Initial reports indicated the movie revolved around the Anu Malik-Himmesh Reshammiya conflict, while latter reports said the movie was based on the Amitabh Bachchan-Shahrukh Khan rivalry. However the movies true source of inspiration is the Hollywood film AMADEUS (1984) which is based on the rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Mozart. Yes..I kid you not!
The movie revolves around the talented, ambitious and energetic Reggie (Upen Patel) who knows his music is the best, and dreams to be in the same position where AJ (Bobby Deol) is-the numero uno of the music industry. Reggie’s entrant and music makes AJ incredibly jealous. It takes AJ months to prepare great music, while Reggie is a natural and music comes to him naturally. With each growing day AJ’s paranoia, jealousy and insecurity manifold to the point where AJ is hell bent on destroying Reggie. Reggie looks to AJ as a friend and looks up to him, while AJ secretly hatches a plan to ruin him.
The girls in their lives are Ruhi(Kangna Ranaut) who admires AJ on a professional level but loves Reggie. AJ on the other hand loves Ruhi. Then there is Sheena (Celina Jaitley) who is good friends with AJ, but is madly in love with Reggie. What follows next is ambition, manipulation and desperation. Looks good on paper but as I said earlier..looks can be deceiving.
The movie has been written by Suneel Darshan himself and its utter travesty what he does AMADEUS. Taking a story with so much potential and turning it into a mindless, over-wrought and totally illogical melodrama is something only Suneel Darshan would be capable of. The setting in the U.S seems totally out of place given this is about the Indian music industry; it would’ve made much more sense to set the movie in India. The screenplay (Rajesh Pandey) ranges from atrocious to not-so-bad. The movie starts off at a brisk pace only to slump horribly. The pace does pick up towards the final 20 minutes which are actually pretty well done, but the climax and finale leave the viewer feeling cold.
As a director Suneel Darshan sensibilities definitely have NOT changed at all. Infact, there is not much difference in the kind of movies Suneel was making earlier and SHAKALAKA BOOM BOOM. The entire setting of the movie seems contrived and fake, and the whole “set-up” of the music industry in the U.S seems lame to say the least. Darshan however has handled a few individual scenes with flair. The scenes shared between Bobby and Upen have a definite undercurrent of tension running through them, and Darshan has established Bobby’s jealous nature remarkably well. The last 20 minutes of the movie are surprisingly gripping and Darshan injects enough tension and excitement, however the finale comes too fast and the movie just cuts off. The build-up to the climax was good, but the outcome leaves the viewer feeling “thandha”. It seems like Darshan was scared to charter into new territory hence he just ends the movie. It wouldn’t be a far stretch to say that this is one of Darshans “better” films; however that means shit all as this is still a pretty awful film.
The dialogues in the movie are mundane to say the least, absolutely trashy! One wonders what Anurag Kashyap was thinking…
The performances in the movie do spring a surprise, though they are sadly wasted, and in the hands of a more talented director they could’ve been something else.
Bobby Deol is surprisingly effective in a negative role. His facial expressions and delivery are on the mark, and the actor looks fresh and energetic. His scenes with Upen, and more-so the culmination of events leading to the finale are well done. Deol manages to convey the insecurity and jealousy of his character well and proves that he is just as comfortable doing a negative role.
Upen Patel’s confidence catches you off guard. The actor was nothing more than a “skin-show” in 36, CHINATOWN. In NAMASTEY LONDON he was impressive in an under-written role, and here he gets a role that’s parallel to Bobby Deol and he matches Bobby every step of the way which is impressive given Upen is new to the industry. Upens delivery is good, and he brings the egotistical nature to the fore with aplomb. However at times, Upen’s acting comes across as “overacting” and his overconfidence gets the better of him as his delivery comes across as forced. His get-up and hair-do are atrocious too and needs to be worked on carefully. Also given Upen’s physique and looks I seriously feel he would be MUCH more suited to action packed roles.
Kangna Ranaut is impressive here too. No this isn’t a GANGSTER or WHO LAMHE, however she rises above a mediocre screenplay and fleshes out her character well with a genuine performance. She looks ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, and drop dead sexy as well which surely helps. Undoubtedly one of the most impressive newcomer actresses we have.
Celina Jaitley is just HORRIBLE here. She has been given an under-written role which looks like it has been chopped in many places. Her character comes across as irrelevant and to add to that Celina’s performance is just horrible.
Anupam Kher leaves his mark in a small role and its infact his scene with Upen at the airport that’s the best scene of the whole movie. Govind Namdeo, Dalip Tahill, Viveck Vaswani Seema Rahmani and Asrani all play their parts as expected.
Himmesh Reshammiya’s music is very catchy, and the picturisations and choreography elevates the proceedings. This isn’t a huge surprise as music has always been a USP for Darshan. THAARE VAASTE, NAMUMKIN and the title track stand out as the best of the lot. Bosco-Caesar’s choreography is well done.
Viju Shah’s background music is probably the best thing about the whole movie. Shah’s score elevates countless scenes and it’s haunting.
Technically the movie is a flashy and slick product from Surendra Rao’s captivating camerawork to Sanjay Sankla’s editing.
All up SHAKALAKA BOOM BOOM can be skipped unless you’re a die-hard fan of Bobby Deol. The movie is a mediocre effort for the most barring a couple of scenes which hit the mark.
Final Rating: * *
