Mar 27, 2008 10:59 AM
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When you’re talking of an Abbas-Mastan movie, you know what to expect. Big money, big game, plots, deceits, backstabs twists and turns. It’s just that, this time, it gets so much more complicated and twisty that the duo’s previous hits like Baazigar, Khiladi will seem like a kid game. The saving grace however is Saif who has lately come of age after delivering great performances in Parineeta, Omkara, Hum Tum, etc.
Ranvir (Saif Ali Khan) and Rajiv Singh (Akshaye Khanna) are step brothers owning a lavish stud farm ‘Stallions’ local biggies at the turf club in Durban. The older Ranvir loves horses more than anything else while younger Rajiv is a drunk who is least bothered about the family business which is now totally under mortgage. Racing, money, fending off enemies and partying are a way of life for both, till an accident triggers change.
The older brother sacrifices his love (Bipasha) when the Rajiv one promises that he would give up drinking addiction if he married Sonia. But, Rajiv doesn’t change after marriage and things end up getting steamy between Sonia and Ranvir. While things look nice between brothers, one of them is busy plotting for the other’s death to pack off 100 million bucks from his insurance. Then, there is a murder and things get murky.
The rest of the movie merely survives on the director duo’s ability to set up things in one direction, then, twist it at the very next moment. Till the last few minutes, one is not too sure as to who the conspirator was and which actress is whose love interest. Adding to the melee is a fruit munching cop RD (Anil Kapoor) and his inept assistant (Sameera Reddy), both competing with each other in being as silly as things ever can be.
Of the performances, Saif is awesome and Akshay Khanna has done a neat job too. All three glamour dolls had no more to do in the movie except to look good. Another funny thing was that every other character there was mostly an Indian, the doctor, the registrar, the cops, their assistants, Saif’s competitor, whew; I never knew Indians were so omnipresent! The music is decent and Atif Aslam’s song is already a hit.
Race has many points when twists get too much, and you would it end soon and when things start seeming comical. But, nevertheless to their credit, the directors have delivered a stylish flick set in South Africa and Dubai with some good stunts. Alas, they don’t do much to save the movie. Still, if you are one of those who like movies sans logic and merely sit through and pass time, Race is not a bad idea if you get tickets cheap.
