The latest Khiladi: Too much comedy, too little action

The film lacks all that is needed for a successful Khiladi installment.

KARACHI:

Khiladi 786, released in Pakistan as Khiladi, is Akshay Kumar’s parallel identity. Twenty years ago, Khiladi redefined action films in Bollywood, featuring a trained martial arts actor who required minimal special effects and stuntmen to pull off incredibly dangerous and visually stunning sequences.

After the first Khiladi film, Akshay transformed into India’s version of Jean Claude Van Dam and became a true action hero in Bollywood.

From the original 1992 film titled Khiladi to Main Khiladi Tu Anari and later Khiladi 420, the latest release of Khiladi is now the eighth installment — the most disappointing addition to the series. The image that comes to one’s mind after hearing the word ‘Khiladi’ is of a tough guy beating the life out of thugs with some well-choreographed flying kicks and deadly punches. Unfortunately, all this is a minute part of a predictable narrative that this Khiladi has to offer.

The film is not about Akshay Kumar; it is about Mansukh — an unsuccessful Gujrati wedding planner played by singer-turned-actor Himesh Reshamyia. He is kicked out of his house by his father Champak Lal (Manoj Joshi) for ruining a well-made match ready to be married.

Mansukh is then on a self-created mission to get a couple married to prove his potential, and that’s when he stumbles upon Indu (Asin). Her marriage is a major concern for her underworld-godfather-of-a-brother Tatya Tukaram Tendulkar (Mithun Chakraborty).



On the sideline, is a story of Bahattar (72) Singh (played by Akshay); a jobless Punjabi guy who dresses up as a police officer and likes to play “cops n’ robbers” with the city thugs. Bahattar is looking for a bride and the rest of the movie is conventional Bollywood romance and humour.

Himesh’s performance is the real surprise in the film, as he pulls off quirky and funny scenes with ease. His ability to do this speaks volumes of his potential in comic roles. He must be lauded for not playing the typical hero, for which he is too old and too boring.

What doesn’t work is the overdose of Himesh. We love him, but he gets more screen time than he actually deserves in a film which should be Akshay centric; the lack of Akshay moments in the film felt frequently. Another bothersome fact is when back-to-back songs are in Himesh’s voice with Akshay trying to lip sync. Asin plays nothing more than her commonly accepted role of an angry, attractive girl. Chakarborthy’s performance is superb; probably one the best towards the end of his career and one he can definitely claim fame for.

Out of all that’s good, bad, and ugly, the action choreography has to be the worst in this film. It is packed with poor and clichéd thriller scenes, without any raw action that could save the film — an utmost disappointment for a Khiladi fan. It’s true that Akshay is not as fit as he was in his 20s, but the lead cast is expected to perform real action sequences in the spirit of the Khiladi franchise.



The excessive use of special effects doesn’t take Akshay any further than the likes of Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, who rely on them because they cannot pull off stunts themselves.

Akshay’s religious interest

An aspect of Akshay’s screen identity that is building up is his references to religious beliefs and excessive use of various religious symbols in recent films. It started with OMG Oh My God!,  a film in which he appeared as Lord Krishna to revitalise the faith of an openly agnostic person who filed a case against God; the story faced a lot of controversy for its plot. Akshay was also the producer of the film, under the banner of Hari Om Productions.



Khiladi 786 itself takes the name from the numeric representation of Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim and in the film the digits are embossed on his palm by birth, which gives him some sort of special powers in the movie. During the movie, he also repeats the line “haath mae saath so chiyasi” time and again. The symbolisation is not restricted just to 786 but also Akshay’s character, including all his brothers in the film, wear lockets with a Kanda (religious symbol for Sikhs) around their necks. The cinematographer makes an intentional effort to show them prominently. Who knows where Akshay is headed with these references, but so far, God has blessed him with the right number with regard to box office hits. His latest is just an unimpressive action-comedy film, and a total disappointment as a Khiladi installment.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2012.

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