Action? Thriller?

Sukanya Verma

Borrowed plot from Gujju play Mahapurush.

Inspired by Baazigar.

Bits of Aflatoon scattered liberally throughout the film.

What have you got?

One among the clutch of Akshay Kumar's yearly Khiladi chronicles. This time, it is Khiladi 420.

A propereous businessman, Shyam Prasad Bharadwaj (Alok Nath), and his bubbly daughter Ritu (Mahima Chaudhary) bump into a rich, eligible tycoon Dev (Akshay Kumar) in Canada.

All that glitters isn't gold. Dev is actually a small-time swindler out to dupe them with his conniving schemes to get the baddies (Mukesh Rishi, Gulshan Grover and Sayaji Shinde) off his back.

Dev manages to get Ritu to sign the property papers after he marries to her. But then, Ritu discovers the dark side of Dev and accidentally murders him.
Post-interval, Dev's twin brother Anand (Akshay Kumar), surfaces to drag this predictable plot to its conclusion.

It must be said: Khiladi 420 comes to life only after interval. Prior to which the film makes absolutely no sense.

The conversations between Dev and Ritu's childhood friend Rahul (Sudhanshu Pandey), for example, are totally inane. Also, there are too many character artistes popping in and out, screaming aloud for no rhyme or reason.

Negative roles and Akshay Kumar don't go hand-in-hand. It was evident in Aflatoon.

Khiladi 420 just affirms that as evil Dev, Akshay is ridiculously over the top and irritating to the core. However, he manages a decent performance as the sober and suave Anand.

The usually creditable Mahima, too, seems to have imbibed some of her costar's hamming skills. Throughout the film, she is either crying her lungs out or prancing in sphagetti-strapped salwar-kameezes.

Newcomer Sudhanshu Pandey makes a confident debut.

Technically, the film is inconsistent with patchy editing and erratic sound recording. First-time director Neeraj Vora can't seem to make up his mind whether he wants to make an action film or a thriller. And it shows.

On the positive side, the action rocks. Pappu Verma has executed some mindblowing midair and car blowup sequences. Thanks to the stupendous stunts, one tends to overlook the earlier flaws.

Music by Sanjeev-Darshan faithfully caters to the masses, with only one hummable tune: Jagte hai hum.

So what is it? Action or thriller? That's for us to know and you to find out!

CREDITS
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Mahima Chaudhary, Sudhanshu Pandey, Alok Nath, Viju Khote, Mukesh Rishi, Sayaji Shinde, Gulshan Grover
Director: Neeraj Vora
Producers: Keshu Ramsay
Music: Sanjeev-Darshan