Boss

Bollywood continues its remaking trend and this time it’s the Malayalam blockbuster Pokkiriraja. Well they have tried to reconstruct it in some ways but for the same reasons it becomes too much over the top. The original film itself was not a remarkable creation as it grossed mainly because of the star power and the on screen charm the characters had. With songs popping out without any sense and less emphasize on some aspects that needed some importance in the screenplay, Boss becomes a mere a brand endorsement package.

The plot has young Shiv who gets trapped by a police officer for having an affair with the cop’s sister who is already engaged. To help Shiv from the trouble, a goon/ truck dealer “boss” arrives. How Boss plans the game, how he deals with the hazards and how eventually he wins the heart which was also a part of his interest in the saving business is what the film all about.

Well the movie kicked off quite impressively with Amitabh Bhachchan giving a narration comparing the scenario with that of Mahabharath-Kurukshethra and I was curious how much of reconstruction they have done. But sadly or predictably there wasn’t any sort of importance to the role of Shiv which made the film too much heroic than the original. And with all those introduction scenes with “Boss is always right”, “Beech mein na bol” and the stunts with music; the movie was going more towards Rowdy Rathore. The love story of Shiv and Ankita is totally lame and the Malayalam version was actually better in such portions. Where the film manages to impress you is in creating a tough look for the antagonist and protagonist. Apart from that you are just watching a film that won’t stay in your head.

Direction department hasn’t done anything marvelous in terms of making things look appealing. They have just focused on making every frame larger than life either with fun or with stunts. Anthony D’Souza who earlier made blue has no plans to hide his love for slow motions, car stunts and party songs. Script as I mentioned is more focused on character boosting with less charming tactics. I don’t know whether they have watched Malayalam film “Pingaami”, if or not that scene where Boss plants a bomb inside Ankita’s would be’s pants reminded me of Pingaami. Luckily they didn’t use the whole idea to make a mess of it. DOP is convincing and the edits are also fair. BGM is perfect for the masala tone. I wasn’t that impressed with the soundtracks and not a single song was in rhythm with the movie. Anal Arasu’s stunts have reached that level where we won’t feel wow seeing dust blasts.

On screen, Akshay Kumar easily fits into the role of Boss. More than him emotions or humor, it’s the acrobatics that gets the lime light. Shiv Pandit doesn’t have much to do in this action drama. Aditi Rao appears in only 4 or 5 scenes, that too with less dialogs and screen time. Mithun Chakraborty and Parikshit Sahni are comfortable in their veteran characters. For me the pick among the cast was Ronit Roy who portrayed the role of ACP Ayushman. Even though the director can’t make him that deadly with buildup sequences, Ronit has added that sensible pinch of attitude to make the antagonist look heavy.

I went inside the hall for a simple fun film but the product was less funny. My rating for Boss is 2/5. And for those who may want to know about my feelings on Pokkiriraja – I wasn’t a great fan of it either. It’s not that you won’t laugh or whistle, this film lacks that overall satisfaction/fun factor.

By Aswin Bharadwaj

Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.

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