Special Chabbis

After having watched "A Wednesday" by Neeraj Pandey innumerable times, I stepped into the cinema hall with high expectations from his latest movie Special Chabbis. And Pandeyjee has managed to pull off another amazing entertainer with a fast-paced & exciting plot. This is one of those movies which keeps on lingering in your mind even after the climax and you keep going back to the brilliant sequence of events and how they were executed throughout the plot.

The movie is set in 1987 based on a true incident when a person posed as a fake CBI officer and robbed a famous jeweller at the Opera House in Mumbai. This incident forms the basis of the plot and how a group of conmen conduct false raids as CBI or IT officials to con politicians, businessmen and high profile people to rob them of their money. These heists are never reported as most of the money is black money and none of these high profile people want to be in the news for wrong reasons.

Neeraj Pandey after his directorial debut with A Wednesday completely redeems himself with Special Chabbis and reaffirms his position as a master director. He is definitely not a one film wonder and a director to watch out for in the future. The best and the most noticeable part of the film is the period that it has been set in. 1980's have been very effectively portrayed in the movie, whether it was the cars running on the roads or the streets of Delhi especially well known areas like the Connaught Place, whether it was the print style of the newspapers or the clothes and jewellery worn by the actors. The whole movie seems to be set in 1980 and all credit goes to the art director along with the director. I am still wondering how he shot in the heart of Delhi with all these props from the 80s.

The casting is perfect and each character in the ensemble of great actors delivers are powerful performance. Akshay Kumar has always been a great actor for me despite critics and so-called intelligent viewers writing him off. As the linchpin of the team he is subtle, intelligent and still manages to be funny in his own earthly way. This is definitely another feather in his cap with his long list of successful movies. Anupam Kher as a vulnerable supporter of the leader and a lustful old man (considering his long line of children) is superb and reminds of a perfect Punjabi uncle. Rajesh Sharma (Munjal from the movie Khosla ka Ghosla) as the third character fits perfectly into the well oiled team as the big guy from a Purani Dilli joint family. Kishore Kadam as the oppressed husband though a reserved role makes an impact. Jimmy Shergill's portrayal of a frustrated suspended police officer is very believable and you can't fail but empathize with the character of Sub- Inspector Ranveer Singh. But, Manoj Bajpayee is the actor which never ceases to amaze me. You put him any role and he shines, sometimes more than the protagonist. As a no nonsense CBI officer he again steals the show and gives another honest performance worth a standing ovation. Kajal Aggarwal (from Singham) is a pretty girl and looks pretty, however her character's contribution to the story is a little frivolous.

The climax hits you in typical Neeraj Pandey style which I am sure is fast becoming his signature style in his movies. Full marks to him for great direction, amazing portrayal of all characters, great plot, superb casting and above all perfect detailing.

Go and watch it, and I definitely can again. This one definitely lived up to my expectations and left me hungry for more (I waited till the end of casting hoping there would be another surprise scene at the end).

He did it again. Though budget was seven times than "A Wednesday" (first masterpiece directed by Neeraj Pandey ) still it wasn't much hyped one ( or may be i don't watch TV these days). I came to know about this notorious saga when one of my friend messaged me to watch it . Thanks to her!! Its being ages since I watched well crafted ingenious Bollywood thriller( recommended to get over with trauma of Race 2). And that to con classic is a really a treat. And what makes it more interesting is "Based on real story" factor (though definitely more fiction).

The movie is set in late 80's (specifically 1987). For starting 10 minute never felt that its a con movie. Thought of some kind of vigilant drama. But then subtle revelation made it clear. Story moves with introduction of all characters. One thing which was perfect about the movie was the feel of 80's. Airports, roads, vehicles, hotels,places where people use to hide money, panoramic view of cities, clips of events from 80's, demeanor of characters (Pleat pants wore by Bajpai,simple sweaters even the watch wore by Akshay was 80's item). The perfectly executed raid scenes with money shelled out from imaginative places. Brilliant and unpredictable climax. All adding stars to this con epic.

Only week points were repetition of some scenes which were unnecessary, lady love of Akshay Kumar as per Indian Rule book, boring songs.

Good to see Akshay Kumar doing something good (small trivia Neeraj waited for this movie almost 3 years just because he wanted Akshay to play lead role and in return benign Akshay charged only half of his normal fees), Anupam Kher and Manoj Bajpai at their best. Others playing their part.

Final verdict : Watch it for intelligent con thriller, horse and buggy Indian days and Stellar Akshay Kumar's performance.

Rating : 8/10.

Finally 2013 has its first Awesome movie. Its been an year with all crappy movies so far. Special 26 steals the show easily.

The characters and actors have been so well chosen. Each actor has got the perfect character. The casting could not have been better than this. The direction is superb. So is the Art Direction. The story does not lag anywhere. So its a superb story with some really good editing.

Talking about actors -

Akshay Kumar - comes out of his day to day roles of khiladi and joker stuff. This is serious cinema which makes him a complete actor.

Anupam Kher - reminds everyone that he is still very much the same awesome actor as the one in 90s.

Jimmy Sheirgill - chooses the right kind of role finally. He perfectly fits the role of SI Ranvir Singh and also fits well in the 1987 plot.

Manoj Bajpai - as good as ever. Special 26 ka CBI inspector Waseem Khan is as good as Wasseypur ka Sardar Khan.

Kavya - hardly any role for her. Shes in the movie for songs only.

Divya Dutta - standard supportive role. does well.

Others - very well done.

Art direction for Delhi steals the show. the 1987 Delhi has been brought alive. details have been worked out well. 1987 Mumbai disappointed. I guess it was very tough to recreate that so the director and the VFX team chose the green screen. Thats the shoddiest part of the movie and hence i gave the 9/10 and not a full tenner.

Verdict : The movie can definitely been seen more than once at a theater if you get the tickets. It is gonna be a houseful for some days.

I just have to say that they have got traits of several movies (Oceans Trilogy and The Illusionist to be exact). But they have woven a great story around a perfect plot so well, that one would enjoy every aspect of it. Yet another great work from the magician named Neeraj Pandey. Even Akshay Kumar's presence has been good, amazingly. Anupam Kher also have done a marvelous job, and so has Manoj Vajpayee. The cinematography and the BGM shot off the hook, while the special effects were quite lame.

The overall screenplay has so been so beautifully shot, and the basic plot being excellently set, one would actually enjoy this movie to its core. This is a great watch for all movie lovers. From within, I told myself while watching this movie, "Finally, an entertainer. And that too a proper one...from Bollywood, after a long period of time."

Movie name says it all, its special for movie lovers, awesome story, perfect movie. Everyone gave their best, there are no OTT actions or cheap comedy, no unwanted songs, not a remake from south, original script from perfectionist Neeraj. Akshay Kumar made an u turn with this movie, he should choose more movies like this instead of comedies where he can show his real talent. Manoj and Anupam was awesome. Bolly should make more movies like this then soon Bolly will be compared with Hollywood. the climax of this movie will make u speechless, awesome twist at the climax. Neeraj is perfectionist, his debut A Wednesday was awesome, now he delivers Special 26, like A Wednesday we can watch Special 26 again and again and can say What A Special Movie This Was. One word for the movie EPIC