The Hindu : Karnataka News : Apparently comic, but not

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Sunday, Jul 12, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Apparently comic, but not

Conflicting interests: A still from Short Kut.

Short Kut – The Con is On (Hindi)

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao

Director: Neeraj Vora

Of late Bollywood has been busy taking pot shots at its own queer ways. Neeraj Vora joins the list, but as expected, he has opted for a loud vehicle. The script doesn’t demand it but old habits die hard. The dialogue writer who gave us “Phit Hera Pheri” keeps on pressing the fifth gear in a film which requires careful manoeuvring. Considering he has lifted the idea from a Malayalam film, this is not asking for much.

Some films suffer because of their misdirected promotion. This is one of those. It is being promoted as a comedy, which it is not. It is being touted as a makeover film for Amrita Rao, which it is not. Whatever change the pretty lass has got, is only cosmetic. Her character graph remains sweet and syrupy.

Akshaye Khanna plays a wannabe director who doesn’t believe in shortcuts to fame. After assisting some big names for more than a decade, he is about to start his first film. He has a superstar (Amrita) for a girlfriend, who is ready to leave everything for him, but he doesn’t want to marry until he becomes a known entity.

In comes Arshad Warsi, who is a bad actor struggling to make a mark. The man doesn’t believe in hard work; he is looking for a short route to the summit. He steals Akshaye’s brilliant script and uses it as a bait to get his acting career going.

The bad actor becomes a star and a genius is about to wither even before he bloomed. An interesting premise, it reminds of Sai Paranjype’s “Katha”, with its endearing chawl ambience. And Neeraj has got a bunch of talented actors, but he seems determined to turn an entertaining drama into a shrill comedy. There is no point in keeping Arshad’s character over the top all through. It required a layered approach without taking away the witty repartees and humorous situations. Not only Arshad, here every character remains on a high pitch even when the situation cries for a subtle approach.

Neeraj has handled the second half better when Akshaye decides to take on Arshad, but then his editor seems to have gone asleep. Some lifeless songs don’t help his cause either.

If you can handle the noise, go have a blast!

A.K.

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