Boss Movie Review

Akshay Kumar hasn’t been having the best of times lately. His last 3 films have struggled to cross the 70 crore mark due to unfavorable response from the audiences and critics alike, although Special 26 did well considering it’s genre. Now he is back with his ‘Blue’ director Anthony D’Souza and this time they have chosen to take the remake route. Boss is an official remake of the 2010 Malayalam Hit Pokkiri Raja. Will Akshay Kumar be able to recreate the euphoria of Rowdy Rathore? Let’s find out.

Story: Satyakanth (Mithun) is responsible for the death of someone and his elder son Boss (played by Akshay Kumar who goes by the name of Boss) assumes responsibility for the murder and gets locked up in jail for a few years. After getting out, he shifts to a new city and becomes a part of the evil gang under the tutorship of Danny Denzongpa’s character. The story takes a turn when he is hired by the son of a minister to kill his own brother. Other characters also fill up the proceedings but aren’t important to the plot.

Boss Movie Review

Screenplay and Direction: Anthony D’Souza who got it terribly wrong with his underwater exploration-cum-treasure film Blue manages to find new light in a completely new genre. Masala has turned out to be a double edged sword with one hit film giving rise to ten flop films. But Anthony manages to make a decent film out of a rather contrived and convulated story. Most of his story elements are clichéd and are interspersed with hackneyed plot devices from 80s Bollywood films but they don’t matter much as Boss doesn’t get stuck in the same despondent note for a long time. The screenplay moves along in a fast paced manner and Anthony has adapted the Southern flick for the Northern diaspora commendably. Well, he deserves as many compliments as someone who can deserve for going the unoriginal remake way.

The technical aspects of Boss stand out for a masala film because of it’s superb action sequences and credit for that must lie with Anal Arasu (ignore that first name for a moment). Boss is worth a watch simply for the one-on-one climax showdown between the hero and the villain. The cinematography manages to capture the Northern landscape of the country decently and the production design is good enough for a film which doesn’t aspire to set new standards in the production design department. The editing of Boss is appropriate.

The music of Boss is a pleasant listen. Two tracks stand out. Party All Night is already a huge chartbuster and deservedly so. The title track has the ability to make the audience jive to it’s lyrics and tune.

Acting: Boss is a one man show and the man at the centre of it is Akshay Kumar. Akshay seems to have enjoyed being a part of a film after a long time and it shows. He is in full form in Boss. He is charming, flamboyant, funny and athletic and Boss has given him the opportunity to show his acting chops in full capacity. Shiv Pandit is okay as Boss’ brother. Mithun Chakraborty has completely hammed it up as Akshay’s father. Danny Denzongpa is a charming watch. Aditi Rao Hydari has nothing to do in Boss except for appear in a bikini. Ronit Roy gives rise to a Superb villain! And he proves to be an able match to Akshay’s Boss.

Conclusion and Box Office (or should we say BOSS Office): Boss turns out to be an unexpectedly enjoyable fare with a rather potent mix of comedy, drama, action and romance. Akshay Kumar’s star power and charisma powers Boss from an ordinary fate to an above average outcome. If you are in the mood for some harmless fun this festive season and if you don’t like to nitpick when it comes to movies, give Boss a chance.

In the Box Office counter, Boss will take an above average opening partly fueled by the national holiday but I expect it to come to it’s own from Thursday onwards. Boss should have a good run at the Box Office and I will not be surprised if we get to see Akshay Kumar get his first 100 crore film after more than a year and 5 films.

Positive:

• Akshay Kumar and Ronit Roy’s acting
• The funny sequences
• The music
• The action set-pieces

Negative:

• Mithun Chakraborty and Aditi Rao’s uninspired acting
• The laggy bits in the screenplay
• The cliched storyline

Rating: