Tees Maar Khan

Actors: Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif, Raghu Ram, Rajiv Laxman, Arya Babbar, Anil Kapoor (Sp. Appearance), Salman Khan (Sp. Appearance)

Director: Farhah Khan

Farah Khan tried all the industrial tricks to give a real hit during the Christmas with the hit pair Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in Tees Maar Khan. However, all the hypes created around ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ could not safeguard this latest Farah Khan flick.

Akshaye Khanna plays a superstar Aatish Kapoor, who dreams to win an Academy Award one day. Katrina is a wannabe actress Anya, who also happens to be the girlfriend of Tees Maar Khan (Akshay Kumar). The conman disguised as a Hollywood filmmaker Tees Maar Khan plans a big train robbery of 10, 000 kilograms of antiques and goes for a fake shooting of a film. He even goes on signing Aatish Kapoor as the hero and appoints some villagers for this purpose. But then, the viewers will scratch their hair to find logic behind Aatish signing for the act. The film does not have the typical flavor of Farah Khan films. It seems she messed up the things after signing Akshay and Katrina or more concentration went to the much talked item number ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’. The spice factor is missing and tries to go by the slapstick way.

The film is a remake of 1966 movie Caccia Alla Volpe but one change in the Hindi version is that the robbery is shifted to train than the original ship. However, Farah could play around the interesting train plot and somewhere the magic and charm got lost. It seems Sheila is the only spicy thing in the story with her raunchy choreography. 'Tees Maar Khan' isn't a film where one has to hunt for logic in every scene. Even the humour here isn't the kind where one is required to find any subtle references. In fact every scene that makes you bring on a smile or a laugh is on your face and announces it's arrival loud and clear. Subtlety wasn't expected from this first ever collaboration of Akshay Kumar and Farah Khan and for that reason, 'Tees Maar Khan' stays on to be as unpretentious as it gets.

For conman Tabrez Mirza Khan (Akshay Kumar) aka Tees Maar Khan, it's a challenge to escape with treasure worth 500 crores and weighing around 10000 kgs from a moving train. He has to make the impossible happen and for that he makes a plan which involves running the biggest con job ever. He wears the hat of a movie director, hires the services of a top actor (Akshaye Khanna) and ropes in an unsuspecting set of 200 odd villagers who support him in his game-plan. How he manages to execute his plan takes 'Tees Maar Khan' to its conclusion.

First hour of the film passes away in a jiffy with numerous scenes remaining etched in your memory once the show is over. The opening credits with 'Tees Maar Khan' showing it's true colours inside the womb, Sachin Khedekar's introduction of three top conmen in the country, the con job played by Akshay to make his escape from an airplane, the song 'Sheila Ki Jawani' that follows soon after - all of this manages to hook audience's attention. What takes the film to a different level though is the introduction of Oscar-obsessed Akshaye Khanna. A long scene where Akshay convinces Akshaye that he is a top director from Hollywood and the latter's 'dance of joy' on being told that he was the chosen one for playing a 'gareeb hindustani' is bound to get the house down. The interval point is well set and one looks forward to the momentum continuing in the second half as well.

The second half continues from where the first half had left with Akshay and his team continuing to shoot a mock film in the village. Yes, not all scenes are funny here and there is also an element of predictability that comes in when Akshay unknowingly ends up helping the villagers. This is when all eyes are set on the moment of reckoning, the train robbery sequence, to take the film to an all time high. However, the impact isn't as 'zordaar' as one would have expected here as the entire con job passes off way too simply. The courtroom sequence immediately after that is also on predictable lines and one does get a feeling about something being amiss. Thankfully, there is an epilogue soon after that makes one shrug away those 10-15 minutes prior to that. The premier sequence is done well, hence bringing on laughs all over again.

Amongst actors, Akshay Kumar is (obviously) the focal point of the film and he does well while also bringing in a different shade to his own style of comedy. On his part Akshaye too has thoroughly enjoyed the show by letting his hair down (well literally) and he comes with such an excellent job here that one wonders why he hasn't done a full-on comedy along side Akshay yet. Katrina has a minimal part to play in the actual context of the film but is fabulous in 'Sheila Ki Jawani'. Salman's dance number though is forced in the narrative and could have been done away with.

There was one basic expectation from 'Tees Maar Khan' and that was to get entertained in those two hours with worries of the world being left outside the auditorium. You don't want to check your phone calls once the opening credits start rolling, you don't want those emotional moments to make you shed a tear or two and you basically want to have a good time by laughing out loud at places. Does 'Tees Maar Khan' ensure such an experience? The answer is right. If you want to let go off your stress for those two hours, watch 'Tees Maar Khan'. After watching Tees Maar Khan I realized that it indeed is not an original film but completely inspired by master Italian filmmaker Vittorio De Sicca's 1966 film After the Fox. That took away the entire credibility from the film. However as I spoke about this to the director Farah Khan, she revealed that they have taken official remake rights of the film. Point settled at least now it's not a copy but a remake! However the blunder is that they have not credited Vittorio De Sicca in the story.

The next discussion is - how good a remake is TMK? The film is about a master conman who can open every lock. And he is hired by twin brothers to rob a train which carried a government treasure worth Rs 500 crore. Khan realizes that he will need over 300 hands to get the treasure off the train - which is nearly impossible to get. So he decides to do it without telling the 300 people what the plan is. He decides to shoot a film in a village through which the train will pass. And as a movie stunt the train will be stopped and the 'British treasure' in it will be heisted by the Indian villagers.

There are a few basic changes made in TMK from ATF to suit the Indian landscape and to add some bit of romance, which was nil in ATF. And that makes the Sheila Ki Jawani number possible - which is easily the best part of the film. Apart from the fact that TMK has a comic story, what works for TMK is that the writers Shirish Kunder and Ashmit Kunder have cleverly added a whole lot of moments which will be lapped up by the mass audience - a segment that Akshay Kumar has been trying to please. For example songs like Sheila Ki Jawani and Wallah re Wallah are out and out mass numbers. And then there is a track of patriotism and nationalism added in the second half which should click with the mass audiences too.

That apart the film has major flaws in treatment. A story which has immense possibilities of comedy is reduced to actors trying buffoonery - something often mistaken by filmmakers as guaranteed laughter. Hence though the dialogues are fine TMK turns too loud! Akshay Kumar yells throughout! Also many of the jokes are outdated. Songs are dumped in when they are least required. Too many liberties for the sake of entertainment! Technically the film is shot in large scale. It could have been edited better. Katrina Kaif plays a bimbette who loves being item girl and as a bad actress. And she does her job very well. Akshaye Khanna is very good too as he goes about with great seriousness in portraying a character which is inherently funny - an actor who dreams of winning an Oscar and is absolutely jealous of Anil Kapoor who did Slumdog Millionaire! Akshay Kumar goes over the top. Wonder if that's his or the director's fault! Raghu Ram and Rahiv Laxman are just about okay. Arya Babbar and Ali Asgar are good.

Overall, Tees Maar Khan is not the best remake that After the Fox deserves. If Sheila Ki Jawani was to be played in a loop for two hours it would have been far more entertaining and pleasing! A very average product from a director whose last film Om Shani Om was a complete entertainer.