#Kick(Hindi) Rating: * * Sajid Nadiadwala’s much publicized directorial debut starring his favorite- the inimitable Khan, is basically a patchy ,ill-defined, masala-fried show-reel propounding Salman’s richness of heart(much like ‘Jai Ho’ in that respect), while riding rough-shod over technique, script, narrative, action, dialogues and all else. Sajid appears to be paying homage to his bestie here and Salman is allowed free-rein to do whatsoever he wants. And mind you, it’s not a pretty sight! While the production values and international locations add luster, the ridiculous choppy action and bloated over-the-top performances make you want to kick yourself for watching what amounts to a ego centered cinematic selfie! #SalmanKhan #JacquelineFernandez #NawazuddinSiddiqui #SajidNadiadwala #RandeepHooda #SpicePR
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Hindi Film review
Johnson Thomas
Running on Empty
Film: Kick
Cast: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Randeep Hooda, Saurabh Shukla
Director: Sajid Nadiadwala
Rating: * *
This one is for the brotherhood of inter-dependence. Sajid Nadiadwala has since long depended on Salman Khan’s star strength to do the trick for his productions and it’s been a ‘kick’ all along. So this film, ‘Kick’ , a remake of a south film, with Sajid donning the roles of Producer and debuting as Director, gives his hero a no-holds-barred license to ad-lib his way through the weirdest of antics ever seen in cinema. Salman acts as he pleases, utters his silly dialogues with trademark simpering impudence, dances with raw unpolished fervor, does the item grind in crude fashion, and action in a style that comes across as ridiculously fake. It’s basically Salman in full flow, riding on a sky-high ego and brandishing ‘hearty’ elements from his own life
The script attributed to Story writer Sajid Nadiadwala, Chetan Bhagat and Rajat Arora is a no-show here. There really isn’t much of it other than blotchy strands of threadbare plot intertwined with song and dance routines and rudimentary action. Much of the opening segment of the film takes on the ubiquitous job of explaining what ‘kick’ means. After some ridiculous exposition exposure you come to the conclusion that “kick’ is all about adrenaline rushes that the hero needs to keep him going. Incredibly inane sequences foloow just to establish that outlandish concept.
Devi Lal Singh(Salman Khan) is the everyman hero who not only helps young lovers elope but does it with canny control, much like a ring master does with his performing animals in a circus. That analogy is unfortunately quite appropriate for what transpires on screen here in the name of commercial cinema. The opening sequence has Devi piloting a weird looking hatchback attached motor-cycle with three passengers -a runaway couple and the bride’s beautiful Psychiatrist friend, Shaina(Jacqueline) through the bustling by-lanes of old Delhi. While he performs this showy escape act, he is also making time to call the bride’s Mother, a foul mouthed politician, informing her of his latest position en-route to the mandir. He also waits for her to reach the anointed place before he ferrets out the mangalsutra for the auspicious event. The bride is grateful for his intervention and explains his two-timing act away by claiming she wanted her mother to attend the sacred nuptials. Thus our hero is anointed the do-gooder. But ‘ Being human’ is not nearly enough to make his brand shine. He has to wear a ‘Zorro’ outfit replete with mask, black outfit, leather accessories and perform even more freakish dare-devilry in the name of charity before he can proclaim his own super-importance to the stumped and stupefied audience. Yeah. You guessed it. This film is merely a monumentally expensive show reel for a star who appears to have waylaid his shine. There’s no other explanation for such monstrously immature antics’ passed off as ‘performance’ on screen.
Sajid Nadiadwala , in his all out efforts to please his ‘muse’ even includes an animated segment explaining away the incredible precociousness of this wonder child born to incorrigible parents(Mithun Chakraborty & Archana Puran Singh). The wonder boy also assumes the role of ‘Devil’ a masked bandit who loots the rich to save the poor. And before he becomes ‘Devil’ he falls for the beautiful Psychiatrist, gets her Dad(Saurabh Shukla) to agree to the match and then for the flimsiest of reasons abandons her for murkier pursuits. So smitten childhood friend and good cop Himanshu (Randeep Hooda) who is hot-in-pursuit of the ‘Devil’ is allowed brief moments of stilted romance with Shaina before the inevitable happens…
The oft repeated explanation for Salman’s trademark illogic is that his fans love him irrespective. But that’s no longer the truth. .. “Jai Ho’ did not really do as well as the trade pundits proclaimed and previous to that, his endorsement of Modi, alienated a large chunk of his traditional fan base. The ‘Id’ effect is also not likely to help much because it falls on a Tuesday, two days beyond the weekend when most films take a huge dip. So ‘Kick’ will have to brave not only it’s own lack of credibility as an all-out entertainer but also the waning popularity of the ageing star. But of course that will not stop the marketing machinery from going all out to brandish the film as a huge hit. So beware..!
Salman no longer looks as fresh faced nor is he as agile as he was two films ago. In ‘Kick’ he is chunkier and also seems pretty much afraid to expose his once, much vaunted muscled abs. In this film his freestyle dancing, absurd facial twitches and clunky moments make him look less of an all-conquering hero. The incoherence, the sloppily picturised masala elements, the implausible narrative jumps, the sheer waste of talent (Saurabh Shukla. Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui all going over-the-top) makes the experience even more ugly. The only ‘Kick’ you are likely to experience here, is the severe pain in your backside after two hours and 29 minutes of such utterly irresponsible and corrupted cine exposure!
