All Style, Little Substance

Film: Tashan
Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor
Rating:*****
Running at: Menoka, Star , Talkie Show House
Let’s get one thing straight, Tashan means style or let’s call it ishtayle. And the film has plenty of that. Of course, you knew that — the promos were really helpful in pointing that out and the actors, it seems, had been told to make sure that the audience walks outs inculcating it in their lingo. So, every frame has somebody uttering the T word.
And Tashan has something for everyone. If you love the hinterland gangster style, there’s Bhaiyya ji, if it’s the seductress you are pining for there’s Pooja, and if it’s the suave Romeo that your heart beats for, there Jimmy for you. But to top it all there is the desi ishtyle, brought to you by the great Bachchan Pandey.
And when debutant director Vijay Krishna Acharya (script writer for both the Dhoom films) decided to make a film, he tossed them all into a bowl and churn out a phoren kind of phillum served with desi tadka.
So he creates a Bhaiyya ji (Anil), a small-town gangster who wants to learn some angrezi. So, he dispatches secretary Pooja (Kareena) to rope in call centre executive-cum-English teacher Jimmy (Saif) to teach him the language. So our hero teaches some angrezi to our villain while romancing his sidhi-sadhi Bhartiya nari, secretary. All’s well till she fools everyone and flees with Bhaiyya’s money. In comes Bachchan, the recovery agent, sent to fetch the femme fatale. And from there is just one thing in the film, it’s Bachchan ie Akshay.
Never mind the much talked about Saif-Kareena chemistry, forget about the new svelte Kareena who seduces you in every frame, there is just one person the film belongs to and it’s Akshay. He is the small-time goon who scares the life out of every one but is scared out of his wits by Kareena’s in-your-face sexuality.
He rocks, takes off his shirt, fights two dozen men alone, jumps across buildings and does it all with a panache. And boy will he leave you wanting more.
The first half is whacky, full of outrageous situations, crazy people, ridiculous outfits and fun. Acharya does not spare a moment and gets down to the point —that of the cat and mouse chase. From the desolate landscapes of Ladakh to the barrenness of the deserts, the first half rolls through in a jiffy. It’s everything that you had expected – the film is high on gloss and low on everything else. But you don’t mind, at least not till the second half starts and you start wondering if the director had lost interest in his tale. And that’s when you know that gloss alone is not going to salvage the latest Yash Raj offering.
As a viewer rightly commented in the middle of the second half in the dark hall while watching the film ‘arre Kyonki Saas bhi Kabhi Bahu bandh kar yaar’ (stop the Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu saga man!).
But enjoy it while it lasts, as they say all good things come to an end. This one did at the interval.