It is a Make Believe World

An Abbas Mustan movie, irrespective of its oft-repeated formula and predictable twists always generates some sort of a buzz, and though the director duo have been dishing out the same cuisine for all these years, their over-spicy and over used recipes, somehow aren’t that run of the mill. I won’t say that their newest offering is a masterpiece by any standards, but they have tried something different when they mask a new truth as they unmask the old one, with every successive frame in their film Naqaab.

There isn’t much to add about the technical details of the film, as it could have been far better. But it is high time we stop criticizing every second film on this premise, as one can notice that there is always scope for improvement. A particularly noteworthy aspect is the camera work, which has used the colours well, to convey both the real and the recorded world. Dialogues etc. are strictly mediocre, and so are many of the scenes. What makes the narrative style even worse, is the fact that the suspense revealing points in the movie are perhaps written out of compulsion and without any extra special effort from the writer’s side.

Amongst the performers, Bobby touches the nadir of his career. This observation however is taking into consideration the fact that I haven’t witnessed him in Shaka Laka Boom Boom. Akshaye Khanna is a delight, just because he is there, as usual. But neither does the script impart any value addition to his Star status, and nor is he bothered to make the movie a better one. He is busy doing the fake romancing a woman and actually falling in love with her and scheming for the victory of his love, and seeking vindication after being victimized bit; with sheer lack of interest and absolute insipid intentions. The new chick on the block is high on the oomph quotient. The religious display of her well toned anatomy is indeed a pleasure to watch, and very honestly this is perhaps the most aesthetic skin show that I have seen of late, including the wishy-washy works of the masters of such aesthetics Yash Raj, in their latest offerings. Kudos to the makers and the debutante for successfully walking the tight rope. In some scenes however, her bimbo act makes Amisha Patel look intelligent. Let us leave it at that.

Apart from being uninspiring and unwanted, the music doesn’t do much value addition to the proceedings of the film. And if the music is about one on five, let us suffice it by saying that it seems like a masterpiece when compared with the lyrics. The irony here remains that it is a Record company which produced this film. They sure have some Tips for the other film makers in this regard.

The worst thing about the movie is its release time, with Harry Potter casting his spell at the Indian box-office, and the successive weeks awaiting biggies like Partner and Cash.

Overall a decent fare, with good skin show, and major flaws here and there, the climax of Naqaab is sure to give the viewer a bad déjà vu of the Abhishek Bachchan flick Bluffmaster.