By Pranjali Wakde
Ek baar jo usne commitment kardi, toh woh apne aap ki nahi sunta… but at least listen to your audience – Salman Bhai celebrates Eid with the unnecessary Radhe.
You know an actor is supposed to just step back from the cine industry and retire to his farmhouse when he spews out performances that are exactly similar to his earlier ones, even if he claims it’s not the case. That’s what happens with Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. And even if Salman Khan claims, “Radhe is a new film so we will not repeat what we have already done in earlier films. Otherwise, it will be that you have repeated yourself again…” don’t believe him.
Released on ZEE5 on the account of Eid – which is Salman’s equivalent of offering dahishakkar to a person setting out to do something important and even auspicious – the narrative doesn’t wait to introduce violence and bloodshed; it simply starts right away. Rana (Randeep Hooda) and his two henchmen, Girgit (Gautam Gulati) and Lota (Sangay Tsheltrim) kill a man to get someone else’s name and in a matter of seconds – covered by a depressing montage – sweeps Mumbai with drug addiction. Every attempt of the Police gets them killed… until one police suggest to call (drumroll please) – Radhe!
You already know how the movie is going to proceed – Radhe (Salman Khan) takes over the case, comes very close to catch the bad guy, takes a wrong step but comes back up and kills the bad guy. Then, what makes this film unique? Hmm, let’s see. It is supposed to be the remake of The Outlaws, a popular Korean film, but then, there’s no visible connection between the two… I guess that’s it for the uniqueness. Apart from Randeep Hooda and some moderately funny scenes, one can safely say that there is nothing new and impressive about Radhe – it functions more like Wanted 2.
It is clear that the director, Prabhu Deva, has used the Salman-umbrella, which covers everything, but unfortunately, colours that everything with very Salman-y shades. This worked in the 2009 hit Wanted – but not now, when the trope has been used more than enough frequently. Yet, that umbrella features here also and with even more intensity. Our Bhai peppers the narrative with his heavy dialogues, dance, almost god-like persona, obviously a shirtless scene (also perhaps a dahishakkar equivalent), too much violence and not to forget, an unnecessary love story plotline.
This secondary plotline is a love one, where Radhe surprisingly finds a lot of time to woo Diya (Disha Patani), who believes him to be a cute, aspiring model. She is slender, sexy, a model and apparently trusts strangers in one conversation; surprise, surprise, Radhe falls for her at first sight. Coincidentally, she’s ACP Avinash Abhyankar’s (Jackie Shroff) sister, who happens to be Radhe’s boss. The web of lies that Radhe spins around Diya is downright superfluous, and so are the songs they two grooves on. Perhaps they were added to the mix, because in which other scenes would Patani shine so dominantly?
And where Patani shines so brightly, the soundtrack emits a dull light. The songs are admittedly peppy and will make you tap your feet, albeit unwillingly. However, not only were they placed in the story in an abrupt manner – I mean, who dances right after the bad guy escapes and the heroine is saved from being kidnapped? – but the choreography also is unimpressive. Being an amazing dancer himself, it’s surprising to not see Prabhu Deva using his genius. Or maybe he tried – but no one, especially Salman, was able to pick up his moves.
As for the main storyline, what commendably hooks us is the seemingly advanced tactics of violence being used. Not only is it gruesome and bloody, but it’s also sneaky Hollywood-style violence. It provides a fresh upgrade to such films – since it’s not just kicks and punches, which are, I might add, also there. Along with Bhai, all goons use it, including the main villain, Rana, portrayed convincingly by Hooda. He is sinister, ruthless and in some places, more impressive than Salman. However, the stand-off between the hero and the villain happens so many times, that the final one takes the menacing charm off his character and makes the whole battle a boring and funny affair.
It seems like Radhe was made just to reinforce Salman’s image as a demi-god and the associated overused clichés, all of which are supposed to be appealing to us. The bad news for him – they are not anymore. Only those who are diehard Salman fans can sit through this excuse of an action film. As for others, if you want Bhai to personally wish you, Eid Mubarak, as he actually does in this film… don’t waste two hours of your life and just wait for his damn tweet!
Rating – 1/5
