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L A K E E R -Forbidden Lines
love triangle/action

Starring Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Sohail Khan, John Abraham, Apoorva Agnihotri and Nausheed

Direction : Ahmed Khan

Music: A.R. Rahman


reviewed by Jox

Great visuals...mindblowing soundtrack...punching performances...fabulous action sequences...and so on. Atleast that is some of the terms I thought I would lbe using to review this action flick from choreographer turned director Ahmed Khan.

But forget it...nothing of that is happening here. Right from the word 'go' the camerawork is so 'in your face' with the wide span zooms and bad angle shots. IT was all wrong.

Wait let me start from the beginning...and the beginning is a dull title sequence where we are given a narration on the background of the character of Arjun Rana- the character from Sunny's earlier hit ARJUN. That was certainly not a positive sign and I knew that was signs of things to come. Add to that, I could here nowhere Rahman crooning 'Lakeeeer' (the one we get in the trailers) and the background score is credited to Aadesh Srivastav. More bad signs....oh save me.

The film kicks off to a real boring non-happening first hour of reel time. So the story so far...



Arjun, is now more like a demi god with all the people looking up high at this personality Arjun Rana (Sunny Deol). Gone are the days of this orphan who grew up in Surajnagar under the guidance of his foster father, referred as 'Baba'. Now Arjun's love however remains reserved for his two gems - one his so-called brother Karan (Sohail Khan), the real son of his 'baba'.

The other for the daughter of his baba's right hand man who died in the line of duty, and who has been looked after by Arjun Rana for quite some time - a chirpy happy go lucky Bindiya (Nausheed).

Back at Surajnagar, we have a stud of a small time garage mechanic Sanju (Suniel Shetty) who dreams of reaching the heights that his idol Arjun Rana is, but at the same time is ready to lay down his life for the sake of his brother Saahil (John Abraham).

Now Saahil studies in the same college as Bindiya and Karan. And Bindiya is the love in the life of both Saahil and Karan. So when Karan knows that Saahil is getting a bit too close to Bindiya, he warns him off. A furious angry Saahil is left with self-inflicted wounds which brother Sanju mistakes for the doings of Karan's bunch of buddies headed by Rony (apoorva Agnihotri). However Sanju ends up banging the daylights out of Karan mistaking him for Rony.

A battered up Karan sends our Arjun Rana furious and thirsty for revenge.



First of all the relationship between Karan and Bindiya- that is a big time problem. For we are shown them to be such a close well-knit family with both referring to Arjun as 'bhaiya'. But then when you see Karan falling for Bindiya, it looks more like an incestious relationship and no one would really bother to know as to who is adopted and who is not.

Then for an action film, this turned out to be more of a love triangle with a lot of brotherly love thrown in. But the lack of romantic moments and the total lack of humour is one thing that sticks out quite evidently inspite of all the jazzy colours and glossy look.

Talking about its look, Ahmed Khan's pro-western setup of clothing, culture and hang out gave it all a unrealistic setup which eventually took away a lot from the gritty feel that the movie could have benefitted from.

So like I said, as Ahmed Khan introduces us to the various characters and throws in a song too many, we have one boring first hour. But from the scene where Karan confronts Saahil at the college campus right till the interval, you can feel the heat generated. Suniel Shetty makes quite an impact by then, and the audience expects Sunny to finally erupt.

Post interval, that eruption never happens. And so sinks the film. Instead of a battle de royale between the angry action kings -Sunny and Suniel, what we get is more romance and brotherly morals and values. Forget it, and punch them out, guys!!!

No, Suniel and Sunny compromises and takes a step back and let Sohail Khan and John Abraham take on things from thereon and the film never emerges from its ashes.

The fancy camera was a bit too tiring and the music from Rahman lacked the punch since most of the songs were packed back to back in the first half. However 'Nachle Nachle' gets a great response from the crowd when it comes on later.



Suniel Shetty steals the shows hands down. He looked class, acted class, and was oozing with style like no other, right from the first frame where he makes his appearance. He was in complete control over the proceedings.

Sunny Deol was pretty ok. Every other time he looks like he might just erupt and give us a Sunny that we are looking out for, but instead we get a good 'big brother' act like in Dillagi. He was too closed up in his demi god role that it never gave him an oppurtunity to get on with things.

Sohail Khan gets a lot of the screen time in my opinion and here, he is in no way giving us anything even remotely close to his performance in the recent 'I-Proud to be an Indian'. But both he and John Abraham puts in decent performances with lots of ketchup but nothing outstanding or worth praising sky-high.

Nausheed was chirpy and good overall and looked an improving performer. Apurva Agnihotri was quite decent enough.

It is surprising how for an Ahmed Khan movie, the choreography duties are handed down to various others. Again, thanks to the lead actors all being big time no-dancers none of that had any effect either.



The screenplay failed at all major hurdles to keep the tensions alive. Like I said, the humour wasn't there, hardly any action for a so-called action flick, and the restrained Sunny isn't going to help Ahmed Khan score anything with this debut venture. The only good thing it will do for the action genre is that it leaves an action flick like RUN a good chance to show its stuff at the box office. LAKEER is a disappointing action flick from the word 'go.'

After what Farah Khan gave us a couple of weeks earlier, I thought this would be a worthwhile entertainer too...but oh brother, why bother?



*** TOLD u, NEXT FLOP will be RUN, followed by YUVA!

Lakeer: Beyond the pale

Vivek Fernandes | May 14, 2004 19:57 IST




Bachhe log popcorn ko bhi chhod ke bhaag chale [Kids even left their popcorn behind]," remarked one viewer pointing to the half-eaten packets left by the deserters. And he wasn't the only one ruing his fate as we walked out after the first day, first show of Lakeer — Forbidden Lines. Yes, those were the three longest hours of my life.

That will probably alert you that this review ain't gonna be pretty. So buckle up.

Really, what were actors Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Sohail Khan and John Abraham, or, more importantly, choreographer-turned-writer-director Ahmed Khan thinking?

Here's a thought, though. It is a pity that we don't have the Bollywood equivalent of 'The Razzie Awards' honouring Hollywood's worst. For this film would definitely have been in contention to make a clean sweep.

From the tacky art direction (ever heard of hospitals with a 'CITISCAN' department? Or stadium seats being painted on to the sets?) to the garish costumes (purple lace shirts?!) and makeup (mercurochrome, where is thy sting?), this caper ought to be slotted as one of those 'things that make you go hrmphf!'.

Brotherly love takes a beating, literally, in Lakeer. Sunny Deol plays Arjun Rana, a don with a conscience, and he is as popular with people as he is with the police commissioner. Never mind the rather outlandish metal tie-knot he sports, the ties that bind him to family are foster brother Karan (Sohail Khan) and foster sister Bindiya (Nauheed Cyrusi).

Arjun, an orphan, was taken in and weaned into the mafia by Karan's real father, fondly remembered as Baba in Surajnagar, his basti. As the prosperous head of the business after Baba's passing, he is Karan's caretaker. Also entrusted to his care is Bindiya, another orphan Baba took in.

Arjun wants only the best for Karan and Bindiya. More importantly, he wants to keep them from taking the violent path he has trodden.

Suniel Shetty plays Sanju, the resident toughie-mechanic at Surajnagar. And the apple of his eye is younger sibling Sahil (John Abraham) who studies in the same college that Karan and Bindiya attend.

By the way, we are already done with a couple of songs and a car-race before these introductory formalities are complete. Also, what's with the goings-on in this college? Are we so naïve as to believe that cheerleaders, pompoms, and Kawasaki bikes are all there is to college life? With basketball team names like Tigers and Wolves and the remainder of this delinquent plot director Ahmed Khan churns out, one wonders if he ever had a college education?

To get back to the story, not that there is much to tell, Sahil has a crush on Bindiya, who reciprocates his feelings. But it suddenly dawns on Karan that she is the girl of his dreams too. Here's a triangle that ties the film up in naughts. For when one's brother is harmed, the other is up in arms. Oh, brother! How we wish they would use words instead of fists to do the talking, for we would put the film to the grave it deserves within the hour.

But with Lakeer, there is no such luck. The only respite is A R Rahman's music. But that too offers only minor consolation.

The performances are just about okay. But it's not the actors who need to take the blame here. Sunny and Suniel can't do justice with their badly etched characters. Sohail Khan is rather wooden. John Abraham had it far better with Jism. And whatever possessed ad-girl Nauheed Cyrusi to choose this film?

This is the second film directed by a former choreographer, after Farah Khan's Main Hoon Na, to hit the marquee this month. Though I cannot comment on Ms Khan's cinematic endeavour, for Mr Khan there's much to be said about core competence. And sticking with it.

Lakeer

By Taran Adarsh, May 14th, 2004 - 1600 hrs IST


First things first! If you think that LAKEER signifies the line of control between India and Pakistan, you're mistaken. It's about relationships!

Assembling a mammoth star cast is an arduous task. Justifying each character and extracting wonderful performances from each actor is an achievement by itself. It is all the more significant if you happen to be a first-time director.

Choreographer turned director Ahmed Khan makes an impression in his very first attempt. LAKEER not only boasts of wonderful performances, but is a stylish and superior product in terms of technique.

But Ahmed Khan, the director, falters in the post-interval portions thanks to a mundane and humdrum screenplay by Ahmed Khan, the writer. The second half just doesn't measure up to the expectations generated by the first half of the film.

Arjun Rana [Sunny Deol] is an underworld kingpin, feared by all. The apple of his eye is his brother Karan [Sohail Khan], who uses his brother's rich and famous image to the maximum advantage and always procures what he desires.

On the other hand, Sanju [Suniel Shetty] is a motor mechanic, loved by all. He idolizes Arjun Rana and wants to become like him some day. His love for his brother Saahil [John Abraham] is absolutely unshakable.

Saahil is in love with Bindiya [Nauheed Cyrusi]. And Bindiya happens to be Arjun Rana's sister. LAKEER deals with how circumstances change when relationships cross the forbidden lines…

LAKEER is more of an emotional story than an underworld saga. Ahmed Khan takes his own time to introduce the five important characters in the film, making the viewer restless in the process. But the story gathers momentum midway through the first half, when there is an attempt to eliminate Sunny.

Thereafter, two vital sequences -- Sohail and Apoorva confronting John in the campus as also Suniel thrashing Sohail in the college, mistaking him to be Apoorva -- only succeed in increasing the curiosity value towards the film. And as the film reaches the interval point, the viewer is already hooked and looks forward to an exhilarating second half to unfold.

Regrettably, the story does an about-turn in this half. For, one expects Sunny to swing into action, but the story changes gears and develops into a love triangle, with both Sohail and John vying for Nauheed's love. The graph of the film continues to fall since the love triangle just doesn't evoke the feelings in the viewer.

LAKEER picks up again towards the finale, when Sohail picks up a gun in a fit of rage. His transformation from a person who cannot express his love to a person obsessed with the girl he loves, has been handled remarkably. But the sequence thereafter, when Sunny explains his point of view, gets cumbersome and talk-heavy. In fact, the sequence [more of sermonizing!] gives the viewer an impression that it was a deliberate attempt to enhance Sunny's stature, making him look the most important character in this multi-hero flick.

LAKEER boasts of some brilliantly executed sequences and those clearly indicate that Ahmed Khan is an accomplished technician. Not once do you get the impression that the film has been directed by a first-timer. But Ahmed needs to brush up his writing skills. The film depicts the fight between two good sides [there's no good versus evil thankfully!] and that's what keeps the audience interest alive in the first half. But the script in the post-interval portions compel you to think that the writer cum director must've either got confused or perhaps, he just wanted to play safe by opting for clichéd situations.

When a film boasts of a musical score by A.R. Rahman, it is only natural to expect a chartbuster. The maestro has given us immense reason to believe that he is capable of the very best. But going by Rahman standards, the music of LAKEER is plain mediocre. 'Nachle', 'Paigaam' and 'Shezaade' are the three tracks you can single out, though they are no patch on Rahman's earlier tunes. However, they do get a boost due to the superb picturizations. All said, LAKEER is low on melody, but high on style.

Johny Lal's cinematography captures the mood of the film with utmost precision. This is amongst Johny's finest works to date. Mehboob's dialogues are well worded at times, but oft-repeated at places. The background score [Aadesh Shrivastava] is excellent. Action scenes [Abbas Ali Moghul] are top class.

It's after a long time that you find Sunny Deol keeping you engaged with his performance. The actor enacts his part with such perfection that you wonder why was he so indifferent in his last few films. Suniel Shetty looks dashing in a new look and comes up with an equally convincing performance, although he really doesn't get the best of lines.

Sohail Khan is a revelation. The film rests on Sohail and John's shoulders and Sohail underplays it with flourish. His sequences with John especially only indicate his growth as an actor. John Abraham has to convey so much through facial expressions and he does it like a seasoned performer.

Nauheed Cyrusi is first-rate. The actress was awkward in her earlier films [SUPARI, INTEHA], but she more than rises to the occasion this time around. Despite sharing the screen space with much more experienced actors, Nauheed stands out with an uninhibited performance in this male-dominated flick.

Apoorva Agnihotri leaves a strong impression in a negative role. Vrajesh Hirjee, Hemant Birje and Avtar Gill are adequate.

On the whole, LAKEER has a good first half, but an insipid second half. Given the impressive face-value and vibrant action, it might appeal to the masses, but not the classes and family audiences. However, its business will vary from circuit to circuit, with North India [Sunny Deol territory] fetching better returns.

Rating:- * *.

Nail in the COFFIN:

AHMAD KHAN'S DIRECTORIAL DEBUT IS A WEAK FILM

By Pankaj Shukla

Critic's I-view

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Those who have seen Anil Kapoor's hit film 'Mr. India' will remember the effervescent young dancing boy among many orphans who were being brought up by the hero in the film. The young boy then moved on to assist some of the best of the choreographers of the industry until Ram Gopal Verma gave him the break as the choreographer in 'Rangeela'. The young man since then never looked back and earned a name for himself and it was producer Vashu Bhagnani who first signed him as a director. The things could not work out but destiny favors the brave and this young chap has seen release of his first film as director at an age of just 29.


Meet Ahmed Khan. He is the new entrant who holds the happenings on the sets from behind the camera. His first film 'Lakeer' may not fetch the best of the fortunes for him, but it shows his capability. Capabilities that he is a good technician, that he is true ring man to put some of the big names to task in one frame and capabilities that he is not too young to be a filmmaker on his own. Yes, Ahmed Khan has not only directed 'Lakeer- Forbidden Lines' but he has also written it. It was Sunny Deol who made things take shape for Ahmed Khan. However, Ahmed Khan's name goes as a writer in the credits. The story idea was hatched in Sunny's mind only. He wanted to make the film with some other producer but eventually the project landed in the hands of Vivek Kumar, who has earlier produced films like 'Angrakshak' and 'Zor' for Sunny Deol.

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'Lakeer-Forbidden Lines' is about love in different phases and relations. Saahil (Jon Abraham) loves Bindiya (Nauheed Cyrusi, the Piya Basanti girl). Saahil is the dear kid brother of Sanju (Suniel Shetty) who works as motor mechanic and idolizes his boss Arjun Rana (Sunny Deol) like God and wants to be like him one day. Everything is fine in the story but until Karan (Sohail Khan) the spoilt brat and younger brother of Arjun Rana enters the scene. He will do anything to get his choice and for this he openly and heavily uses name of his big brother.

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He crosses lines, and that brings in Sanju in the fray who does not take it easy. Arjun Rana is involved too in all this because of his brother and that brings in his real face in the open for all those near and dear ones. Arjun Rana is not what every one knows about him; he is more than that. 'Lakeer' is not about war between two countries but it is about the battle between people of two diverse thinking and it also preaches about one's limitations and reservations. 'Lakeer' showcases different boundaries of society and tries to make it clear with its depiction as to what may happen if people do not respect these restrictions.

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'Lakeer' is a true masala film in all its making. The storyline seems familiar with so many films made in recent years. So what is new in the film? Ahmed Khan may have chosen a typical Bollywood style storyline for his debut, but he tries to be different in his presentation. He tries to key in certain new themes and dimensions in relations. Besides, he also tries to present certain situations that are often repeated in Hindi films but in his unique style. He fails as a narrator. The writer Ahmed Khan makes director Ahmad Khan bite the dust. He was expected to be fresher in his ideas and more daring in his concept. Not many will figure out in this film that a new director makes it. This is a compliment for him, but it also creates hurdles for him as a director for the reason that he is not different from the breed of others who choose the safe path of filmmaking. Ahmed Khan cannot be put along with directors like Farhan Akhtar or Nikhil Advani. He cannot be included in the list of the likes of directors who made films like 'hankaar Beats' or 'Shaadi Ka Laddoo'. Trying to play too sage, Ahmed Khan has put his identity in danger.

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'Lakeer' has big names associated to it in every department. Sunny Deol shines among actors in a mature role of underworld don. Suniel Shetty tries to match with him and John Abraham and Nauheed are at their best too. Sohail Khan who in his most films has been imitating Sunny Deol only finds it a hard task to make his presence felt among so many known names. The total star cast has worked in the film with full devotion and gets praise in one scene or another. However, what makes the total impact of the film go haywire is its script.

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Ahmed Khan takes too much time to set the paces for the film and by not choosing correct plot points he falters in maintaining the pace of the film. Mehboob has tried his hand in writing too but his lines lack current and punch. Bigwig A R Rehman too fails to impress by his music. His compositions are nowhere near to his earlier works, though Abbas Ali Moghul leaves some impression in stunt scenes. On the whole, 'Lakeer-Forbidden Lines' will find it hard to sail through the rough weathers at the box office. The film may find some patronage in north where action is favored. But to maintain the same results in metros and in multiplexes will be a tough task. Lack of novelty may make it lose the ground in the very first week itself at many places.

Bhaipass surgery By: Khalid Mohammed May 16, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakeer Cast: Unawesome foursome + a heroine who sparks a near World War III Direction: Ahmed Khan Rating: **

Car car dekho. Mercedes-Benz it like Beckham. Rejoice in a Rolls Royce. Or just go Fiat-a-fat-a-fat. Boy o boy, wheels hotter than the May temperatures burn up the asphalt on the Bandra-Kurla expressway. For no apparent reason.

Total cinematic treason. Yet another choreographer turns director, but alas the intrepid soul can’t even draw a straight Lakeer across the screen. Utterly wobbly-‘n’-wonky, first-timer Ahmed Khan just can’t get his act 2gether in this hotchpotch about a pair of muscular brothers who’re manically obsessive about protecting the interests of their younger siblings. So there you are back in those bhai-lanes.

Cadging elements from that old chestnut West Side Story (storywise) and Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet (stylistically, note the barren beachside boom-booms already cogged in Josh), Khan goes terminally haywire. Indeed, at several points, you wonder wassup, a word that’s frequently used by the background music lyrics. Geet it, beat it.

Be-bop that as it may, the big bhais are none other than a Rolls Royce mafia boss (Sunny Deol, reprising his Arjun-Ghayal-etc-etc act) and a jalopy garage mechanic (Suneil Shetty in sharbaty contact lenses). Gasp.

As it turns out, Rolls Royce’s foster bhai (Sohail Khan) and Jalopy’s bio-bro (John Abraham) are at loggerheads over the affections of a well-scrubbed Venus duh Milo (Nauheed Cyrusi, ahem ahem). And waddya know? The beauty of sorts has this penchant for romantique greeting cards, and of course for fluttering her I-lashes. Eeeps.

Next: Lahoo and behold. The kid brothers war over Venus Begum, spilling blood, blood and more blood. Quite annoyingly, the begum continues to simper-‘n’-whimper without ever once revealing that she’s the cause for the cataclysmic violence. In absence of any logic, then, Rolls Royce goes stark raving nuts, ditto Jalopy. Cluck.

Absolutely no luck. For the finale, taxi down to a stained-glass bhoot bungalow. Big brothers glower, the chhotas go for a gore shower, while the junior artiste cops look as if they’d reached menopause. As for Venus Begum, she looks more amused than scared with the cappuccino-strong fistbouts. A case of coffee, tee hee or me really?

Don’t even look for a storyline. Inadvertently, the Rolls Royce kid brother’s attraction for Venus begum bleeps off incestuous vibes, no thanks to a garbled script. Vis-à-vis the construction of the dramaturgy, the scenes either stretch on forever or are so chipchoppy that they are more EmptyV than MTV.

Topsy turvy angles, a preponderance of fish-eye lens shots, herky jerky dances, jaw-smashing combats accompanied by thunderous sound effects, all contribute towards a product that’s somewhat like a booth capturing melee. Pass out.

On waking up, you regret that A R Rahman’s bouncy music score is used chaotically. Of the cast, John Abraham as the much-battered Romeo is the only one who leaves an impression. He has his emotively sensitive moments. Apart from that, you may not like to recommend Lakeer even to an entertainment-starved fakeer.

Subash K. Jha,

Mother India lives! And never mind if she's converted into "Brother India" and played by Sunny Deol instead of Nargis - may God rest her soul and the audience, if they survive the ordeal of watching the antiquated mafia romance.

Sunny is the protective doting Bade Bhaiyya (big brother) who turns his smoking gun on "Flaring Nostril" (read: kid bother) when FN, a.k.a Karan covets Bindiya who's actually Karan's Bade Bhaiyya Arjun (Karan...Arjun.... geddit?)'s little sister.

Incestuous? Oh no! Karan is the gangster-in-chief Arjun's adopted kid-brother. And so what if Bindiya and Karan grew up in the same house, and probably shared nappies in childhood?

In the dark and ever-flaring world of gangsters, everything is made possible by the conventions of crime.

Flare is the key. So off goes li'l Bindiya to college where her heart beats only for the dimpled dude Saahil (John Abrham). Saahil looks like a hunk but is a poet at heart. He sings mooney Rahman ballads for Bindiya during off-hours, which essentially means ALL hours.

If in the trendy college campuses of Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra the students romance rock 'n' roll, in Lakeer they use it as wrestler's ring: jump into the college grounds and go...wham-bam-slam.... Crushed bones and bloodied faces are the canteen specialities.

Then there's a basketball court where the students pretend they're characters in "Bend It Like Beckham". Bam bam!

And then of course, there's the ham. Oh, lots of it! Everyone from "Flaring Nostrils" to "Glaring Eyes" (Sunny Deol) looks daggers-drawn. Sometimes the daggers change into guns. But what difference does it make? At the end of the day all dead bodies look the same.

And some of the actors in choreographer Ahmed Khan's directorial debut look distinctly dead. Not their fault. The script is dismayingly stale... and stupendously symmetrical.

If Karan has a Bade Bhaiyya ready to kill for his li'l kid-brother, then Saahil has streetwise Sanju(Suniel Shetty) who talks in that biddu ...bole to language which Munnabhai made into a fashion statement.



In "Lakeer" every character and scene is a bash them statement. If one or the other character isn't venting his rudderless spleen on screen then it's the background score screeching wailing and otherwise, simply getting a restless crowd of men to roar across the soundtrack in a shrill show of masculine solidarity.

Oh, didn't I tell you? This is another film about male bonding. Hence Bindiya who's loved madly crazily and uncontrollably by two campus macho-men Karan and Sahil hardly gets a tender moment with them since both the boys-Flaring Nostril and Crinkled Eyes-keep clutching their respective big brothers so close to their heart you fear for their palpitations.

One or the other he-man Big Brother is constantly baying for blood. Whose? Did you ask? It all depends on star availability. Since there are clutches of them to be put into various permutations, director Khan simply shoots with whoever is available...and leaves the rest to the gods of all scrawl things.

Regrettably the scriptwriter goes back to every mafia movie you've seen from Scarface to Vaastav to Gang without bothering to put a fresh spin into the genre. Speaking of spins. The choreography in a film directed by a choreographer is shockingly poor.

Mafioso concepts of family honour, impartial retribution and yes, respect for women (not a single frame is rude to the leading lady) seem hopelessly out of step with the cinema being made today.

Unlike that other choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan's Main Hoon Na, Ahmed Khan takes all the clichés of formulistic cinema dead seriously. There isn't a single humorous moment of homage to the spirit of masala cinema in the mawkish way that the two sets of brothers bond with one another.

No, instead of a chuckle in our funny bone we're meant to get a lump in our throat at the purportedly grave goings-on. A pretty hard thing to do since the film rapidly moves from dead serious to just plain dead.

The cadaverous post-intermission half is so aimless you wonder if Khan was practising aim-and-shoot with the camera. The last half-hour where Sohail Khan does a "Darr/Baazigar" on the petrified Nauheed Cyrusi is so out of tune with the rest of the plot that we know Ahmed Khan lost track halfway through and just decided to be the dude trying to do a mouth-to-mouth with the dead script.

The cinematographer is made to take crazy top shots of sleek cars and self-important gangsters stepping into lobbies of 5-star hotels as though they had just won the elections.

By the time Sunny Deol comes to his "Brother India" speech about honour valour and loyalty, we know he's just kidding along. "Lakeer" is gone way...way out of line.


Tell us what you think of this movie

The only thing good about this film, is that the female lead is quite pretty

Sunny Deol is in it, so I do not even want to see this movie.

Which one????

Sunny's HALF BAKED/HALF HEARTED , PETITE roles!! lately!! I have only liked him was in YRHPK, with Madhuri Dixit, But that movie too..SUCKED/STINKED!

Screen spaeks:
An opportunity missed!

SIDDHARTHA DEY



Cast and Credits


Producer
Vivek Kumar
Director
Ahmed Khan
Music
AR Rahman
Cast
Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Sohail Khan, John Abraham, Nauheed Cyrusi.





elcome to the most non-educational institute in the world, where except for studying, chock-a-block pupils are geared up to dance, skate, shriek gratuitously, ride on mini-cycles etc. at the drop of a sou’wester. They have full songs on cheer-leading and surprisingly, in the sports-matches that ensue, there is no cheer-leader. In this exceedingly venerated academic institute, Saahil (John Abraham as an utterly shy guy) and Karan (Sohail Khan as another utterly shy guy), the younger sibling of a car mechanic Sanju (Suniel Shetty, mercifully, not another shy character) loves Bindiya who adores Karan. Sophomoric matters lead to improperly edited actions and the brawl takes gigantic magnitude with the participation of Arjun Rana (Sunny Deol), playing shy no.2 character’s brother. Finally, Karan suddenly becomes some psychic personality and there is more trouble in paradise.

Lakeer is a producer’s passion, who hasn’t left any stone unturned to render the required razzmatazz, the director must have requested for. Even, in scenes like Sunny Deol’s birthday one, or when he comes out of the hospital, outside which is a commotion, he has poured money like free flowing salt, shown in a commercial. And to think of it, both the scenes were unimpressive and incontrovertibly uncalled for. The line up of actors, made available is no less enviable. Unfortunately, the provisions couldn’’t be tapped properly and the end results are far from expected.

The characters are too one-dimensional. The story heads nowhere, the screenplay doesn’t support and to top it all, the dialogues communicate zilch. Even the awe-inspiring ARRahman scores mostly uninspiring music. Though it’s a minor detail, but can there be any franchisee that sells the rivals- Mc Donald’s and Domino’s products together? Well, John works in one of such outlets, in the flick.

Nauheed Cyrusi infuses utmost sparkle to her character as well as to the film. She is a delight to watch. While, Suniel Shetty seems a sturdy pillar, his character getting bashed-up by Sunny, every now and then, looks unconvincing. Sunny dotes more on raising the decibel level. John’s character doesn’t match his personality and performance.






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