Prince

Directed by Kookie Gulati under a whooping budget of 40 cores, Prince marks the comeback of actor Vivek Oberoi as a hero after a long hiatus. The movie features three leading ladies - Aruna Shields, Nandana Sen and Neeru Singh - each of who play a mysterious character named 'Maya'. The movie also boasts of special effects that are of Hollywood standards. Sounds promising, but do Vivek Oberoi and co. deliver?
Prince revolves around one man who was once the world's savviest thief and on the hit list of many federal services - India I Grip and the CBI. One fine morning, Prince wakes up only to realize he has a gunshot wound on his arm and doesn't remember a thing from the past. Perplexed and disturbed, he sets out to find out his real identity and comes across a girl Maya who claims to be his girlfriend. The more he gets closer to his identity; he encounters two more girls who also claim to be his girlfriend Maya. This makes him feel more conscious about his steps and he realizes that no one could be trusted. How does he unveil the secret behind his memory loss, save his life and save the world, forms the story of Prince.
Inspired from several Hollywood and Indian films from the past, Kookie Gulati has come up with a concept that had immense potential. But Prince suffers mainly because it doesn't completely pass of as a sci-fi action thriller or a superhero film. It is just yet another masala pot-boiler that defines nothing with too many cinematic liberties, clinched scenes and silly dialogues.
Prince is not a shoddy effort but the inconsistency in maintaining the high IQ makes the whole endeavor look hopeless. If storing someone's memory in chip sounds, sounds a bit of a stretch of imagination, then tracing the villain to the Afghan-Pakistan border by hiding a device in the villain's shoes during a simple fight sounds ridiculous. Also what with him having super human abilities? Isn't it a complete shift of idea? However, the film has its share of positives too.
Plenty of well-choreographed action sequences with chases and fist fights. The film is also entangled within lots of twists and turns that keeps you hooked with its thrill quotient. The first half breezes by, the second is senseless but doesn't bore. Action director Allan Aamin and cinematographer Vishnu Rao are the real heroes here. Academy Award winner Resul Pookutty's sound design matches big budget Hollywood flicks.
When it comes to performances, Vivek Oberoi finally does justice to his talent. He is good in his action sequences but hams a bit when it comes to expressing emotions. Except for Nandana Sen, who carries her role with ease, the other two Maya's have nothing much to do... Isaiah, the new villain of Bollywood, looks ferocious and is good on debut.
To sum up, Prince entertains in bits and pieces. The film has opened to a very good response at the box office. The morning shows were full and many were seen applauding the action sequences. Watch it if you have nothing to do this weekend, else wait for the video release.