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Tiresome Speed

APK | October 20, 2007

Rating: ** (***** Very Good, **** Good, *** Fair, ** Average, * Bad)

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Cast: Zayed Khan, Urmila Matondkar, Ashish Choudhary, Aftab Shivdasani, Sanjay Suri, Sophie, Tanushree Datta, Amrita Arora and Others.
Action: Abbas Ali-Moghul.
Art: Ajay Verekar.
Dialogues: Girish Dhamija.
Director Of Photography: Pravin Bhatt.
Editing: Hemal Kothari.
Lyrics: Mayur Puri.
Music: Pritam.
Director: Vikram Bhatt.
Producer: Pammi Baweja.
Executive Producer: Namrata Oberoi.
Banner: Baweja Movies Pvt. Ltd.
Release Date: 19th October, 2007.

Speed, directed by Vikram Copycat Bhatt, is a copy of the Hollywood flick Cellular. Okay, so everyone knows that. The question is whether it's a good copy or not. The answer is no. Firstly, if you've seen the original, the immediate difference you'll notice is the pace. Even if one hasn't watched the original, looking at it as a totally new concept and a new movie, the movie lacks many things. Those things (which are lacking) are-good pace, good direction and good actors.

Ashish Choudhary and Amrita Arora

Plot Richa is kidnapped by a gang of assassins to get her husband, an undercover intelligence agent, to work for them. She connects a broken telephone and calls on a stranger's cell phone. This stanger, Sandy, is in London to make up with his girlfriend. Instead, he risks his life to save Richa and later her son, who the gang kidnaps to threaten her husband further. The plot involves many internal traitors to kill the Indian Prime Minister, who is on an official visit to London.

Story, Screenplay or Direction The story has been Indianized fittingly enough. The movie could have been a pacy thriller, but the director refuses to show interest. So this shows on all the plot loopholes that come up, especially towards the climax. Then, the performances of actors go from bad to worse. Even those who could have done something look like they are too lazy to try. Zayed and Urmila, whose characters are crucial to the plot, and who are in an extreme state of panic, look like they are having an agony aunt conversation.

There are some really important scenes in the movie. Some of them work, partly because of lifting the entire scene, like Bhatt did with On the Waterfront-Ghulam. Others don't, because of lame writing and tired direction. Zayed-Tanushree track is made to look really silly. Ashish Chowdary-Amrita Arora track is unnecessary. Every time Zayed gets a car, the keys are inside. So people just leave their keys inside their expensive cars and take a stroll, is it?

The movie makes you sit up in some, very infrequent parts. The direction and the bland performances are to blame. The screenplay itself could have been slicker.

Zayed Khan and Tanushree Datta

Performances Urmila hams throughout, and though she shares most of the footage with Zayed Khan, both of them fail to grip the viewer. Zayed has one expression to say words like 'Sweetie chums', 'Honey bun' and other sickly sweet words; he has one expression for-oh sorry, it's the same expression for panic. Sanjay Suri is better than the rest, but still very average. Suhasini Mulay is convincing as the PM. Ashish Choudhary is average, but looks his part. Aftab Shivdasani was much better as the Farex baby. Sophie and Amrita Arora, the less said the better.

Music Very amateurish and mediocre. This goes for both the background score and the songs. One cannot believe it's Pritam.

Last Word With the same script, albeit lifted, the movie could have been a fast-paced edge of the seat thriller. But sadly, Speed is really slow and tiresome.