Knock Out

Director: Mani Shankar

Actors: Sanjay Dutt, Kangna Ranaut, Irrfan Khan, Gulshan Grover, Rukhsar, Apoorva Lakhia, Sushant Singh, Asif Basra

The phone booth was both an important instrument for communication, and a popular Joel Schumacher film in the early 2000s. Much in the world has changed since. But for plagiarism in Bollywood! Knock Out is a Hollywood knock-off. And that’s the least of its sins. A smartly suited investment banker (Irrfan Khan; poor guy, has to scope the West for more original work: The Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, A Mighty Heart) is stuck to a PCO phone here. Voice on the other line is supposedly a “reflection of his dark conscience, sum total of his life of crime and guilt”. It isn’t clear who the gentleman (Sanjay Dutt) speaking to him is. He has seven satellites tracking the area for his close-circuit camera. It isn’t clear either if he’s after the suit because he date-raped a girl, is unfaithful to his wife, has helped fund a child trafficking racket, has treated women like objects. Suspense is instantly infused. So could some sense. So you wish.

The fellow on the phone knows intimate details of his target’s life. To scare him up further, once in a while, he shoots into the phone booth. Bullets penetrate through glass, making finely concentric circles. The busy office district, what looks like Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla complex, remains unaware of theses gun-shots, until the spot becomes a circus.

The reporter on the spot (Kangna Ranaut), suitably ‘tarted’ up for television, knows even before the police does, that the man behind the glass door is politically connected. Her editor wants her to play down the story. Cops don’t ask for reinforcements. They stand around helpless. Nation is hooked to live television. Dead body lies on the floor. Mayhem cannot be measured. Chaos is complete.

The voice on the phone then instructs the political henchman to transfer public funds siphoned off into Swiss banks by his political bosses. The suit at the phone booth sits down with his laptop fitted to his Reliance data card, gets into the Swiss bank account, and transfers black money into Reserve Bank treasury. Rs 500 crore after another of public fund is deposited back to the government. Crowds cheer on.

No redemption’s necessary. The man who held the city to ransom goes scot-free. Ends justify means. The bomb and the gun can wipe out corruption. Audiences release their hatred for politicians the way they vented out against terrorists in the terribly exploitative A Wednesday. “This is not breaking news, it's the news of the year,” says the hot India TV reporter. Huh. You bet!

Knock Out is an upsetting fair. There have been some good films raining off late and you would only expect it to continue. Knock Out does not serve the purpose. The film completely borrows its primary concept and structure from 2002 Hollywood film Phone Booth. A man with a gun dictates another man to stick to a phone in a booth else he will be shot. The role played by Colin Farrell in Phone Booth is essayed by Irrfan Khan in Knock Out and the one played by Kiefer Sutherland is enacted by Sanjay Dutt.

Of course there are alterations made in the storyline and characters. The poor hostage called Bachchu or Tony (Irrfan) is an investment banker and not a publicist in Phone Booth. And the theme is more about being loyal to the country than about personal conduct. In the original Hollywood film the hostage is arrogant and cheats on his wife. In Knock Out the hostage has his bank of black money.

Yes you may give credits to the writer-director for creating a different screenplay and scenes for his movie. At least you can't call his film a complete clone with different actor and language - unlike many other films we know of. And Mani does a good job on that. Good enough to keep you interested. Good dialogues, classy cinematography and stylish editing also keep things going. And thankfully for us there are no dance numbers in between!

One more thumbs up are for performances of both Sanjay Dutt and Irrfan Khan. Irrfan especially is very likable for his timing. Sanjay Dutt remains the deadly cool! Kangna evokes confidence but falters as a reporter with her diction. Gulshan Grover is delightful as usual in whatever little we get of him.

Overall, this movie might turn to be an interesting fare for one who has not seen Phone Booth. The concept is very unlike Bollywood masala fares. But the very fact that it is copied takes away all its sheen. There are enough options in the theatres for you to go for something which you have already seen eight years back!

It was reported that Shankar has taken inspiration from Hollywood venture "Phone Booth" for "Knock Out", which also features Kangana Ranaut, Sushant Singh and Gulshan Grover. But the director denied it, saying his project is based on a strong plot in which Sanjay's character will cheat those who have looted India and have many secret bank accounts across the world. "There's no similarity between 'Phone Booth' and 'Knock Out'. The only similarity is that the guy (Irrfan) is trapped in a phone booth, but the similarity starts and ends there. 'Knock Out' tells an entirely new story," Shankar said.

In the film, Sanjay plays a lone ranger who owns latest weapons and gadgets and is a man who trusts and depends on no one. Working alone, he effortlessly uses his wit, his skills at hand-to-hand combat, and his love for technology to manipulate and trap his elusive target - an investment banker played by Irrfan.

In the movie, Irrfan's character make his way to the upper echelons of power and unwittingly holds the key to India's destiny. He is a man consumed by his own obsessions, an extremely clever and unstoppable foe But Sanjay strips Irrfan of his arrogance and attitude and locks him in a tangle that could be unravelled by only one way - leading to the biggest counter-heist. As the drama reaches its action-packed climax in the film, the live action unfolds before television cameras, courtesy Kangana Ranaut, who plays a TV reporter.

About the role, Sanjay said: "When Mani narrated the script, I was raring to go. After the first day of the shoot, I realised I was doing the most difficult thing - I had to imagine Irrfan Khan was in front of me, and deliver dialogues without seeing him and his reactions. Acting means participating, and it was tough to visualise and perform."

Both the actors have donned new look for the film. While Sanjay is seen sporting small beard, Irrfan has grown his hair for the film. Irrfan also admits that it was difficult for him to act because he also had to imagine Sanjay.