Presenter: Mahesh Bhatt Banner: Vishesh Films Producer: Mukesh Bhatt Director Duo: Raksha Mistry and Hasnain.S.Hyderbadwala Music: Sajid-Wajid Cinematography: Sanjay Malkar Dialogues: Sanjay Masoom
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Emraan Hashmi, Nisha Kothari, Zakir Hussain, Bharti Achrekar, Prithvi Zutsi and Avtar Gill
Released: 21st July 2006 Genre: Thriller Status: Flop
The Bhatts of late have managed to gain a decent Boxoffice reputation as well as quiet a few hits from ZEHER, KALYUG to GANGSTER. THE KILLER was awaited for many a reasons including its unusual casting, exciting trailers and above all the fresh and rather unusual pairing of Irrfan Khan and Emraan Hashmi. Is the movie upto mark? Sadly NO..however Irrfan Khan is fantastic!
The story? Well, this is more a early millennium/late 90’s Bhatt film in the sense it is a rehash/copy from a Hollywood film-the movie in question is the Hollywood hit COLLATERAL with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. For those that don’t know the story—a contract killer/hitman(Irrfan Khan) arrives in town... ... with a list of people he has to bump off in one night. He gets into a taxi and asks the driver(Emraan Hashmi) to take him from each location to location, the driver is unaware that who he is driving around is actually a deadly killer until a body comes landing on the roof of his taxi from a highrise building after being shot at. From here on begins a cat & mouse thriller between two men….one who has never killed before and the other who kills to live!
Sounds interesting? Oh it is, Michael Manns darkly shot, sombre and expertly violent thriller is ranked as one of the best thrillers on recent times, however by trying to “indianise” the plot Raksha Mistry/Hasnain Hyderbadwala loose the essence of the original and the movie turns into a standard fare. The screenplay has been adapted to suit “indian” tastes(i.e more masala added with songs etc) however that’s not the real problem. The sequence of events are fine, but the director duo fail to hold them together and the turn of events appear rather implausible on-screen.
Director-Duo Raksha Mistry/Hasnain Hyderbadwala make a below average debut here. Given they are presenting a story on-screen which hadn’t been witnessed by indian viewers one wishes they had treated the story with some level of intelligence, however the treatment of the movie is standard. Take for example the portrayl of the cops hot on the trail of the killer. The way in which they are always one step behind and even their characterisation is so annoyingly 80’s that the viewer can’t help but laugh. The initial portions of the movie too with Emraan/Nisha come across as rather dull and bores the viewer.
Furthermore-the killings in the movie have been rather “standardised” unlike Cruises rather stylish and deliciously violent murder scenes in COLLATERAL, here Khan is just shown pumping bullets into people with his silencer revolver which doesn’t hold much excitement at all. So are the directors totally crap? Well not quiet! Although they have changed the tone of the movie from its rather dark mood to a more “happier” mood-they do manage to capture the “tom & jerry” chemistry between its lead duo. All the scenes with Irrfan/Emraan have been well canned and create the right amount of rapport with the viewer and amongst the co-stars themselves. The first half is rather slow, while the second half is notably better with the tempo picking up. The scene where Emraan goes to Zakirs house right upto the climax has been well canned for the most. A word of advice to the director duo..spend more time tightening your screenplay with your next attempt(don’t make it soooo clichéd) and also try something ORIGNAL..remaking a successful Hollywood film isn’t as easy as it seems.
The performances in the movie are superb from three actors..
1) Irrfan Khan! He is the JAAN of the movie as “The Killer”! The eccentric, evil, comic and sarcastically witty character has been portrayed to perfection by Irrfan and one can clearly tell that he is having a field day. It is hard to compare his performance with that of Cruises as Khan plays this character in his own way entirely with his trademark style. From his outfit(suit, pink tie) to his powerful eyes, mesmerising delivery, hilariously witty one-liners/dark humour and above all the CONVICTION that he plays the character despite script ineffencies..he manages to convince the viewer that he is a “killer”. Irrfan Khan simply ROCKS. Just witness the climax where Irrfan breaks into a number of eccentric songs and dances including “LAG JAA GALE” and “ZARRA SAAMNE TO AAO CHALLIYE” he is a RIOT!
2) Emraan Hashmi is good in his part. At the start of the movie he is playing his usual routine, and even in the initial scene where he finds out Irrfans identity he isn’t convincing at all. INfact the scene where he finds out Irrfan is a killer should’ve been a plum moment for Emraan to showcase his talent, however he hams it to a hilt. However in the second half his performance improve and is one that grows on the viewer as the movie progresses. All his scenes with Irrfan for the most are well done and given their diverse personalities/characters they do make a interesting duo to watch on-screen. Emraans best moment comes in the scene where he has to visit the Zakirs Hussians house. His expressions, delivery and body language is superb and he surprises the viewer with his intensity and conviction. It is relatively unfair for Emraan to outshine Irrfan here as Irrfan is clearly the superior actor in everyway and to make matters worse he is backed with the authorbacked role.
Unlike COLLATERAL where Jamie Foxx managed to hold his own against Cruise(some critics even believe that Foxx outshone Cruise), here it is evident that this is an out-an-out Irrfan show.
3) The third actor who does a fantastic job is Zakir Hussain. The actor left his mark in SARKAR as Rashid, and here in a small role as the Don Jabbar he is just wicked and plays his character extremely well leaving a mark in his small role.
Nisha Kothari looks GORGEOUS. Her smile is as cute as ever, and she looks deliciously sexy here wrapped in Sarees and club outfits, however her performances leaves a lot to be desired for, mainly because she is only there as the “glam” quotient and has a poorly etched character.
The rest of the supporting cast are below the mark in their roles and fail to leave a mark.
Technically the film is OK. Sanjay Malkars camerawork is slick, and he captures the picturesque locales of Dubai wonderfully, however compared to the dark and grainy look of COLLATERAL, this comes across with a way more “bright and happy” look which takes away from the mood of the movie in many ways.
Sajid-Wajids music is a HUGE disappointment. If there is one thing (for the most) that is guaranteed in a Bhatt film it’s the music. RAAZ, MURDER, KALYUG, GANGSTER to name a few examples, and where Bhatts music has flopped the film usually isn’t too far behind(FOOTPATH, NAZARR, THE KILLER). The songs act like speed-breakers here and ideally this is a movie that could have done without any songs at all. TERI YAADON MEIN and DILKO CHURAYA TUMNE SANAM are hummable in the cinema while they are playing but as soon as the songs are over, they don’t stay in the viewers memory. Also the need of the hour was a brilliant background score toi elevate a number of sequences and this is missing which dampens the movie further.
All up where does that leave THE KILLER? The movie is below average, however Irrfan Khan is just FANTASTIC. Personally, the movie is worth a dekkho once with no expectations just for the sheer pleasure of watching Irrfan Khan have a blast on-screen.
A.Shah
Final Rating: * * *
