Remaking the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz starrer ‘Knight and Day’ must have occurred to Director Siddharth Anand on a dull afternoon while watching it on DVD munching peanuts and wondering if this could be his claim to fame. Why else would anyone make a movie, the original of which was a plot-less average flick itself? ‘Salaam Namaste’, ‘Tara Rum Pum’, ‘ Bachna Ae Haseeno’, ‘ Anjaana Anjaani’- they were either flops or lukewarm commercial successes (I enjoyed all of them; the first being one of my favourite rom-coms). This time, he probably needed a bigger star never mind if the movie is unoriginal, silly and loud. Thus, he shoots us with ‘Bang Bang’.
Harleen (Katrina Kaif) is a boring bank receptionist in Shimla. Her grand-mother’s life is more exciting than her’s, she complains. She logs into some online site for a blind date and meets Rajvir (Hrithik Roshan) in the venue who in turn happened to just pass by only to be floored by the girl’s beauty. Five odd minutes of a conversation (contrary to ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, this time Hrithik preaches the importance of living happily to Katrina) is enough for the two to break into a dance and Harleen confesses to herself that he is cute (that too, in the wash-room). As it turns out, Rajvir is on the run after stealing a precious diamond from London; he would be selling it only to Omar Zafar (Danny Denzongpa), a big don who is hardly in the film. Why only him? This is a remake in Bollywood and revenge is a dish best served cold. Harleen reluctantly accompanies Rajvir only to find that her dream of world tour comes true. Oh yes… the two fall in love and bang bang… some action.
Right from its first trailer, ‘Bang Bang’ promised some slick mindless entertainment. Had it stuck to it, this could have been enjoyable. Alas, it delivers but very inconsistently at that. There isn’t a script; probably, the director asked the lead pair to just enjoy themselves while being shot. Nothing wrong in that though- big stars need not act especially when it’s a big-budget film meant to make crores of bucks! But ‘Bang Bang’ is a cocktail where the ingredients aren’t mixed well. The romantic action flick falls short of romance due to no chemistry between its lead pair (though they look good together) and the action seems repetitive. The idea must have been to extend Hrithik’s ‘Dhoom: 2’ look and stunts. It works to an extent but doesn’t leave you awestruck like it should have. The film could also have been kept short and crisp; it’s too long and it seems longer as there isn’t any plot. The background score jars and action looks even less slick due to it. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is good. ‘Meherbaan’ is my pick and shot well too.
Hrithik Roshan looks great and his fans will love to watch him have fun and do some decent action. It’s one of those films where you don’t judge the actor’s performance but enjoy his stardom. Katrina Kaif compliments Hrithik really well but she does here what she does always- looks good, lip-syncs, dances but just attempts another role. But her effort in movies is visible; it’s just that acting isn’t her cup of tea. Both Danny Denzongpa and Javed Jaffrey are the bad guys but hardly there in the movie. Jimmy Shergill in a cameo leaves a mark. So do Deepti Naval and Kanwaljeet Singh. Pavan Malhotra and Vikram Gokhale are wasted.
Watch it or not: Strictly for Hrithik fans… but even they might be disappointed if they are expecting something like the ‘Krrish’ movies and ‘Dhoom: 2’.
At the Box-Office: Will hardly face any competition from ‘Haider’. Like any big movie, this will break a few records. Blockbuster for sure!
My Verdict
My Rating
2
‘Bang Bang’ is a bang for your buck only if you are a Hrithik fan… others can choose not to be shot.
