Kick

With some mildly thrilling sequences and Salman Khan as superhero, this film will find its takers

You may well get a bit of a kick out of watching Kick. The second half of the film is a delightful parody of the unwieldy Aamir Khan vehicle, Dhoom 3. Just as that ‘thriller’ was about a police officer (Abhishek Bachchan) desperately trying to nail a mysterious cat burglar (Aamir) who robs banks, Kick is about a very similar masked robber called Devil (Salman) who steals from the rich and corrupt, and who also challenges a police officer (Randeep Hooda) to catch him. The design of the film and its message is clear: what one superhero can do, the other can do better.

Certainly, the supporting cast of Kick is much better. Randeep Hooda, over the years, has turned into a fine actor with a natural style of conversation. In a charming drinking session with Devi Lal Singh (Devil) on the ledge of a tall building, he keeps insisting that he never gets drunk on duty, while swaying precariously near the edge. It is a funny scene which works well to break the non-stop action sequences.

The other supporting actor is, of course, the gifted Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He plays the ‘Joker’ to Salman’s ‘Batman’. Eccentric, somewhat abstract in his evil thinking, he makes a popping sound after delivering every clever bit of dialogue, and then exhales in pleasure. When Salman finally has this villain barbecued, he imitates the same mnemonic: pop, exhale!

Unfortunately, the first half of the film is a bit of a bore. Credibility is stretched when we are expected to believe that a psychiatrist in Poland (Jacqueline Fernandez) gets a kick out of dating the unemployable Devi Lal Singh. Jacqueline’s acting skills may be somewhat imperfect, but the dance sequences demonstrate her perfect 10. She reveals legs that go on for so long, you have to adjust your bifocals to get them in frame.

This is not that good a film, but is watchable nevertheless.

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Ajit Duara