Race

Over the years, some of our Bollywood film makers have only paid attention on offering fresh lessons on crime. Their main intention has been to offer twists and turns in their screenplay, but in the process they tend to forget that every new move, whether it is by way of cheating or by commitment of crime by the main characters, is passing a wrong message to the society. As it is, our country’s crime rate is going up day after day and with the addition of such inputs offered by our film makers, the new criminals are born. Gone are the days, when we saw our favourite actors playing bad characters declared guilty by the court of law and in the happy ending of the film, seen them coming out of the Central Jail, with the heroine and the hero’s mother waiting to welcome them.

But, now days we rarely witness such scenes in our commercial films. Is it so that such film makers who deviate from showing reality , want the new generation to appreciate the deeds of bad characters?. Now, some of the film makers even dare to show such characters  walking Scot- free in the climax, even after committing a major crime. What message do such films pass to the young generation, is anybody’s guess. The latest released film- ‘Race’ produced by Tips films and directed by Abbas-Mastan is the best example to quote such a lapse on the part of our film makers and also our Censor Board. Merely declaring the film for adults, does not serve any purpose.

‘Race’ is nothing but a story of two brothers, the elder brother- Ranvir( Saif) an over ambitious businessman, who does not spare anyone, who try to betray him. He even blows their car on an open road using a remote. The younger brother Rajeev( Akshaye) is a drunkard and money minded. He goes all out to do any unlawful activity  to achieve quick money; even to the extent of finishing off his own brother, with his cruel plans. And, when the elder brother comes to know about it, he brings in a new twist to the screenplay of the film, by teaching a lesson to the younger brother.. The two girls Bipasha Basu and Katrina kaif  play no clean. They too are involved in supporting the crime, by shifting their loyalties.

In the process, the Director duo of Abbas- Mastan  have taxed the audience so much that they get used to such twists expected to come till the climax; and finally when the film is over, they still sit with a hope that the film may take another turn to offer yet another surprise. But, that does not happen; as the film has no persuasive message to convey in the end, as even the committed Police investigating officer- RD, played by Anil Kapoor also finally joins hands with the criminals. So, in short, both the heroes, the two heroines and even the police officer along with his secretary( Sameera Reddy)  are all part and parcel of the crime drama picturised on the screen.

Except for being an action packed thriller( excluding the songs) , there is nothing worthwhile to mention about this ‘Race’. The music is loud and the songs are badly picturised, without taking advantage of good locations in South Africa. The three girls in the film, compete with each-others displaying minimum clothes. It will be a wise thing, not to mention anything about the performances of  these three heroines in the film. To mention about the lead performers, Akshaye overacts on many occasions, while Saif, who looks overweight, has less or rather no  scope for acting. Anil kapoor, who only eats variety of fruits in different scenes of the film, also utters non-sense dialogues. It is only that one minute guest appearance of Jhony Lever, who makes a comeback after a long, brings in some entertainment value into the screenplay filled with crime. 
Rating: ( **)