Smart Flick. Review on Blue

Sanjay Dutt knows the secret of a hidden treasure in a sunken ship but is reluctant to ferret it out, despite buddy Akshay Kumar pleas. It is only when his younger brother Zayed needs to be bailed out from a gang of crooks that Sanjay consents to go under-water in azure Bahamas.

Bollywood goes underwater and comes up a winner. Blue is fresh and fulsome, boasting of some great deep-sea shots, stunning above sea-level action sequences, a crackling background music score and sound design by A R Rahman and Resul Pookutty, a shot and engaging reel length that keeps the proceedings pithy, two hot girls(Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif too in a glam guest role) and a whole lot of guy stuff…. Like, bare-bodied Akshay swimming with the sharks and stingrays, lean and mean Zayed blasting away on designer bikes, Sanjay Dutt, sadly with a paunch, sparring with Akshay in the boxing ring.

Yes, Blue, touted as Bollywood’s most expensive film dazzles with style more than substance. More than the storyline, it is the action sequences, the chases, the marine splendor and the opulent canvas of the film that gives you bang on your buck. Of course, you do wish the sharks were meaner, the treasure hunt more perilous, the danger more palpable instead of a climax that wraps up tamely.

Most of the drama springs from the unpredictable friendship between fisherman Akshay Kumar and his employee Sanjay Dutt who happens to be the best diver in the Bahamas. The entire first half is spent by Akshay in cajoling a reluctant Sanjay Dutt to jump into the ocean and retrieve the treasure. But Dutt has a sordid past which precludes him from taking the big leap, until it becomes imperative to do so… He must fish out the moolah to save his errant kid brother, Zayed Khan, from a biker gang that is desperate for its pound of flesh. Among the lead players, Sanjay looks a bit out of shape; Zayed is fresh and adequate, while Akshay keeps you guessing about his ethical moorings. The girls, Lara and Katrina, sashay down the screen with aplomb.