Movie Review

Rating :

Verdict : Wait for 2-3 months and watch it on Tv

Leader Paes, is undoubtedly one of the biggest sports person in India. He has brought many laurels to the country and has won major Tennis tournaments in his illustrious career. However 2013 is going to be a special year for Leander, as he is making his Bollywood entry with director Ashok Kohlis socio-political drama Rajdhani Express. The film also stars Priyanshu Chatterjee, Sudhansu Pandey, Gulshan Grover and Jimmy Shergill. Sayali Bhagat, Shilpa Shukla and Mukesh Rishi will also be seen in the film.

Keshav( Leander Paes), is an orphan who is brought up by his uncle. He is uneducated and mostly helps his uncle in his illegal activities. This is also the time when Keshav falls in love with his uncle’s daughter Reena(Sayali Bhagat). One fine day Keshav’s uncle knows about his love affair with Reena and kicks him out of the house.

A  depressed Keshav then boards the Rajdhani Express from Delhi to Mumbai. On the course of his journey he meets four other fellow passengers, who have their own set of problems. As the journey heads half way, one of the passenger turns violent and takes the rest of the passengers as his hostage. When the news of this tense situation spreads all over, the police department appoints Deputy Commissioner Yadav(Jimmy Shergill) to free the hostages. Finally, Who takes the passengers as hostages? What does Keshav has to do with the whole situation? and How does Yadav free all the hostages? That forms the rest of the story.

The only plus point of the movie is Jimmy Shergill. He looks and plays his part to perfection. Though his role is similar to that in A Wednesday, he manages to deliver a striking performance. All the scenes related to the hostage situation and they way he plans and plots the escape is decent. Sudhanshu Pandey’s role as a Bengali brings some laughs in the second half. Railway control room scenes between Jimmy and his colleagues make an decent impact.

This movie loses its plot, right from the start of the film. Leander Paes, who is the main protagonist of the film, fails largely to hold on to the plot. He simply does not have the sufficient screen presence, or the acting skills that are required to be in Bollywood. He looks raw and does not show any facial expressions.

There is absolutely no seriousness in the whole plot, and the first half moves at a very slow pace. Scenes have been dragged out to the core, and irrelevant comedy has been invoked. The thrill, plot and action which every thriller is associated with, is highly missing in Rajdhani Epxress. Senior actors like Gulshan Grover and Kiran Kumar are wasted in simple roles. Sayali Bhagat does not have anything to do and appears mostly in two or three scenes.

Since major part of the movie is based in the train, the whole set up looks real. Camera work is decent and so is the editing. Director Ashok Kohli loses the plot and makes the film very confusing. The story behind each character is not at all justified and has many loopholes. Screenplay is not at all gripping and the conversations between the lead characters look unreal.

Music by Lahu Madhav and Ritesh Nalini is lackluster. Some of the songs are pointlessly placed and sound really horrid.

This Rajdhani Express surely doesnt offer a jolly good ride. Abroad this journey at your own risk.