By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Monday,
October
22,
2007
Vikram
Bhatt
has
often
been
accused
of
borrowing
heavily
from
foreign
films.
In
Speed,
he
borrows
from
the
Hollywood
film
Cellular,
which,
in
turn,
reminded
you
of
Phone
Booth.
Despite
the
similarities,
Speed
is
slick,
has
several
compelling
moments
and
isn"t
as
predictable
as
one
thought
it
would
be.
Speed
is
an
edge
of
the
seat
thriller
and
unravels
at
a
feverish
pace.
The
only
problem
is,
there"re
a
few
rough
edges
[a
few
questions
unanswered,
predictable
climax],
but
the
pros
easily
outnumber
the
cons
here.
In
a
nutshell,
Speed
is
an
engrossing
fare,
with
moments
that
stay
with
you.
What
do
you
do
when
you
get
a
phone
call
from
a
stranger
begging
you
to
save
her
life?
What
would
you
do
if
your
only
ray
of
hope
is
your
phone?
Zayed
Khan
comes
to
London
to
convince
his
girlfriend
Tanushree
Dutta
to
give
him
another
chance
to
prove
his
love
for
her.
Meanwhile,
Sanjay
Suri,
an
undercover
agent,
receives
a
CD
from
Aftab
Shivdasani
and
Sophie
Chaudhary,
which
contains
the
recording
of
his
kidnapped
wife,
Urmila
Matondkar,
and
is
asked
to
follow
the
instructions.
He"s
completely
confused
about
what"s
happening.
Soon
he
realizes
that
he
is
being
used
as
a
weapon
to
assassinate
the
P.M.
of
India
on
the
London
tour.
As
he
is
still
not
agreeing
to
plans,
Aftab
finally
decides
to
kidnap
his
kid.
Sanjay"s
kidnapped
wife,
Urmila,
starts
trying
to
escape.
Her
only
ray
of
hope
is
the
telephone
call
she"s
accidentally
made
to
Zayed
Khan.
He"s
in
touch
with
her
throughout,
continuously
talking
with
her
and
giving
her
moral
support.
As
Zayed
decides
to
help
Urmila,
his
love
of
life,
Tanushree
gets
annoyed
and
threatens
to
break
up
again.
A
happy-go-lucky
brat
Zayed,
who
never
takes
anything
seriously,
risks
his
own
life
to
save
an
unknown
family
just
because
of
a
call.
Aashish
Chowdhary,
the
super-cop
of
London,
is
in
charge
of
security
of
the
visiting
Prime
Minister.
But
as
his
girlfriend
has
her
birthday
the
very
same
day,
Aashish
is
caught
between
his
personal
life
and
duty.
He
obviously
chooses
the
later.
Will
Aftab
and
Sophie
succeed
in
their
sinister
plans?
Although
Speed
borrows
from
Cellular,
it
must
be
mentioned
that
the
Indian
moviegoer
has
witnessed
strikingly
similar
themes
in
the
past.
Yet,
in
all
fairness,
Vikram
and
his
team
of
writers
have
Indianized
the
plot
well.
For,
the
film
is
absorbing
in
most
parts,
except
for
some
glitches
in
the
second
hour.
The
Aashish
–
Amrita
track,
for
instance,
should"ve
been
better
developed.
Also,
the
film
gets
slightly
predictable
towards
the
finale,
although,
frankly,
you
don"t
really
mind
it
since
the
culmination
couldn"t
be
different.
Director
Vikram
Bhatt
is
in
form
this
time.
Thrillers
have
always
been
his
forte
and
his
handling
of
the
subject
material
is
commendable
this
time.
It"s
stylish
and
most
importantly,
it
succeeds
in
keeping
your
interest
alive.
Pritam"s
music
is
okay,
although,
given
the
genre,
the
makers
have
wisely
restricted
the
songs
in
the
narrative.
Pravin
Bhatt"s
cinematography
is
topnotch.
The
locales
of
London
are
eye-filling
and
give
the
film
the
required
sheen.
Action
sequences
[Abbas
Ali
Moghul]
are
well
executed.
Speed
belongs
to
two
actors
primarily
Urmila
Matondkar
and
Zayed
Khan.
Urmila
handles
her
part
with
dexterity
and
adds
freshness
to
the
goings-on
since
she
has
cut
down
on
her
acting
assignments.
Zayed
is
cool
and
suits
the
role
well.
Aashish
Chowdhary
springs
a
surprise.
In
fact,
the
actor
is
getting
likable
with
every
release.
Sanjay
Suri
is
a
fine
actor,
but
the
spark
is
missing
this
time.
Aftab
too
isn"t
fiery
enough
and
his
look
is
a
complete
put-off.
Tanushree
Dutta
needs
to
go
easy
on
her
makeup.
Otherwise,
she"s
passable.
Sophie
Chaudhary
makes
her
presence
felt.
Amrita
Arora
looks
glamorous.
On
the
whole,
Speed
is
an
interesting
thriller
that
has
the
advantage
of
being
a
solo
release.
At
the
box-office,
this
reasonably
priced
fare
should
attract
its
share
of
viewers
in
its
initial
run.