Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tamannaah Bhatia, Paresh Rawal and Mahesh Manjrekar
Director: Sajid Khan
Rating: 2.5/5
A film too slow for 2013!!
Sajid Khan always dreamed of making 'Himmatwala' since he was a teenager, and he did manage to bring the 80s look back onscreen. After delivering three comedy hits in a row, all eyes are set to see if Sajid's success spree continues at the box office. 'Himmatwala' has a good start with the 80's elements in a village - a bad guy and a son seeking revenge 'bees saal baad'.
Ravi (Ajay Devgn) returns to his village with vengeance and wants to set the landlord Sher Khan (Mahesh Manjerkar) and his brother-in-law Narayandas (Paresh Rawal) straight. Ravi reunites with his mother Savitri Devi (Zarina Wahab) and sister Padma (Leena Jumani) and it is one happy family. Sher Khan's daughter Rekha (Tamannaah Bhatia) falls in love with Ravi and helps him in his mission to take revenge.
One reason why 'Himmatwala' worked in the 80s was because of its music; Sajid made a smart move by keeping the original tracks 'Naino Mein Sapna' and 'Taki Taki' in the movie as that adds the 80s flavor. Sonakshi Sinha's item song 'Thank God it's Friday' is decent, however, the item song 'Dhokha' gets a thumbs down.
Ajay Devgn is known for action, and once again he proves that he is the 'King' when it comes to stunts; his fight scenes with the tiger are extremely well shot, in fact, it is the highlight of the movie. Ajay does a good job at drama, comedy and romance too, however, he looks apprehensive when it comes to dancing and he looks lost.
Tamannaah has 'Star' written all over her; she looks beautiful, has great screen presence and is a very good dancer. Mahesh Manjerkar plays the perfect villain, and he even has a funny side; he is terrific in his role. Paresh Rawal recreates the 80’s 'funny guy' really well, his look in the movie and his jokes are really hilarious, he is surely outstanding.
Zarina Wahab plays the ideal 'Maa' from the 80s, who is emotional about her kids and is fearless when she comes face to face with the villain. Leena Jumani does a good job as Ajay's sister, in fact, she has more acting scope than the leading lady of the movie. Adhyayan Suman attempts playing the bad guy, but does an ok job.
Sajid Khan dares to direct a remake, and that too set in the 80s; though the pace of the movie is slow for the current generation, he does a good job as he makes a good movie with impactful performances. The editing of the movie is bad and some background score would have added more life to the movie.
Easter weekend will give 'Himmatwala' a good start, and the fact that summer vacations have just started will give the movie a good opening too.
'Himmatwala' has all the ingredients - drama, action, romance and dance, but we wish Sajid had made the movie more flavorful by adding some seasoning, probably then it would have been a great movie to watch.
