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Aankhen
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'Aankhen'

By N K Deoshi
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Aankhen is a welcome break from the kitsch-ridden Bollywood masala flicks. It is adapted from Aatish Kapadia’s Gujarati play “Andhalo Pato,” (Blindman’s Buff) and is based on a novel and taut plot with commercial ingredients like songs and romantic-angles strewn in.

In addition, Vipul Shah’s imaginative and meticulous direction combined with Ashok Mehta’s stylish cinematography lends it a Hollywood potboiler look.

Aankhen

has Bollywood’s proverbial Shahenshah Big B making a departure from the oft-repeated clichéd roles that either portray him as a stern patriarch or sometimes make him jive the svelte Bollywood beauties. Here he is seen as a psychotic Bank manager with shades of gray. His character is more humane and realistic. And Big B has played it with punctilious care giving the right emotion and expression at the right time.

Akshay Kumar too grooves well in the role of a heartbroken man who is recuperating from the loss of his beloved (played by Bipasha Basu). He is a man who loves to live on the edge without any fear of death. Arjun Rampal, on the other hand, still needs to broaden his emotive range.

Sultry Sushmita too slips deftly into the role of a suave teacher who is held at ransom by the bank manager who has kidnapped her younger brother. Particularly interesting is her final confrontation with Big B after they successfully pull through the grand heist.

The film is a slickly paced thriller and maintains a unidirectional approach towards the climax without straying off into ridiculous realms. However, it loses its pace a little bit during the training session of the three blind men (under the tutelage of Sushmita Sen). On the flip side the director might have given more footage to the actual robbery. Anyway, the film keeps one glued to the screen until the very end.

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