Hindi
movies
have
undergone
a
sea-change
in
terms
of
content.
From
crude,
been
there
seen
that,
done
to
death
kind
of
movies,
to
films
with
substance,
the
audience
tastes
have
changed
over
the
years.
Even
though
we've
have
grown
up
on
the
staple
diet
of
desi
food,
we've
cultivated
a
taste
for
Italian,
Chinese,
Thai
and
Mexican
cuisine.
The
experience
with
Tashan
is
like,
you
enter
a
posh
restaurant,
waiting
for
a
sumptuous
meal
to
be
served,
but
what's
served
on
your
plate
is
vada-pau.
Tashan
takes
you
back
to
the
1970s
Bollywood,
when
illogical
situations,
blood
and
gore,
for
no
rhyme
of
reason,
were
the
main
ingredients
that
made
the
junta
break
into
taalis.
Sorry,
the
formula
doesn't
work
anymore!
Seriously,
what
was
debutante
director
Vijay
Krishna
Acharya
thinking
when
he
wrote
this
apology
of
a
script?
It's
perfectly
okay
to
revisit
the
classics
and
pay
homage
to
the
masala
films
of
yore,
but
the
new
interpretation
has
to
be
contemporary,
you
need
to
change
with
the
times.
The
one
thing
that
you
realize
after
watching
Tashan
is,
no
amount
of
gloss,
glam
and
top
notch
stars
can
ever
substitute
for
a
riveting
script.
Great
stars,
great
styling,
great
songs
and
great
visuals
work
as
long
as
the
script
is
great.
So
what's
the
verdict
then?
If
you
genuinely
miss
the
'Kamine,
main
tera
khoon
pee
jaaonga'
and
'Bhagwan
ke
liye
mujhe
maaf
kardo'
kind
of
movies
that
dominated
the
1970s,
pick
up
a
DVD
of
those
hits
instead.
Tashan
is
regressive
cinema
with
a
capital
R.
A
call
centre
executive
Jimmy
[Saif
Ali
Khan]
is
entrusted
the
responsibility
of
teaching
English
to
a
gangster,
Bhaiyyaji
[Anil
Kapoor].
But
Bhaiyyaji's
key
help
Pooja
[Kareena
Kapoor]
uses
Jimmy
to
swindle
Bhaiyyaji
of
Rs.
25
crores.
Obviously,
Bhaiyajji
wants
his
money
back
and
also
Jimmy
and
Pooja's
heads.
He
settles
for
Bachchan
Pande
[Akshay
Kumar]
to
carry
out
the
job
of
tracing
Pooja,
once
Jimmy
surrenders
himself
to
Bhaiyyaji.
What
happens
next?
Actually,
Tashan
starts
off
very
well
and
the
first
hour
unwinds
at
a
feverish
pace.
Besides,
there're
interesting
twists
and
turns
in
this
hour
that
make
you
jump
with
joy.
Akshay's
entry
in
the
movie
is
the
turning
point
and
the
actor
only
takes
the
film
to
a
new
level.
Alas,
the
joy
is
short-lived.
The
writer-director
goes
completely
off
the
mark
and
loses
focus.
Instead
of
coming
to
the
point
right
away,
what
the
writer
does
is
makes
you
run
in
circles
and
circles.
It's
like
boarding
a
direct
flight
to
London,
but
the
pilot
suddenly
decides
on
having
stopovers
in
Ahmedabad,
Dubai,
Budapest,
Munich,
Berlin,
Amsterdam,
before
landing
at
London.
You're
exasperated!
What
ails
the
film?
Various
factors.
The
film
goes
on
and
on
and
on.
Unwanted
scenes,
the
outdated
love
angle,
the
lenggggggthy
fight
sequences
[people
showering
Akshay
and
Saif
with
bullets,
but,
well,
nothing
happens],
the
confrontation
between
good
and
evil
in
the
climax…
you
actually
pinch
yourself,
were
you
watching
the
same
movie
in
the
first
hour?
Or
did
the
reels
get
changed?
Another
minus
factor
is
Vishal-Shekhar's
music.
Seems
like
the
composers
have
run
out
of
tunes
and
what
they
offer
is
best
suited
for
the
music
systems
in
their
cars
only.
With
such
impressive
names
on
and
off
screen,
the
music
directors
should've
ensured
that
they
come
up
with
tunes
that
remain
etched
in
your
memory…
in
this
case,
at
least
that
could've
been
a
redeeming
aspect.
But
the
music
is
awful.
The
picturisation
of
some
songs
is,
however,
quite
eye-filling.
Debutante
director
Vijay
Krishna
Acharya
seems
to
have
taken
the
audience
for
granted.
Cinematography
is
excellent.
The
locales
are
a
visual
treat.
Dialogues
are
good
at
places.
Tashan
belongs
to
Akshay
Kumar
completely.
No
two
opinions
on
that.
Take
Akshay
out
of
this
film
and
the
movie
is
a
big
zero.
He's
the
lifeline
of
this
project
and
his
performance
will
be
loved
by
elite
and
masses,
both.
Kareena
Kapoor
is
fantastic.
She
looks
gorgeous,
acts
very
well
[her
role
is
similar
to
the
one
she
essayed
in
FIDA]
and
yes,
she
carries
off
the
bikini
with
elan.
Saif
Ali
Khan
is
relegated
to
the
backseat.
What
did
Saif
see
in
this
role?
He's
hardly
there
in
the
second
hour.
Anil
Kapoor
entertains
at
the
start,
but
after
a
point,
the
Hindi-English
bhasha
gets
on
your
nerves.
Also,
it's
very
difficult
to
decipher
what
he's
speaking
most
of
the
time.
On
the
whole,
Tashan
is
one
of
the
weakest
films
to
come
out
of
the
Yash
Raj
banner.
This
film
has
gloss
aplenty,
but
no
soul.
At
the
box-office,
the
film
will
join
the
ranks
of
Jhoom
Barabar
Jhoom,
Laaga
Chunari
Mein
Daag
and
Aaja
Nachle
sooner
or
later…
Business
in
Overseas
will
also
be
weak
despite
a
popular
cast.