Review : An Action Hero : Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat’s acti on-packed ‘Jugalbandi’!
In Hindi cinema romance and heroines are mandatory. There are a very few films, eg. Oh MY God!, Taare Zameen Par, Ferrari Ki Sawaari to name a few, which were made without a female lead or a romantic angle. Ayushmann Khurrana starrer An Action Hero joins that list as the film does not have a leading lady but has Nora Fatehi and Malaika Arora gyrating on ‘Item’ numbers. They both look sensuous and beautiful. Though it’s a courageous move as far as the director Anirudh Iyer is considered because this is his debut film. He is credited for the script too and knew exactly well that a ‘Heroine’ in this script could has slackened tha pace of the movie. This is Ayushmann’s first action film and the action is choreographed convincingly. Though there are a few flaws in the script but they get ignored in the fast pace of the proceedings.
Maanav Khurrana (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a star and is proud of his achievements. When he is offered a film on gangster he declines the offer saying, ‘Gangsters are irrelevant in today’s times’, while shooting for an another film in Haryana. The local goon, Bhoora Solanki (Jaideep Ahlawat), gets offended with his statement. He, now is an elected candidate from the area, summons him to meet him. In a scheme of things Maanav is gifted a swanky sports car by his producer and he immediately goes for a spin. The goon’s brother Vicky feels insulted and chases him down and asks him to apologise. In a scuffle Maanav pushes him and Vicky Solanki falls on a stone and gets killed accidentally. Police start looking for Maanav but he flees the place and even the country and reaches London where he has a palatial house. Bhoora wants to avenge his brother’s ‘murder’ and kill Maanav. He too reaches London and in a ‘cat and mouse’ chase they play ‘snake and ladder’ game.
An Action Hero begins with a promise but a few logic defying antics in the screenplay pulls it back. One of them being London police could not locate a person who has killed a couple of their officers. Maanav is made out to be a Hero who successfully evades police by running on the London streets. But the dialogues in the film are very good and a few one liners are hilarious. The witty dialogues have a dark humour and they do tickle viewer’s funny bones. The production value is high and the background score is excellent. The twists and turns are well executed and the end is surprising as well as interesting.
Whichever the movie, Ayushmann Khurrana, looks convincing and he doesn’t disappoint here too. He has executed good action scenes and his witty lines are perfectly timed. Jaideep Ahlawat plays the bad guy equally convincingly and he too excels in amusing dialogues. Both complement each other’s performance and their action-packed ‘Jugalbandi’ is worth watching. Other are good too and the debutant director’s first attempt is promising. Akshay Kumar’s cameo is hilarious.
***1/2
Keerti Kadam.
