Naqaab - New Release - Review

Naqaab (thriller)

 

Cast : Bobby Deol, Akshaye Khanna, Urvashi Sharma
Direction : Abbas Mustan
Critic’s Rating:
Ever since they exploded on the silver screen with Baazigar , Abbas Mustan have gradually emerged as the thriller docs with their expertise in handling twists in the tale. Ajnabee , Aitraaz , Humraaz ... these are films that you don't mind watching even during their endless repeat telecasts on television because rarely do you get to watch the virtue of wickedness in Bollywood's holier-than-thou cinema. The Burmawala brothers (Abbas-Mustan) have always tarred their heroes — and heroines — with shades of black. And ironically, most of them have ended up as seminal performances. Remember Shah Rukh in Baazigar , Akshaye Khanna in Humraaz , Bipasha and Akshay in Ajnabee and Priyanka in Aitraz , truly her best performance till date. But last year they slipped with 36 China Town and this year they almost skid with Naqaab .
The problem with the film lies in its transparency. It's a love triangle, where you know at the very onset who's cheating on whom and who is going to end up the victim. Add to this the lethargic pace of the narrative — almost a heresy for a thriller — and you begin to count your yawns before its curtain call. Also, the twist isn't tantalising enough to jerk you out from your seats, hence the enervation as you watch newcomer Urvashi do a tango for three, first with billionaire Bobby Deol and then with wannabe actor Akshaye Khanna. Officially betrothed to Bobby, our Burger King delivery girl suddenly discovers a passion for penniless Akshaye, maybe because he drinks wine from a mug, like her dad. And the passion, like the wine, threatens to spill over in a clandestine encounter just before the billionaire and the burger girl exchange their marriage vows.
Nothing wrong with that, no? Except that there's a secret camera following them all around. Obviously Bollywood's greatly inspired by television these days; too many sting operations and reality shows showing up on the big screen too. Of the three, it's Urvashi who charms you with her breezy act, leaving behind Akshaye and Bobby longing for more to do. And, unlike most of Abbas Mustan's earlier films, the audio track is almost pathetic here. Nah! this one ain't going to turn the current tide of Bollywood flops.

- source : Times of India