Though
National
award-winner
Prakash
Raj's
flamboyant
villainy
and
Ayesha
Takia
Azmi's
endearing
cuteness
do
miraculously
find
a
place
in
the
plot,
this
is
the
hero's
vehicle
like
very
few
masala-maar-ke
products
in
recent
times.
Welcome
to
the
world
of
the
one-man-army
Salman
Khan
adapts
his
goon's
name
Radhe
from
Tere
Naam
where
he
mixed
violence
with
vulnerability
in
a
heady
brew.
The
mix
in
Wanted
is
far
more
brackish
and
tangy.
Wanted
is
an
old-fashioned
bone-cruncher
with
guns
and
goons
creating
a
kind
of
orchestrated
anarchy
that
was
done
with
far
more
elan
in
Ghajini.
In
Wanted
the
violence
is
far
cruder
and
guttural.
The
hero
is
on
a
sort
of
society-cleansing
spree
where
the
mode
of
conduct
adopted
by
the
villains
and
heroes
become
the
same.
Director
Prabhu
Deva
retains
the
crude
edges
from
the
original
Telugu
material
Pokiri.
The
villains
are
vicious
and
foul-mouthed.
They
are
quite
often
seen
in
Khaki
and
very
often
represent
the
kind
of
unfettered
anti-socialism
that
can
only
be
contained
by
a
law-sanctioned
vigilantism
that
Salman
practices
in
the
last-quarter
of
this
blood-thirsty
tale.
By
the
time
he
goes
shirt-less
the
script
has
whipped
itself
into
a
sweaty
stupor.
The
plot
is
essentially
a
one-liner.
One-man
army
takes
on
a
city
filled
with
scums.
The
villains
are
everywhere
in
Mumbai.
It
was
Hyderabad
in
the
Telugu
original.
But
what
difference
does
it
make?
Cities
change,
morality
doesn't.
The
two-legged
predators
are
everywhere.
In
boats
and
trains.
In
pubs
and
warehouses.
One
khaki-clad
spitting
and
foul-mouthed
villain
(played
with
despicable
authenticity
by
Mahesh
Manjrekar)
even
infiltrates
a
decent
woman's
house
and
threatens
to
sleep
with
both
mother
and
daughter.
Ouch.
Mercifully
the
daughter
Ayesha
Takia
has
Salman
for
a
boyfriend.
But
the
poor
police
commissioner
(Govind
Namdeo,
in
a
positive
role
for
a
change)
is
unlucky
with
his
daughter.
She
gets
kidnapped,
raped
and
MMS-ed
by
the
arch-villain.
It's
a
mean
world
out
there.
Thank
God
for
the
screen
hero.
While
Vinod
Khanna
is
wasted
and
Manoj
Pawa's
role
as
the
overgrown
boy-in-a-bubble
next
door
doesn't
quite
fit
into
the
scheme
of
things,
Prakash
Raj
as
the
villain
gives
celluloid
diabolism
an
interesting
new
twist.
He
looks
zonked,
menacing
and
ironical.
His
confrontation
with
the
police
commissioner
is
written
with
that
polished
panache
that
brings
a
twist
to
pulp
frictions.
But
make
no
mistake.
This
is
a
made-to-order
film
for
Salman
Khan.
As
a
one-man
army
Salman
springs
into
every
frame
with
that
trademark
mix
of
a
bored
swagger
and
agile
comicality.
His
romantic
moments
with
Ayesha
have
a
lived-in
credibility
except
when
the
songs
take
over.
That's
the
cue
to
run
for
cover.
Strictly
for
fans
of
action
flicks,
and
Salman
in
that
order.
Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2009, 17:35 [IST]