The Khiladi is Back. Review on Khiladi 786

Akshay Kumar is back in his ‘Khiladi’ avtar after a gap of more than a decade. Since ‘Khiladi’ has been a successful series for the actor, the expectations from this film might be high. But expect no miracles and this movie is a winner as it has every ingredient minus logic that is required to make a watchable film. But if the viewer enters the theater with huge expectations than it is possible that he/she might walk out with some disappointments.

Comedy is a serious business and some of the stars plus directors have been very fortunate to hit gold most of the times when they tried their hands with comedy. Akshay has been one of those few actors who have been admired in every kind of role and have survived despite anti Akshay group being more proactive than his fans but that has not made any difference to the actor’s popularity and his latest film is only going to win him more fans.

Ashish R Mohan who was an assistant to Rohit Shetty make his debut as a director and prefers to give the film a treatment that was a winning formula in the eighties but he has Shetty’s trademark written in major portion of his film that defies logic but still succeeds in entertaining by bringing a smile on your face.

Himesh Reshamiya joins his father’s business, a marriage bureau but does not succeed and is thrown out his house. Akshay Kumar who is a fake cop assists the original police officer to catch criminals is always rejected by all the girls’ parents when the proposal for marriage is sent. Mithun Chakraborty who is an underworld don is looking for a groom for his sister and hires Himesh to find one for his sister. Asin always throws the men out of the house chosen by his brother because she knows that her brother is a don so she can be happy only with a criminal and loves a criminal Rahul Singh who is in jail.

Himesh mistakes Akshay Kumar to be a cop and brings the proposal to Mithun and ask them to appear as cops while the groom’s relatives are there to fix the marriage. What happens then? Will Akshay marry Asin, who wants to marry Rahul? What will happen when Himesh learns that Akshay is a fake cop because Mithun has threatened that he will kill Himesh if anything goes wrong? Watch the film to know the answers.

First and foremost the characters in the film could be strange but are hilarious & are given funny names. Akshay Kumar plays Bahattar Singh, his uncle (Mukesh Rishi) is Ikhattar Singh is married to a Chinese woman and his father (Raj Babbar) is Sattar Singh who is married to a Canadian woman. Since their mother too is from South Africa they want an Indian woman to be Akshay’s bride. Sanjay Mishra sells Coffins and his name is Jeevan Lal Pran Lal D’costa, which is really funny. Himesh is Mansukh but has failed to give Sukh to his father’s mann. Rahul Singh is named Azaad but is in prison.

Himesh Reshamiya after having failed on four consecutive occasions as an actor has co-produced the film, very aptly played a role that is good enough to give him some hope in the field of acting and has also written the story. He did pick up bits and pieces from various films, blended them not so well but has still generated the idea of Khiladi 786 that does succeed in entertaining to a great extent. Though one wish the screenplay could have been tighter or should I say sensible?

Himesh Reshamiya’s music is good with some foot tapping numbers that becomes alive on screen due to Akshay’s dynamic personality and his antics to make songs likeable while they run on the screen. His presence brings life to songs Hukka Bar, Balma and Khiladi bhaiya.

If paid proper attention dialogues are very funny at times. Sanjay Mishra asking Gurpreet Ghuggi, “aapke ghar mein dog hai?” Ghuggi replies, “ji nahin, jarrorat padey to hum khud hi kaat lete hain”. There are many such one liners like Akshay saying, “Main jat gamla, pagla diwana”. Mithun introducing himself as, “TTT – Tatya Tukaram Tendulkar, Tatya ne taakat di, Tendulkar ne shohrat di” Sanjay asks, ‘aur Tukaram ne kya diya”? “Arey janam diya aur kya”? Mithun’s reply.

Action scenes have always been Akshay’s forte and director Ashish being Rohit Shetty’s assistant, has filmed the action in his mentor’s style with Akshay shining throughout. The moments are worth whistles and claps.

The production values are kept under control and it appears that the film is made with a reasonable budget that ensures no loss at box office considering the kind of excitement that the film has created prior to its release. Photography is good and the cameraman has captured the colorful character well.

Raj Babbar, Gurpreet Ghuggi & Mukesh Rishi have small roles but makes their presence felt with some funny lines. Johny Lever is loud as ever, he seriously needs to learn that screaming in not acting and at times spoils the perfect expressions as well. Rahul Singh is passable. Claudia as an item girl in song ‘Balma’ though moves her body freely without inhibition but still looks tired.

Asin acts well and looks good but I feel she has to be more flexible while dancing. Mithun Chakraborty is good in the role of TTT and hilarious when he pretends to be a fake cop.

The film undoubtedly belongs to Akshay Kumar who effortlessly walks through the role of Bahattar Singh with panache. His smile, rock solid action scenes and perfect timing for comedy makes him extremely likeable in the film. A treat for him fans.

Ashish R Mohan though have done a good job as a debutant director but here is an advise for him to be careful while selecting the scripts because comedy though brings smiles on the faces of viewers but is still a risky business besides being serious business.

Rating: 3.5/5