Laxmii Movie Review: Akshay Kumar Fails To Deliver Queen-Sized Entertainment In This Kanchana Remake

Plot

Aasif (Akshay Kumar) is a businessman who dabbles in the marble and granite business. He also doubles up as a member of an association which dispels myths about ghosts and spirits. "Jis din sach mein mere saamne bhoot aaya naa toh maa kasam chudiyaan pehen lunga chudiyaan," our hero proudly proclaims whenever anyone talks about the existence of supernatural beings.

When Aasif and his Hindu wife Rashmi (Kiara Advani) visit the latter's estranged family to make amendments for their elopement, little do they know that their family reunion would soon turn into a run-in with a bloodthirsty spirit of a transwoman, who is out to seek revenge from her wrongdoers.

Direction

Akshay Kumar's Laxmii is a remake of Raghava Lawrence's 2011 Tamil hit Kanchana. While the South film revived the horror comedy boom in Tamil cinema, Lawrence gets barely innovative in his Bollywood outing. So, if you have watched Kanchana, this Akshay Kumar-starrer has nothing new in store for you.

In a runtime of around two hours and fourteen minutes, you are served a platter which is filled with dialogues laced with forced comedy, some OTT acting in the name of humour and stereotypes. One of the biggest drawbacks in the film is the shoddy execution, which hardly gives us enough reasons to 'clap'.

Performances

While Akshay Kumar scores a brownie point for trying to do something out of his comfort zone, the actor is saddled with a disappointing script which barely does any justice to his acting chops. However, one must mention that the superstar manages to deliver some thrills in the 'BamBholle' song and the climax sequences. Kiara Advani is just reduced to a pretty smile. But then, even Kanchana didn't have a solid female character.

Sharad Kelkar hits the bullseye as the transgender Laxmii. Unfortunately, Raghava Lawrence barely gives him enough screen time. The rest of the cast including Ayesha Raza Mishra, Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajesh Sharma and Manu Rishi Chadha end up as annoying characters who put you off with their loud humour.

Technical Aspects

Vetri Palanisamy and Kush Chhabria's cinematography works fine for the theme of the film. Rajesh G Pandey's editing doesn't add any new dimension to the story-telling.

Music

The 'a aa aaa' background music from Kanchana ends up in a few scenes to make you nostalgic. Minus that, Amar Mohile's background score hardly adds some zing to the ambience. 'Burj Khalifa' song might end up as earworm for some. On the other hand, Akshay Kumar's energetic dance performance during 'BamBholle' song gives you a high.

Verdict

Akshay Kumar-Kiara Advani's horror comedy promises you laughs and thrills the size of 'Burj Khalifa'. Unfortunately, it barely reaches even half its length.