Add to this, some neatly choreographed song-dance sequences, coupled with moodswings between dosti and dushmani amongst the main protagonists and you have a film that keeps the popcorn crunchy till curtain call.
But the underwater ease with which the trio discovers the sunken loot is compensated with some stunning biker mayhem, atop trains, forests and the alleys of Bangkok and the Bahamas. Of course, you do wish the sharks were meaner, the treasure hunt more perilous, the danger more palpable instead of a climax that wraps up tamely. More than the storyline, it is the action sequences, the chases, the marine splendour and the opulent canvas of the film that gives you bang for your buck. Yes, Blue, touted as Bollywood's most expensive film (Rs 100 crore) dazzles with style more than substance. Blue is fresh and fulsome, boasting of some great deep sea shots ( by Pete Zuccarini, cinematographer, Pirates of the Caribbean fame), stunning above sea level action sequences, a crackling background music score and sound design by India's two Oscar winners (AR Rahman and Resul Pookutty), a short and engaging reel length that keeps the proceedings pithy, two hot girls (Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif too in a glam guest role) and a whole lot of guy stuff.Like, bare-bodied Akshay swimming with the sharks and stingrays, lean and mean Zayed blasting away on designer bikes, Sanjay Dutt, sadly with a paunch, sparring with Akshay in the boxing ring and the threesome donning their diving gear to discover a hidden treasure in picture postcard Bahamas.Īll this, when they are not pumping up the adrenalin with some rumbustious chiggy wiggy with Kylie Minouge who gets to shake a leg to the quintessential bhangra beat too, with our desi Singh is King. It is only when his younger brother Zayed needs to be bailed out from a gang of crooks that Sanjay consents to go underwater in the azure Bahamas.īollywood goes underwater and comes up a winner.
Mamu’s first meeting with the drug-dealing company seems a scene straight out of another RGV film – Sarkar (2005).Sanjay Dutt knows the secret of a hidden treasure in a sunken ship but is reluctant to ferret it out, despite buddy Akshay Kumar's pleas. Like Bhiku, Fateh aspires to be the uncrowned king of the city while Tabrez underplays his part like Satya. The Fateh-Tabrez camaraderie pretty much reminds of Bhiku Mhatre-Satya companionship from RGV’s cult underworld drama Satya (1998). The actual locations where the film is shot add to the authenticity.
Some original sequences like the shocking shemale episode or the premeditated spread of flu virus through syringes add resourceful realism to the film. Though the overall story is predictable per se, some smart twists keep popping up at regular intervals thereby adding variety to the narrative. He incites interesting drama in the dynamic proceedings and the slang-n-sharp dialogues add to the intensity. Debutante director Ankush Bhatt shows immense potential in handling the film with the level of dexterity it demands. The characters and the situation, that writer Ghalib Asad Bhopali pens, seem absolutely real and riveting. He is utilized to the same effect like Ben Kingsley was exploited in the Big B starrer Teen Patti – as an audience-cum-admirer to the actual storyteller (Tabrez).Ĭutting back and forth into continual flashbacks, the storytelling is quick, crisp and engrossing and often uses analogy with the game of chess to establish its characters and their conflicts. Though Kay Kay Menon adds screen presence and a saleable tag to this small-budget cinema, his character, in an extended special appearance, remains undefined and peripheral to the plot throughout. The entire story unveils in flashback as Tabrez narrates it to an unspecified bigshot entity (Kay Kay Menon) over a game of chess. Things take an ugly turn when Fateh takes charge of the area on Mamu’s demise and joins hands with rival gang, headed by Pandey ( Piyush Mishra), to indulge in unethical practices. Both work as close associates of Mamu (Pawan Malhotra) who rules supreme in the region. Fateh (Prashant Narayanan) and Tabrez (Gautam Sharma) grow up in the dingy bylanes of Bhindi Baazaar to be proficient pickpockets.