WANTED
*ing Salman Khan and only Salman Khan
I remember when we had gone to watch Fanaa with a group of friends a couple of years ago.
As we were walking out of the theatre one of them said something very interesting.
“This movie would be a flop and not even worth a watch without Aamir Khan and Kajol.”
“This movie would be a flop and not even worth a watch without Aamir Khan and Kajol.”
And he was right. In a way, superstars are necessary to keep our sanity among all the silly nonsense that Bollywood sometimes churns out.
Most movies would be a mind numbing affair if not for the sheer presence of the superstars. Don’t believe me? Then take a moment and imagine the following.
Fanaa with Zayed Khan & Amisha Patel
Singh is King with Fardeen Khan
Ghajini with Tusshar Kapoor
Bunty & Babli with Dino Morea & Shamita Shetty
Om Shanthi Om with Uday Chopra
Jodha Akbar with Emraan Hashmi & Esha Deol
I could go on but I guess you get the point.
I could go on but I guess you get the point.
Now these were all some of the biggest hits of recent times and all pretty decently enjoyable too but would they have been the same without the superstars in them?
IIIIIIIIIIIIIII don’t think so!
Wanted is a horribly, horribly corny film, filled with so much nonsense, that were it not for Salman Khan it would have gone straight to video.
Salman is not a great actor. Perish the thought. But what he does have, is raw unabashed charisma. So much so that it can blind you of most of the inanities in the script.
He dances like a crazy invalid on steroids. And yet you watch.
He speaks to the heroine like he would to a servant. Yet you keep watching.
His hairstyle (and its length) changes in every scene. And yet you don’t mind.
In one of the opening songs (all pretty bad by the way) you have Anil Kapoor and Govinda doing guest appearances. Both are petty big stars in their own right but in the same frame as Salman they end up looking like glorified extras.
Now all this may make you feel that I am a big Salman Khan fan. I am not. Far from it.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIII don’t think so!
Wanted is a horribly, horribly corny film, filled with so much nonsense, that were it not for Salman Khan it would have gone straight to video.
Salman is not a great actor. Perish the thought. But what he does have, is raw unabashed charisma. So much so that it can blind you of most of the inanities in the script.
He dances like a crazy invalid on steroids. And yet you watch.
He speaks to the heroine like he would to a servant. Yet you keep watching.
His hairstyle (and its length) changes in every scene. And yet you don’t mind.
In one of the opening songs (all pretty bad by the way) you have Anil Kapoor and Govinda doing guest appearances. Both are petty big stars in their own right but in the same frame as Salman they end up looking like glorified extras.
Now all this may make you feel that I am a big Salman Khan fan. I am not. Far from it.
But watch what he does with this inane film and you cannot help but be impressed with his sheer star power.
The movie is almost 2 ½ hours long but you hardly mind the time as you watch Salman do the most amazingly dumb things with utter aplomb and cool.
“Ek baar maine jo commitment kar di, toh phir main khud apni bhi nahin sunta” (Once I’ve given a commitment then I don’t even listen to myself) he says about a dozen times throughout the movie and as senseless as that utterly nonsensical sentence is, you cannot help but smile and strangely enjoy this bit of pure unadulterated baloney.
Forget the music (bad), forget the clothes (pedestrian), forget the villains (pretty good actually), forget the heroine (sad), infact forget everything. Just enjoy the movie for what it is.
The movie is almost 2 ½ hours long but you hardly mind the time as you watch Salman do the most amazingly dumb things with utter aplomb and cool.
“Ek baar maine jo commitment kar di, toh phir main khud apni bhi nahin sunta” (Once I’ve given a commitment then I don’t even listen to myself) he says about a dozen times throughout the movie and as senseless as that utterly nonsensical sentence is, you cannot help but smile and strangely enjoy this bit of pure unadulterated baloney.
Forget the music (bad), forget the clothes (pedestrian), forget the villains (pretty good actually), forget the heroine (sad), infact forget everything. Just enjoy the movie for what it is.
A campy, melodramatic B grade flick. And you know what?
Wanted doesn’t pretend to be anything else.
“Why do you love me,” he asks the girl at one point, “I didn’t ask you to. Now don’t make me guilty because you can’t forget me?”
Salman doesn’t ask you to go watch this movie, but if you do, can you blame him if you end up enjoying it?
You tell me.
Wanted doesn’t pretend to be anything else.
“Why do you love me,” he asks the girl at one point, “I didn’t ask you to. Now don’t make me guilty because you can’t forget me?”
Salman doesn’t ask you to go watch this movie, but if you do, can you blame him if you end up enjoying it?
You tell me.
Luv
Vish
P.S. The Hollywood ‘Wanted’ starred Angelina Jolie and strangely it too was almost comical in its absurdity but was redeemed solely by the sheer star wattage of her blinding star power.
No comments:
Post a Comment