Spoiler Alert! Boss: Don’t fear, Akshay Kumar is here

What can be termed a mediocre film at best, is uplifted by the grandeur of Akshay's acting.

KARACHI:

In the growingly popular realm of South Asian cinema-inspired action comedies, Akshay Kumar is, perhaps, the most suitable actor. He may not be as buff as Salman Khan but his built and moves make the action sequences look real and his comic timing is close to perfect. Known for his dashing looks and for having a way with on-screen romance, Akshay propels the female viewer towards his films.

These are probably the reasons why one may feel the need to watch Boss. All the characters, other than Akshay's, seem to be squeezed into the plot, which screams to be redeemed. Or maybe it’s vice versa. Maybe, Akshay has no place in the narrative and is simply made to be a constituent of the film for his star power — which, needless to say, is the only thing that breathes life into the film apart from some hilarious one-liners.



The story goes something like this: Surya (Akshay Kumar) and Shiv (Shiv Pandit) are the sons of Satyakant Shastri (Mithun Chakraborty), who is a school teacher by profession. Satyakant ends up kicking Surya out of the house and disowns him because of his repeated brawls with a kid during his childhood. Shiv grows up to be a handsome hunk who falls in love with Ankita (Aditi Rao Hydari), who happens to be the sister of a corrupt police officer Ayushman Mathur (Ronit Roy). Ayushman wants to get Ankita married to the son of a minister, so he arrests Shiv for crimes that he hasn’t committed.

You must be wondering where the story is heading. What about the missing brother Surya? Where did he vanish? The missing brother turns out to be Boss, a transport businessman. The story finally shapes up with him having to confront his father after years of abandonment.

The fact that Akshay doesn’t have a leading lady in the film is a pleasant change and gives the character of Boss the levy to act like an irresponsible and stupid person. What is a clichéd concept, the long-lost son’s yearning for his father and brother is tackled childishly in the film. The brothers recognise each other the moment they say something at the same time, just as they did in their childhood.

That is typical Bollywood for you. In fact, the history of Bollywood is full of scripts like that of Boss' — run-of-the-mill and lacking substance. Having said that, Akshay’s comic timing, as mentioned earlier, is excellent and some sequences do make the viewer laugh. For example, whenever Boss is having a meeting with someone, he sits on a “rocking chair”. That rocking chair is formed by an acrobatic arrangement of his own bodyguards, who keep on moving to-and-fro.

Styling was key to Anthony Desouza’s previous flick Blue and plays a crucial role in Boss as well. Akshay’s backcombed hair that occasionally drops on his forehead reminds one of the “Khiladi” he used to be in the 90s. Aditi Rao Hydari looks gorgeous and it seems like her stylist has learnt from all the blunders that were committed in Murder 3. Aditi's eastern look in the film is dazzling. Shiv Pandit, who looks very much like Shahid Kapoor in some places, fails to leave an impression and is often overpowered by seasoned actors like Akshay and Mithun.

Yo Yo Honey Singh’s addition to the film’s music is cosmetic but the remixed version of Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta Yahan Pyaar Zindagi Mein is refreshing despite its disappointing visual execution.

Verdict: Since Boss is the only family movie running in cinemas these days, it can be watched once. You’ll definitely enjoy it if you are an Akshay Kumar fan. Otherwise, you’ll probably walk out during the intermission! Rating: 2/5

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2013.

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