Mr X, nothing but a flawed imitation of Hollow Man

With clichés and no concrete story, it is a spineless and a spectacular sinking ship, rivalling the likes of Titanic.

Mr X is an Indian sci-fi thriller directed by Vikram Bhatt, starring Emraan Hashmi in the leading role as an anti-terrorist inspector named Raghu. The movie defies logic as to why anyone would want to pursue this particular genre which revolves around movies like The Invisible Man – it has simply been overdone. Mr X, all in all, is a poor amalgamation of gimmicky execution and a rehash of movies such as Hollow Man and Mr India.



Adding insult to the injury is the below par and amateurish CGI animation which is a far cry from the advanced animation we have grown accustomed to. It is ironic that the medium, something which is so pivotal in the story and genre, is so poorly executed. One wonders whether this has been done intentionally or the director stopped caring.

Photo: IMDb


Photo: Official Facebook page


The plot is uneven, and the only redeeming factor is Hashmi, who lends some semblance in terms of acting capability in an otherwise dull and mind-numbing feature film.  Moreover, in terms of music, it is again a muffled affair; Bhatt’s movies usually have melodious tracks and memorable songs to hum to, but there isn’t a single track worth remembering.  The worst song in the movie is “You can call me X” which enhances the mediocrity of the movie. Other songs such as “Tu jo hai” are average songs.





Other actors in the movie have put up an average performance. The damsel in distress, Siya Verma played by Amrya Dastur, Hashmi’s love interest cum fiancé and fellow inspector in ATD, puts forth a painstaking performance.


It’s obvious that Bhatt chose the female lead in terms of eye candy rather than acting skills. Dastur’s dialogue delivery, convoluted and confusing sense of morality and ethics in the movie confuses the audience.

In one of the scenes, she is hell bent on protecting the nemesis because of her strong sense of duty and justice, and a few random kisses later from her invisible fiancé, she’s seen swooning over him and falls head over heels in love with the protagonist. This love-hate chemistry dilutes the already insipid and bland movie plot.

Photo: IMDb


Photo: IMDb


The cinematography is adequate. Unfortunately, exotic and scenic foreign locations and crystal clear beaches are merely not enough to save this disaster of a movie. Without delving deeper into the story and the plot of the movie, it is safe to say that it is a run-of-the-mill movie. With clichés in abundance and no story to back itself, it is a spineless and a spectacular sinking ship, rivalling the likes of Titanic.

Photo: IMDb


You would want your time and money back after watching Mr X. While I was watching the movie, half of the audience left before the climax, proving how boring the movie is.

Take my advice, stay as far away from Mr X as you can. Bollywood is a master artisan when it comes to making masala and romantic dramas but when it comes to sci-fi, it fails stupendously, struggling to merge science fiction and religion.

You would be better off watching Avengers 2 releasing this weekend, as opposed to Mr X.
WRITTEN BY: Salman Junejo
The author is an agriculturist by profession and runs an agriculture company by the name of GRJ AGRO(www,grjagro.com). He has a family background in politics and agriculture. He tweets @salmanjunejo (twitter.com/salmanjunejo)

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.