Bang Bang Review

In terms of sheer scale and budget, Bang Bang is the biggest release of 2014. The Hrithik Roshan – Katrina Kaif starrer has been in news right from the day it went on floors and the craze for the film peaked with the release of its theatrical teaser. Directed by Siddarth Anand, Bang Bang promises to entertain the audience with action sequences that have never been witnessed in a Bollywood film before. Does the film deliver on its promises? Let’s find out.

Story: Bang Bang begins with the killing of Viren Nanda (Jimmy Shergill). Cut to the next scene, we have the beautiful and single Harleen Sahni (Katrina Kaif) bathing, while her grandmother talks about the stolen Kohinoor diamond. Meanwhile, desperate to find a date, Harleen logs on to Truluvv.com and registers for a date with an unknown person. She bumps into Rajveer Nanda (Hrithik Roshan), who she mistakes to be her date. Bowled over by her beauty, Rajveer charms Harleen and the two fall in love. Or do they? What is their true identity? Watch the movie to find out.

Review: Director Siddharth Anand had everything at his disposal to make a good entertaining film - two of the most popular actors in the country, a humongous budget, a Hollywood action director who has worked on films like ‘The Amazing Spiderman 2’ and also a scriptwriter who last scripted ‘Kahaani’ in Sujoy Ghosh. Unfortunately, the film lacks in two major departments – story and direction. By the end of its 156 minute runtime, the only saving grace for Bang Bang are the action sequences and the charisma, style and dancing skills of Hrithik Roshan.

The first half, which is meant to build the suspense around the character of Rajveer is stretched too long and the director seems to be as clueless as the audience at intermission time. The background score is loud, the action sequences – although brilliantly designed and performed - are way too long and the leading lady of the film only makes things worse.

Things improve in the second half, a few dialogues and action scenes do keep the interest level going and the film does end well. Music is good, but even though the film has just 4 songs, it feels like one too many. The second song in the first half, Uff, seemed out of place and unnecessary. Meherbaan and the title song (closing credits, don’t miss it) are the best songs in the film.

Hrithik Roshan is the heart and soul of Bang Bang, he looks terrific is every scene, acts brilliantly and has the charisma and style to pull off a difficult role. He keeps up his energy level up throughout and gives the film his all. Full marks on commitment and dedication. Sadly, he is let down by his director. Katrina Kaif can’t act. She tries too hard, both to look cute and act. She gets the former right, which explains why she has been successful all these years. This might sound a little too harsh, but the moment she opens her mouth to deliver a dialogue, it makes you cringe. Sorry Kat, you are the hottest leading lady in the industry today, but acting is something that doesn’t come naturally to you. Danny Denzongpa and Javed Jaffrey are wasted. Bang Bang is Hrithik’s show all the way, the rest have very little to do.

Overall, weak direction and screenplay let the film down. The first half is poor, the second half is better. Having said that, Hrithik alone is worth the price of your ticket. He is that good. Two and a half stars for Bang Bang, with the amount of money spent, it should have been so much better than it was!

Reasons to watch the film

• HRITHIK ROSHAN – he’s outstanding.
• Action sequences
• Climax and title song during the close credits

Reasons to give the film a miss

• Weak directing – huge letdown
• Poor first half
• Film put together to showcase action, completely lacking in the story department

Rating:

At the box office, the opening is earth-shattering all over. The film will have a good extended weekend at the box office, but the big question is, will it cross the 200 crore mark which it was expected to?