with Karan Shah, but every time she made a move, KS would rebuff her. Arjun picked up on this and started showing her affection. If you missed this the first time, go back and watch it and you will see. I feel the the love triangle is the reason for the Arjun shocker twist! One angle of the triangle always has to yield to the most dominant and in the end only two can be equal.

Mithun "Dada" makes a great comeback as the antagonist in this action-packed thriller. He proves his worth in the climax of the movie with his convincing expressions and dialogues. Action is fantastic. Set in Europe, the action sequences are very thrilling. The beauty of Indian cinema is that even in a hardcore action film, you'll find a soul and emotions. The bonding of the "five unlikely heroes," their support for each other, and their determinations and frustrations were nicely shown. However, there is not much of a story in this movie. There is basically one mission for the team of five and their efforts towards accomplishing it. Nonetheless, the well-executed action scenes and character development fill that void. Songs are OK. Performances are decent. (Funny note: John Abraham's yelling/hissing noise at the end is really comical.)

I just saw this movie on weekend and loved every bit of it !! i don't know whether its going to be a hit commercially but it was fun action packed ride. very few Indian films match upto the technical quality shown in this film, it is heavily inspired by classics like shaan and sholay but the subject of catching a terrorist is treated differently and effectively, critics said the film lacks in content but it was never meant to be a dramatic fare. it lives upto the best in the genre of action thrillers. after "dhoom" this is the best Indian action film. performances were good and good to see mithun back on the big screen after a long time. if u like action movies you will love this one.

8 out of 10.

Vikram Bhatt's 'Elaan' which came way back in 2005, is still in my mind because of Mithun Chakraborty. I feel Elaan will be remembered for the outstanding portrayal of Mithunda. I can go on and on praising Mithunda.... but even as a film 'Elaan' is underrated. The film is entertaining and even for a minute you're not bored. The film has its share of flaws, but come on 'Elaan' didn't promise to be a milestone of a watch. A very well-directed film, with a stellar performance by Mithunda.

Pluses of the film: Mithunda, Mithunda, Mithunda, Mithunda. He's the biggest asset of the venture, playing Baba Sikandar to perfection. He's fantastic from start to end. Vikram Bhatt has directed the film very well. The stunts are very-well done. Performances by the other actor are also good: Rahul Khanna plays his part well. Arjun Rampal is very good, and yes his exit gives a lump in your throat. John is likable. Amisha and Lara are decent. Chunkey Pandey is passable.

Minuses of the film: Mithunda should have been there throughout.

on the whole 'Elaan' is a entertaining watch... more than anything else, watch it for legendary actor Mithunda's powerful performance.