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29 March 2024

Tashan is all style, no substance

(SUPPLIED)

Published
By Bindu Rai
 

Vijay Krishna Acharya, the man who achieved fame by penning the script of Dhoom 2 has now turned director with Tashan (Style).

As with any film produced under the Yash Raj banner, no expense has been spared in making this film their most stylish yet (pun intended). Stars Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor have undergone makeovers for their respective roles, and the transformation works to an extent thanks to designer Aki Narula’s artistic vision.

The film opens with Saif’s Jimmy, a call centre yuppie who falls hard for Pooja (Kareena), a woman with a mysterious past. Pooja may seem a tomboy, but she uses her feminine wiles when things get rough. And things can’t get rougher than owing money to one of the most dreaded mafia men in town, aka Bhaiyaji (Anil Kapoor).

Bhaiyaji is your average gangster who enjoys killing people as much as he enjoys speaking English. But even though he struggles with his ABCs, he will not let Pooja pull a fast one. He promptly enlists the help of Bachchan Pandey (Akshay Kumar), a small-time ‘recovery’ officer who dreams of running his own mafia agency one day.

Bachchan joins Pooja and Jimmy on a roadtrip to recover the missing money  that takes the trio from the foothills of Ladakh to the backwaters of Kerala.

But things get complicated when Bachchan falls in love with Pooja and tries to make her his bride before this adventure ends.

While the rugged landscape of India is brilliantly captured on camera, the acting, well, that’s a different story entirely. Saif should do us all a favour and stop dancing in films and hopefully take Kareena’s on-screen histrionics with him. After last year’s remarkable performance in Jab We Met, Kareena disappoints and her size-zero body and skimpy clothes do nothing for the viewer. But if you are a fan of the real-life couple, at least you won’t be disappointed by their on-screen chemistry.

The true stars of the film, though, are Akshay and Anil, with their perfect sense of comic timing and the confidence with which they portray their complex characters. If only Anil was given more screen time in this madcap roadtrip to nowhere.

 

Tashan. Stars Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Rated PG.