Wanted

This was a surprise in waiting – good action movie that will keep you seated in your seat and make you enjoy watching it. A arrogant, ruthless, sharp shooter and a gangster, who works for a "Don," on his own terms and has no emotions, becomes a killing machine as he starts killing his boss's enemies but then he sees a beautiful woman. At the same time he has enemies.

Starring Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Mahesh Manrekar, Vinod Khanna, Om Puri and Sayaji Shinde, this is directed by Prabhudeva and is produced by Boney Kapoor. The music score is provided by Sajid Wajid while Salim Suleiman also provide a good back ground score. Anil Kapoor and Govinda make a special appearance.

The first half contains some comedy along with romance and action and this makes it a good combination to watch but the second half is more action orientated. Salman Khan has suited the role very well and it makes it a change to see him in action after a long time, though he does remove his shirt, while Ayesha Takia, has improved once again. The other actors also make a good contribution to this movie as does Vinod Khanna in a supporting role and whose character really pushes the story to its climax. Some songs are memorable and are worth listening to and the cinematography is also worth watching.

Director Prabhudeva has done a good job in directing this romantic, action movie with added small dose of comedy.

Some may find this too violent but it is a movie that can be watched with your family and is worth watching.

It's good news for the real Bollywood fans, the common man, living out of the metros in small cities, towns and villages. Salman Khan brings back to them their good old action cinema with the same punches and enthusiasm which got lost in the new age glossy kind of movies in the recent years. The angry young man is back on the screen bashing all the bad men real hard. And it was indeed a lot of fun and relief to see a true Bollywood kind of movie after a long time stuffed with our own trademark action, fights, love, dance and songs.

Remake of "Pokiri" already made in Telugu and Tamil, "Wanted" starts off normally with a mention of Mumbai underworld nexus and a newly appointed honest Police Commissioner in the town. Salman Khan makes a routine entry as the usual filmy action hero who works for the underworld dons and is known for his killer instincts and attitude. After a few slow initial moments, the movie starts growing on you gradually and holds a strong grip over the viewer till the intermission. Especially the confronting scene at the basket ball court between Salman and Mahesh Manjrekar sets the mood in and you start enjoying the movie from there on.

The explosive second half is a real treat for the action lovers where Salman beats and kills uncountable men left and right with a great confidence. Here you witness the good old cinema of Bollywood Heroism back on screen where the Macho Man is hitting more than 20 men on the screen among the loud roar of claps and shouts from the audiences. Later we even have a suspense element added towards the climax which though is predictable but still adds more spirit to the highly violent fight sequence in the end.

Salman shows great attitude in his highly brutal act and also looks very cool in his casual shirts & denims. His emotional scenes with Ayesha Takia are equally convincing and enjoyable. Thinking about his amazing action scenes in the movie, you just cannot imagine anyone else doing more justice to the role other than Salman himself. Here, I would also like to mention, one highly appreciable scene in the movie where Salman Khan strongly criticizes his close friend for eating "Gutka". That was indeed a very commendable effort from the actor to save many lives from this highly famous killing habit in the youth today.

Ayesha as the leading lady unexpectedly gives a spirited performance in the movie and is not just there for adding glamour. Mahesh Manjrekar, as the corrupt cop, deserves a special mention for his scenes providing the right momentum to the movie. Govind Namdeo suits the role of Police Chief perfectly but Vinod Khanna is completely wasted in an unimportant role. Mahek Chahal is there as the vamp and Manoj Pahwa tries to make you laugh with his not so entertaining getup.

Sajid Wajid come up with a couple of good numbers enjoyable on the screen (with a special appearance of Govinda & Anil Kapoor), otherwise the movie could easily do without so many songs. Action is the main asset of the movie, getting the much needed support from its Cinematographer. Story wise, "Wanted" has nothing new to offer, but after a long time, Indian Common Man gets a pure MASALA Movie to enjoy on the lines of highly successful action movies released a few decades back. I would even like to rate "Wanted" better than "Ghajini" since it does not take help of any additional (memory) gimmicks added deliberately in the script.

Surprisingly, this hardcore action movie comes from the director "Prabhu Deva" who is more famous in Hindi Cinema for his amazing dance movements. And quite unpredictably, he delivers a highly entertaining flick especially for the single screen theater viewers, who simply love Bollywood movies as one of the most important passions of their lives. The critiques may find it over the top and the thinking viewer may take it as a routine flick with a weak script. But if you are not among any of these, then just go for this engaging action drama and enjoy the three hours in the dark with your friends. It's pure Bollywood for the masses, coming back to the silver screen after a long time. At least, it is not a usual inspired movie from the west for a change.

In a nutshell, if you loved watching Amitabh in "Deewar" & Sunny Deol in "Ghayal", then here is another equally entertaining act by the still young & angry Salman Khan. "Wanted" is undoubtedly among his most hard hitting and enjoyable movies till date with a different Salman altogether as never seen before. So, just go for it now and have a great time with him.

Most of you must be knowing that 'Wanted' is remake of Telugu 'Pokiri'. The Telugu version was itself a great.. so any remake will be delighting. And Prabhu Deva has not made much wear and tear to its original version. That makes 'Wanted' a full entertaining movie. After watching the first show, I expect most will like it and hopefully Salman's wanted will turn out to be a super-hit. Acting was awesome. Most of the crew have performed their role to perfection. Ayesha Takia was at her best. Prakash Raj has proved again and again that he can play any role flawless. Better can be expected from a star like Salman Khan. The bar of expectation risen high enough by a near perfect Mahesh Babu in the original 'Pokiri'. Salman has not done bad anyway. Songs do dishearten. Last but not the least the plot is superb that makes this movie so wonderful. My verdict: a must watch.

Prabhu Deva's 'Wanted' is strictly, strictly, strictly meant for the hoi polloi.

Remake of a Telugu hit,'Wanted' reminds of 80's cinema of bollywood. Fights, Violence... Songs, Romance, Emotional Melodrama, ha 'Wanted' is so outdated. But no doubt, a film like 'Wanted' still manages an audience, as mentioned the film is aimed for the masses & only them. The clap-worthy one-liners, the mar-dhard... all this is pleasing, for them at least.

On the flip side, There's hardy any story. One fight scene, One song, One fight scene, One song. A wafer-thin plot that gets dragging, especially post interval. Plus, the violence and chillam-chili is too much after a certain point. Songs are good to hear, but pop-up for no reason.

Performances: Salman is as usual, though his continuity is inconsistent. In songs he sports long hair, while other-wise a military cut. Ayesha Takia is fair. Mahesh Manjrekar is fantastic as the conniving cop. Prakash Raj is funny, especially in the scene when he tries to escape from the cops, the aftermath is truly hilarious. Vinod Khanna deserved more footage. Inder Kumar, Sajid & Kader Khan's son are good in their parts. Mahek is decent. Manoj Phawa tries hard to make you laugh, but succeeds at times nevertheless. Assem Merchant, Raju Mawani & others are okay.

On the whole, watch 'Wanted'... but don't forget to leave your brains at home.

Owing to the fact that I have watched the original (masterpiece?), my review would be less of an opinion and oscillating towards comparison.

۩ Salman Khan:: The Radhey (from Tere Naam) perhaps was the prerequisite for Salman to earn this role. And he justifies well given his constraints of his style and persona.

۩ Ayesha Takia:: The miss-goody-two-shoes seems to try too hard to appear coy and the penny drops at many places.

۩ Prateekha Lonkar:: Pity this "Iqbal" mother had barely any scenes in the movie.

۩ Manoj Pahwa:: Apt choice in comparison to the original version – but pity the track was edited out completely.

۩ Vinod Khanna:: Its appalling to see the quality and the size of the roles he is reduced to.

۩ Mahesh Manjrekar:: As usual he is reliable and effectively delivers the sleazy and gullible police officer with perfection. Wonder why the original Ashish Vidyarthi was not considered.

۩ Govind Namdeo:: Was adequate but as mentioned above why the the original Sayaji Shinde was considered.

In fact both above were spot on in their original roles and linguistic skills wasn't a constraint either.

۩ Prakash Raj:: He is the only one who reprises the same role in both versions. "Wanted" gives him ample scope to display his histrionics to Bollywood audience and who knows he might be the next Big Baddie in the offing!

The action are hard hitting and delivered with a punch. The good thing about Prabhudeva holding the directorial reigns is that he put special effort on Salman Khan's dancing skills. Sadly if the music could compliment equally – the results would have been set aflame the countdowns on the music video channels. On that note, what difference would it had made if the original director Puri Jagannath was asked to deliver goods instead?

Lastly, the original made a dent in the Telugu cinema and "Wanted" comes about 60% tops. Recommend to lay hands on the DVD of "Pokiri" with English subs at the first instance to discover sacrosanct can get lost in translation.