Khakee (2004)

An over 2 and a half hour entertainer, this film promises to keep you over the edge.The concept is simply amazing, with superb acting on the apart of all actors, mainly Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, music is melodious and dialog delivery thunders throughout the film, with amazing fast paced action sequences.Story is about a police team that is given the mission of escorting a deadly terrorist to Mumbai with ISI aides behind to release him at any cost. But things turn out to be not what they seem to be for anyone. And the climax is something no one can expect.Even if there was no choreography, it would not have really mattered in this film. The film mainly depicts the lives of police officers and the corrupt political system in India. Akshay Kumar's performance is definitely commendable, and is probably the next best actor to Amitabh Bachchan.Don't miss Khakee. It's really cool.

Rajkumar Santoshi is a name that raises your expectations of watching a powerful tale told with immense passion and dedication. He has proved time and again that he is the master storyteller who is keen about the script, performances, music, and art direction. When it comes to his magnum opus, it has to be "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" but Khakee is no less. It is a modern tale of politics, corruption, terrorism and the police intervention and involvement in them. The film has a solid screenplay and the three hours it took to unfold pretty much flew by.What seems to be a routine errand of transporting a terrorist from Chandangarh to Mumbai turns into a nightmare when the police team is ambushed and killed. Another team Is sent to accomplish the task and they fight against all odds to get the terrorist safely to Mumbai. Thrown into this riveting tale is a mysterious, nameless villain who haunts the team throughout their spectacular journey through the rugged, dry landscape of central Maharashtra to get hold of the terrorist. A Hindi film is incomplete without a heroine and hence, a damsel who telephones the police informing about terrorist activity upstairs joins the group and accompanies them.The film has a wonderfully scripted screenplay by Santoshi and Sridhar Raghavan. The film almost takes a u-turn at places in much better and convincing ways that the "U-turn" inspired Musafir that released later that year. But yes, there are some overdone and unconvincing sequences at key places in the plot but Santoshi hopefully has done away with all clichés or illogical elements in the ending. The last scene is sure to catch you unaware. The film could have been a song-less thriller but Santoshi bows down to the common notion that a Hindi blockbuster needs to have song and dance. They are limited in the film but one wished they were not there at all. Lara Dutta sizzles in the 'Aisa Jadoo' track. Ram Sampath makes a decent debut composing songs that belong to the popular genre.Every actor in the film – be it Amitab, Tushar or even Ashwini Kalsekar – is given at least one scene to prove his talent. And none of the scenes seem forced. The script is smart and intelligent, manipulates the situations very well. Santoshi extracts the best performance from his cast and many have even won the coveted national awards for his films (Sunny Deol, Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor). Who can forget all the leading ladies' (Manisha, Rekha, Madhuri, Mahima) astounding performances in "Lajja". Well, no one gives an award-worthy performance in Khakee but none disappoint either. Santoshi wanted to cast Aishwarya Rai in "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" but she was already on board the rival film "23 March 1931: Shaheed", so Amrita Rao stepped in. She finally gets her chance in a male-dominated film in a meaty role and she does prove to an extent and stands out. Ajay Devgn is a regular name in Santoshi's films and he gives a true villainous performance. Akshay Kumar and Tushar Kapoor are not given enough lines but they are fair. Amitab Bacchan is the star of the show and he is dependable and dedicated as always. Atul Kulkarni delivers a fine performance.Another fabulous aspect of the film is the production design by Nitin Chandrakant Desai. He was the man behind the opulent, magnificent sets of "Kama Sutra" and "Devdas", the sepia tint period look in "Legend of Bhagat Singh" and also the rusty, village look in Academy Award Nominee "Lagaan". In Khakee, he gets to work with a wide variety of locations and sets and he impresses with all of them. The house where almost 30 minutes of the film takes places is designed with utmost detail. The golden lights raise the graph of the action scenes in the house. He creates a unique look and feel in the song 'Dil Dooba' which is one of the best picturised songs ever. There are two flashbacks in the film and Desai creates completely opposite atmospheres in both of them. The cinematography by K V Anand is splendid throughout. Watch out for the marvelous editing during the scene between the cattle. The background score is a revelation. It seems to be tailor made for the scenes and composed along with the making instead of adding later. It gels very well with the gunshots, action or even tense moments.Santoshi's direction deserves browny points. He has got immense control over his script and his narration style complements well with the film. If the placement of the songs is kept aside, he actually places every other scene at the right place and time. He is a master and has tackled wide variety of genres, from docu-drama (The Legend of Bhagat Singh), socio-political issues (Lajja), legal dramas (Damini) and even comedies (Andaz Apna Apna). This time he comes up with a hardcore masala film but it doesn't get meaningless at any point. It only gets better as it progresses. He proves that commercial bollywood films can also have substance beyond the action, romance and dance which are generally placed erroneously to enhance mass appeal.The film easily is one of the best of the 2000s and rightly deserves 8 on 10. Must see at all costs.

Rajkumar Santoshi has an enviable portfolio with Ghayal, Damini, Andaz Apna Apna, China Gate, Ghatak, China Gate, Pukaar and Bhagat Singh. All his serious movies have intense moments, great dailogues and a great storyline. With Amitabh as the principal actor in this venture - audience were expecting Santoshi to pull up a fantastic feat. So what went wrong then? For starters, the length of the movie and then the sub-plots. The movie is loaded with twists. Count the number of them listed below:***** SPOILERS *******Atul Kulkarni not being a terrorist - Twist!Akshay Kumar change of heart to support a good mission - Twist!Ajay Devgan being an ex-cop - Twist!The CM being corrupt - Twist!The Commissioner being corrupt - Twist!The death of Atul Kulkarni - Twist!Change of heart by the officer-in-charge in Police Station - Twist!Deciphering the post box number where the important documents are stored - Twist!Aishwarya on the bad side - Twist!Tusshar finishing the evil for good - Twist, and the only acceptable one!Couldn't any of the regular baddie enacted the role of Aangre? Where was the value-addition of having Ajay Devgan?The story has its own doses of loopholes as well. Writer Shridhar Raghavan needed a proper reality check. Songs were not required neither the romantic track. This movie was projected as Zanjeer Part Two and had all of potential with story something like Amitabh falsely accused of letting the terrorist escape and the rest of the movie is how Amitabh comes out clean chit.Anyone who appears in the frame have been provided adequate scope to perform and have given their best - the director should be lauded in this respect.With given resources, a better product could have been churned out.

A good Director like Santoshi can sap the last bit of talent like a child sucks the last drop from a Coke bottle. Bachchan,Kulkarni, Devgan in that order have proven that they are assets to the Indian Cinema as opposed to a disgrace like Sharukh Khan,Johny Lever,Salman Khan,Shakti Kapoor etc. The movie has some excellent action sequences, incredible acting from Atul Kulkarni and Amitab Bachchan. Kulkarni who was the conniving politician in "Satta" is brilliant in the scene where he was set up and Bachchan has uses his full range and reportoire specially in the scene where he preaches the Superindent. Ajay Devgan is never a let down. I always maintained that Akshay Kumar is great in comedy (Heera Pheri)and I think Ash Rai should probably follow his foot steps since this woman has proven that she is unable to act period. AK, AB, and Santoshi, Action by Tinnu Varma should win awards and this movie is a representation of the evolving rebirth of Indian Cinema from the decadance.