Shabana, Treinada para Matar

"Baby 2015" raised the bar of Indian Cinema with its taut, exhilarating and tight screenplay. It had a lot of new elements which made it an amazing film and it was another feather in the cap of director Neeraj Pandey. "Naam Shabana" is a prequel to "Baby" which depicts how the character of Tapasee Pannu was included in the Agency.

A comparison with Baby is a sure thing here but Naam Shabana disappoints. It could not transport the expectations "Baby" inflicted because of its weak screenplay and execution of the subject matter.

It takes at least 45 minutes to get the grip of the plot and misses the point repeatedly. The production value was not as good as "Baby" had. We understand that it is an entirely different movie than "Baby" however when we had already witnessed an astounding movie, the judgment is inevitable.

Tapasee is a very good actor and has done the job tremendously, the extended appearance of Akshay Kumar adds a worth to the movie.

Overall you can watch this movie for Tapasee, do not expect it to be a tense thriller like "Baby".

A spin-off of the 2015 film Baby, 'Naam Shabana' is a mostly crisp & decent action film, that rises on the strength of Taapsee Pannu's heroic performance. The usually under-utilized actress is kick-ass in titular role & offers the much needed punch to the proceedings.

'Naam Shabana' Synopsis: Shabana teams up with Indian Agents to take down her boyfriend's murderers & an international arms dealer.

'Naam Shabana' has an engaging first-hour, where Shabana's turn from a simpleton to a vengeful young-blood offers sharpness. The second-hour is a bit less engaging, but things remain crisp. In fact, the first-hour is more about Shabana's origin & why she turns into an Indian spy, while the second-hour focuses more on a conniving international arms dealer (Prithviraj Sukumaran), who Shabana is assigned to take down. I wish the Writing remained strong in the second-hour, as there was genuine potential here. Nevertheless, the film is consistently watchable.

Neeraj Pandey's Screenplay has a winning first-hour, but an ordinary second. Shivam Nair's Direction is sleek. Cinematography is well-done. Editing remains to the point. Art & Costume Design are fine. Action-Sequences are sharply choreographed.

Performance-Wise: Taapsee, it is! The actress is in top-form here, delivering her best performance in a Hindi film to date. Also, her skill for action/stunts, is commendable. Of the rest of the cast, the ever-reliable Manoj Bajpayee scores, while Akshay Kumar has a blast in a strong supporting role. Prithviraj Sukumaran is okay as the villain, while Shiva Dagar leaves a mark.

On the whole, 'Naam Shabana' is a showcase of Taapsee's talent. Watch it for her, if nothing else.

Before watching this movie, i was kinda expecting too much, may b just on the level of baby. Starting from love scene, the serious tragic emotion on her face, her brave girl show off, her crying, etc. all seems like as if she was trying too much to go in that character but still failing to get it along. While watching i was kind of bored until Akshay comes on. That can be said as the relief for the guys. She looked good as a sidekick of Akshay but as lead she completely ruins it. One more thing to point out that lead actress life was extended too much before starting the real story. At last i can only say while watching i never felt connected to her character at all from starting. And ya at last she looked completely as a novice in Kungfu or whatever form of fight it was. Her stances, her moves seems nothing like the character she was playing. A simple tip: Songs weren't required. Some training would have helped her a lot. If she would have got some muscles etc while going through training in the movie, it would have been a plus point.

I like these kind of movies where they take a character and try to build upon that. The character played by Tapsee seems to be tailor made for her, and she does full justice to it. I agree there are songs in the movie which could have been just edited away as the pace of the movie is quite good and keeps you interested and you are left off with the feeling, what the heck are the songs doing here.

was hoping for more acting from the character portrayed by Pritviraj, but that again seems to be hurried

Overall a good one time watch. Hope they don't make another one named 'Naam Om Prakash Shukla' :)

Neeraj Pandey ,the name is enough for the classy films but this time he should have give some more time to the script . Dialogues are not at the level of 'Baby' . -> Acting - Tappsi was way too good, no one can do better then her,though you can expect Sonaksi on the same role,she also could have done the same. Akshay Kumar's entry going to make you Clap & his dialogue " I have come so far,let me do something" is stay with you for ages. Prthviraj- As dangerous as hunk, his style made him a perfect villain. Monoj Bajpai - Is always good and real, and here also he did his part , but his policeman or CBI OT RAW acting was seen by us earlier also,so nothing that new. His boosting dialogue " Females are born with extra strain in their DNH, Males need extra gadgets, Females are pre- configured " is boiling & inspiring. Anupam Kerr didn't get anything special role and Taher is Sweet in his parts. -> Direction - By Shivam Nair is good, I will not say is best, but fault is all of Neeraj pandey,his story is new and engaging but script & dialogues lapsed. -> Music - expect the 1st love song is good the other club songs are just hearable. Background music is same tempting as 'baby' had.

-> Last words- It is lack of that intelligence as expected but still better than many . The only bad scenes are in the Climax part,it could be nail-biting, Anupam Kerr should be used more & 3Mintutes escape from hospital is seems too easy and as usual.

Do Watch it, it's Good enough to make your weekend, So,overall 3 starts.