MEN at WORK!. Review on Khakee

Khakee, for me, is easily one of the finest films of all time! Although almost forgotten by now, this 2004 film deserves to get the highest praise and appreciation. I have hardly come across anyone or any review that has badmouthed the film. Khakee is a rare action thriller that was loved and praised by all sections of moviegoers! The fact that out of 50 reviews here on MS, 48 reviewers are recommending the film with more than half of them giving 4/5 stars says it all!

The story of the movie: DCP Anant Shrivastav (Amitabh Bachchan) is assigned the task of escorting the accused terrorist Dr Iqbal Ansari (Atul Kulkarni) from Chandangarh to Mumbai. Although he always performs his duty with full dedication, he regrets not doing anything worthwhile or commendable in his entire police career. He realizes that this mission might give him a chance to prove his worth. His team consists of the colourful and corrupt Inspector Shekhar (Akshay Kumar), Sub-Inspector Ashwin (Tusshar Kapoor) and two constables (D Santosh, Kamlesh Sawant). Their mission isn’t that easy as it sounds. Ansari is allegedly a dreaded terrorist and his gang members had ambushed the police party from Chandangarh when they were taking him to Mumbai. As soon as Shrivastav arrives at Chandangarh, he realizes that the faceless enemy Angre (Ajay Devgan) would do anything to free Ansari. As Srivastav’s team begin their journey back to Mumbai with Ansari, they are embroiled in a dangerous battle of survival. How they deal with the enemies and the shock they receive during the course of their journey is what the film is all about.

Khakee starts off on a thrilling note. The scene in the beginning where the terrorists ambush the police team was very impactful and novel too. The thrill quotient goes down after this point as the director focuses on introducing the important characters of the film. But the interest doesn’t dive down and Akshay Kumar’s entry scene turns out to be a hilarious scene! The film gets into the mood as soon as the cops from Mumbai reach Chandangarh and even more when they start their journey to Mumbai. The first rocking sequence at this juncture is when Srivastav gets on Angre’s trail at a village cattle bazaar. Then the scene where Angre’s men launch a surprise attack at a house where the cops had taken refuge for some time. Note the tremendous tension that director creates at this point…excellent work! The intermission comes at a juncture where the film is at an all-time high. I remember how, when I had gone to see the film in theatre, I had quickly gone and got my snacks in the canteen within moments as I didn’t want to miss a single frame of the 2nd half!

The film doesn’t dip even once in the 2nd hour although it turns a bit emotional and dramatic at several points. But no complaints as the film doesn’t lose grip in these scenes. Similarly, there are plenty of light and comic scenes in the 1st half but that doesn’t prove to be a deterrent. Nowhere do you feel that the director is going off-track or doing ‘too much of timepass’!

The film gives a big jolt at the pre-climax when it’s revealed that one of the characters was double crossing the cops. The climax was exhilarating and Tusshar’s surprise act in the end scene was clapworthy to say the least!

A film like Khakee is embellished with award-winning performances. This is one of the best performances of Amitabh Bachchan. For a chance, he looked great without his trademark French beard! The role required lots of intensity and hardwork and Big B does it with élan! This was a role which only he could have done and no one else! Akshay Kumar was fantastic and helped a great deal in providing comic relief in the 1st half. But he rocks in the confrontation scene minutes before the interval. Definitely a performance worth remembering! Ajay Devgan was, for me, the best performer in the film! He was the villain of the film and looked like one completely. His mannerisms, dialogue delivery, body language…everything was just outstanding! It was so unfortunate that a performance like this didn’t fetch a single award that year!

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