Movie Review : Action Replayy
Friday, November 05, 2010 4:14:37 PM (IST)
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Pankaj Sabnani, Bollywood Trade Editorial
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AKSHAY KUMAR and AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN IN ACTION REPLAYY
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The retro fever has certainly caught Bollywood big time! First it was Farah Khan’s OM SHANTI OM, which paid a classic tribute to the 70s. To execute a retro theme in a narrative isn’t a piece of cake and Farah executed it with aplomb. Then, in this year itself, came Milan Luthria’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI, which was about the growth of Mumbai’s underworld. Now, Vipul Shah takes us back to the past with his retro comedy, ACTION REPLAYY.
Based on a famous Gujarati play of the same name, ACTION REPLAYY also sees the reunion of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshay Kumar after KHAKEE. Also, Vipul Shah is back with his blue-eyed boy Akshay after AANKHEN, WAQT and NAMASTEY LONDON.
The plot is inspired from Robert Zemeckis' BACK TO THE FUTURE, a time-travel comedy. Bunty (Aditya Roy Kapoor) loves his girlfriend Tanya (Sudeepa Singh) but doesn’t want to marry her. Why? Because of his parents, Kishen (Akshay Kumar) and Mala (Aishwarya Rai). He has seen them quarrelling all through their married life. One day, Tanya's grandfather, Professor Anthony Gonsalves (Randhir Kapoor), gives him the choice to either marry Tanya or forget her forever. Using Professor’s time machine, he transports himself to the 70s and plans to rewrite his parents’ destiny.
If you’re expecting a fun ride with loads of gags coupled with romance and drama, you are in for a disappointment. There are just a few smile-inducing moments in this otherwise lackadaisical film.
The retro look and feel manages to entice. But the narrative gets so overtly hackneyed, that you are waiting for Bunty to come back to the present time. Its predictable story is treated frivolously by Vipul Shah, especially the dragging second half. There are songs aplenty, that don’t help in taking the story forward. Even the uninspiring climax is a turn-off.
It has this glaring loophole. It’s difficult to comprehend why nobody questions Bunty on his bizarre clothing, when he frequently calls Kishan and Mala, dad and mom respectively, or when he keeps telling about the future events. Pritam's music score is just okay with only Zor ka jhatka being good.
Akshay Kumar delivers a decent performance. But it’s getting tiring to see him in similar comedy roles now. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays her bubbly character with panache. But the chemistry between them Akshay and Aishwarya is missing. Rannvijay Singh is good in his bad role. Aditya Roy Kapoor does a decent job. However, his acting reminds one of Farhan Akhtar. Kirron Kher and Om Puri don’t have much to do. Neha Dhupia is wasted.
This time-travel is a wearing journey. Truly, Zor ka jhatka hai zoron se laga.
Rating: 1.5/5
Tags : review of action replayy, action replayy review, action replayy movie review, Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Randhir Kapoor, Kiron Kher, Om Puri, Neha Dhupia and Aditya Roy Kapoor, Vipul Shah
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