Special 26 -- Movie Review

This movie released this year but since I spent most of the first part of the year travelling to and fro to Hyderabad, I had not caught it. So, when a colleague offered his copy (Thiruutu VCD / torrent file), I knew the weekend would slip past. However, it was many weekends later that I finally saw it. 

The movie stars Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpai, Jimmy Shergil, Divya Dutta, and a few other character artistes. The ensemble cast does not detract from the story. If I had to classify it, I will have to call it a thriller. However, it is first and foremost a good story and it has been told well. Most of the characters are well-fleshed out and support the story from the get-go. I thought Akshay would be the wrong choice considering his recent outings (Khiladi 786, Rowdy Rathore) but he was subtle and ably supported the script. Kajal Agarwal as the Khiladi Kumar's girl friend was a nice touch.

The story starts off with Akshay Kumar calling the local police station and asking for backup on a CBI raid. Jimmy and Divya Dutta are the backup police officers and they walk into a local politician's place and are part of the raid conducted by Akshay and team. As money is literally found in every beam, wall, ceiling, hidden cupboard, puja almirah etc. you are as awestruck as Jimmy and Divya. All the money bundles are moved to multiple government issue steel trunks. An official letter (essentially an inventory of the items) is typed up and shared with the politician and the CBI team leaves after informing the backup team to wait for further orders. 

Image Courtesy: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Reviews/Anupama-Chopra-s-review-Special-26/Article1-1008866.aspx

The politician is sitting with a towel on his head, his secretary and others are trying to make light of the matter while the backup team is re-living the amazing raid. After a long wait, the backup team calls the CBI office for information and realize that they have been conned. Both the backup officers are suspended but the politician refuses to file a complaint because of the embarrassment involved. Lucky strike for the fake CBI team is what you think when you realize that they have made a business out of this and this was nowhere their first or last strike.

Real CBI Officer played by Manoj Bajpai

The rest of the movie moves in an exciting manner and keeps you entertained. The suspended officers join forces with the CBI (real ones) to capture this gang. Manoj Bajpai as the main person in charge of catching the fake CBI gang is fantastic. His energy, love for his kid are small nuances which add life to the character. He does not seem like a person who will ever give up and because you were maha impressed with Akshay's plan, you are in a quandry as to whom to support. There is enough excitement and thrill towards the end as you wonder how the fake CBI team will attempt their final task and/or escape from the clutches of the CBI sleuths.  

Image Courtesy:http://www.glamsham.com/download/wallpaper/22212/special-26-wallpapers/46145.htm

Akshay is very well-dressed for the most part and travels only by air and comes across as a sauve gentleman. Anupam Kher has a surprisingly huge number of children and he explains it away that there was no television then. As he bids goodbye to his wife, you notice that she is expecting and you automatically gulp :) Akshay's love story, while believable, resulted in some song-dance stuff which diluted the proceedings somewhat. A nice movie- well-shot, well-edited, and was true to its storyline. If you have seen a number of English thrillers, you may not be too impressed but for a hindi movie, this was definitely a good watch. I was so glad this was not one of those blaaah movies - hindi films are known to be all hype, fluff, and no stuff. This was a nice change.  Thumbs Up!!