Akshay Kumar has done numerous comedy roles but hasn’t
really had as much fun. We have seen actors steal scenes away from stars many
times before, but The Shaukeens is the ultimate star’s vengeance. Akshay
casts himself in a role where he’s playing a version of himself (one who
supposedly cannot act, craves for a National award and eagerly subjects himself
to torture from an unconventional abusive Bengali art filmmaker) and steals the
thunder away from bona fide veteran actors Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor and Piyush
Mishra by taking sporting digs at himself and proving that his comic timing is
the very best.
Fortunately, director Abhishek Sharma paces up the movie much
well by bringing in a lot more laughter on screen. While he picks just the one
line plot of the movie, the narration of his version, The Shaukeens, is put
together in a totally new set-up.
This means the movie comes straight to the point in first 10
minutes itself, unlike the Ashok Kumar - Utpal Dutt - A.K. Hangal affair that
took more than 30 minutes before the pace picked up. Also, out goes the whole
Mithun Chakraborty track that really contributed absolutely nothing to the
original. Instead, a whole new track centered on Akshay Kumar is introduced
which is truly relevant to the tale. Also, going with the present times, the friendship
between Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor and Piyush Mishra is not as sugar coated as
the one from the era gone by. This is what makes The Shaukeens a lot more fascinating
and appealing.
Luckily, it is free spirited Lisa Haydon who lights up the
screen every time she appears. She has the way of making every scene her own
each time around and while that was noticeable in Queen too, she does it all
over again in The Shaukeens too. As an outgoing soul who lives by the spirit of
being an 'Earth's child' (as she calls herself), she is really astonishing,
bindaas and cheerful. What makes her and her characterization ultra special is
the fact that beyond her body beautiful, it is her free flowing body language
and realistic dialogue delivery that make her extraordinary.
In addition, what makes the movie even more ultra special is
the 'most special appearance' of Akshay Kumar who is really the leader of the
pack. He is truly fantastic while playing a superstar who is confused with the
ongoing trend of 100-200 crore club when all that filmmakers are asking him to
do is repeat his Khiladi stunts! His effort to make himself worthy enough of
being an award winning actor is remarkable.
The climax scene is wrapped up pretty soon when a much more
innovative culmination in a humorous tone would have kept the film's overall comical
tone intact.
Nonetheless, what keeps The Shaukeens immensely entertained
are the performances, dialogues, locations and most importantly, the pace. In
fact the first half just goes by in a jiffy while the second half is made extraordinary
due to Akshay Kumar. Lisa Haydon keeps the sparkle intact and Annu Kapoor leads
the trio of old men with his punchy dialogues and a cool act. Anupam Kher lets
his hair down too, though a little more spice in his characterization and
mannerisms would have allowed him to cover a greater distance. Piyush Mishra
brings on good laughter as an unqualified businessman who struggles to make his
presence felt amidst his classy friends.
On the whole, The Shaukeens is worthy to watch once in terms
of the humour quotient.
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