The movie revolves around Vishal (Emraan Hashmi), a middle-class man who is settled in Bangkok with his beautiful wife Anjali (Sayali Bhagat) and little five year-old daughter Nicki. Vishal and Anjali’s marriage is on the rocks as the two have slowly drifted apart from each other over the years. One day, on his way to work Vishal meets Roma (Geeta Basra), a stunningly gorgeous woman and there is instant sparks of attraction. The two get to know each other and it turns out that Roma too is stuck in an unhappy marriage. The more time they spend, the more their chemistry heightens until it reaches a boiling point. They decide to indulge in an extra-marital affair and hire a hotel room for the night. Just at that moment a thief enters the room and beats Vishal up badly. He rapes Roma before stealing all of their money and credit cards. Scared of their respective spouses finding out the truth about their affair, the hurt and wounded twosome part ways hoping to leave the horrible incident behind them. The next morning Vishal receives a phone call from the thief blackmailing him for money. The story is far from over as a cat-n-mouse game ensues between the two, and there is more to the game than meets the eye.
The story of the movie is an exact replica of DERAILED, and the writers have done a direct Xerox copy-n-paste job here. This wouldn’t be a first for an Emraan Hashmi starrer either given that MURDER, ZEHER, CHOCOLATE, and THE KILLER too were all exact rip-off from Hollywood films. The screenplay by Janak-Hriday has been altered slightly keeping in mind that this is a Bollywood film. The first 30 minutes of the movie are incredibly slow and poorly executed leaving the viewer bored and restless. It’s only when Emraan and Geeta decide to spend the night together, and the subsequent scenes that follow which gain momentum and catapult the movie to another level. From that point till the very end the movie moves at a brisk, break-neck pace right till the final reels. However none of the credit can be given to Janak-Hriday as none of the twists and turns are original at all.
Director duo Raksha Mistry and Hasnain.S.Hyderabadwala once again prove that they are able to successfully rip-off a Hollywood thriller and present it in Bollywood with Indian stars and a hit musical score. Their earlier film THE KILLER too was a decent copy-n-paste job of COLLATERAL (though nowhere near in the same league as Manns masterpiece), and here they prove again that they are more than capable of ripping off a Hollywood thriller yet “Emraanising” it by adding in dollops of kissing scenes, sex scenes and adding some very catchy tunes to the proceedings. The movie starts off flat, but once the pace picks up, it doesn’t let go till the final reels. The twists and turns will prove to be a surprise for anyone who has not seen DERAILED before, however for those who have the movie will provide them with nothing new at all. One sincerely hopes that Raksha Mistry and Hasnain.S.hyderabadwala decide to direct something original and fresh for their third film, as both THE KILLER and THE TRAIN have proven to be damp squids at the box-office.
Emraan Hashmi does what has now become a stereotype. Infact, the entire persona he plays of a “flawed” hero who comes right in the end has been now overdone. He has no doubt become more confident and in turn delivers a confident performance. He goes through his kissing routine with passionate glee and is effective in the dramatic and emotional scenes as well, though he doesn’t rise above the script and there are times when it appears that he’s just going through the motions. The entire get-up and persona of Vishal Dixit has no become a cliché of sorts for Emraan Hashmi and one seriously hope he tries to break away from this mould as gauging from the box-office response the audience has had enough of this “formula” now. I still think Emraan has talent and ability, but needs to start taking himself seriously. He has tremendous potential and his confidence, delivery and expressions have come a long way. Eagerly waiting to see his performance in Mohit Suri’s AWARAPAN which is apparently his best performance to date.
Both the girls in the movie are required to do two things. Firstly, look stunningly gorgeous and provide plenty of eye-candy including super-short skirts and tight tops and secondly kiss Emraan with passion and they both do that successfully. However both girls need a crash course in acting.
Geeta Basra takes a step back after her debut performance in DIL DIYA HAI. She needs to go easy on the make-up; she is already very very sexy and doesn’t need tons of powder and lipstick. Her delivery is flat and expressions wooden as hell. On the flipside she does have an amazing figure which she flaunts on every occasion she gets.
Sayali Bhagat makes a disappointing debut. She looks extremely sexy, and is very easy on the eyes. Her figure is to-die-for however she’s wooden as hell and expressions are out of sync. She is OK in some sequences, while plain bad in others. To make matters worse her character is regulated to the back-seat in the second half.
Aseem Merchant is good in his part and leaves a lasting impression in the scenes he’s got. He plays his negative role with relish and has a magnetic presence. Ananth Mahadevan (who was the director of Emraan Hashmi’s hit AKSAR which was produced by the same people who produced THE TRAIN) is OK in his small role. Suresh Menon is below the mark and irritates. Rajat Bedi as the nosey cop doesn’t get much scope to perform at all.
Mithoon’s music is definitely one of the USP’s of the enterprise. All the songs are well-placed and superbly picturised leaving a lasting impression on the viewer. WOH AJNABEE is the pick of the lot, and is one very catchy song. BEETE LAMHEIN and ZINDAGI NE ZINDAGI BHAR too are well done.
Technically the movie is good. The cinematography by K. Raj Kumar is well done, and the stunning locales of Bangkok and Pattaya have been captured with flourish. Bunty Nagi’s editing is crisp. Abbas Ali Moghul’s action sequences are exciting.
All up THE TRAIN is only worth a watch (on DVD) for those who like Emraan Hashmi’s brand of thrillers and haven’t seen DERAILED.
Overall Rating=6.5/10.0
Final Rating: * * *
