Today we are glad to feature one of the fantastic reviews being written by the Italian Cine Hindi blog. We are thus very proud to have Diana's insightful review of "Wanted", Salman Khan's latest mega-hit film. A big hello to the knowledgeable team in Italy, with whom we are happy to be establishing a more regular collaboration. Ciao a tutte!
‘Wanted’ is the Hindi remake of the highly successful Tamil film, ‘Pokkiri’ which was directed by Prabhu Dheva, in charge of directing also the current Hindi version.
‘Wanted’ was released in September last year and may be considered as the most exciting film to be released in 2009. The audience’s acclaim immediately catapulted it to super-hit status within the first week of its release. Critical acclaim additionally ensued, resulting in ‘Wanted’ sweeping away competition from 'Dil Bole Hadippa!' which had released the same weekend. This is undoubtedly due to the film’s perfectly scrumptious mix of action, humour, music, romance and drama in true Indian style: Voilà! Bollywood in all its glorious splendour!
THE PLOT
Radhe (Salman Khan) is a professional killer working for the mafia bosses that share the control of organised crime in Mumbai. He is involved in their gangland wars but works only for money.
Amongst corrupt politicians, crooked cops and criminals, he meets Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia), young, beautiful and naïve, with the vital statistics of a pin-up girl. The two fall in love but the odds are stacked against Radhe, a killer, and the gentle Jhanvi.
‘Wanted’ is an action film with a fluid and enthralling plot. The story’s characters are well-conceived, particularly the despiteful Inspector Talpade (one would have a difficult time imagining a more smarmy policeman). The soundtrack and choreography are also very pleasant and enjoyable. The same amount of attention and care has been put into treating both the romance in the film and the inventive and enthusiastic shoot-outs and brawls. The entire cast has delivered fine performances. Humour and entertainment in spades, ‘Wanted’ is definitely a film not to be missed.
WHAT WORKS:
* Salman Khan, Salman Khan, Salman Khan: a vibrant dancer, an invincible fighting machine, a lovable but caustic boyfriend.
* Salman Khan again, who in the 33rd and 57th minute takes the flowers from a small vase and drinks the water.
* All the action scenes
* All the scenes between Radhe and Jhanvi
* The soundtrack, in particular the ‘Dil Leke’ track, which has been picturized in breathtaking Santorini, creating the perfect atmosphere for a passionate love story or a romantic honeymoon. (Note from HCB: Check out the video of the song and the lyrics, translated to English, by clicking here)
WHAT DOESN’T:
* Nothing!
Perhaps, purely for the sake of argument, the ending between the two lovers could have been more impassioned, but there is already talk of a sequel. To see more of Radhe and Jhanvi together, we will just have to be patient.
TRIVIA TIDBITS
* The picturization of ‘Jalwa’ features a nice cameo performance from Prabhu Deva, Govinda and Anil Kapoor.
* Both Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are named in the film.
* Wanted by Prabhu Deva is the Hindi remake of ‘Pokkiri’, also directed by Prabhu Deva. ‘Pokkiri’ in turn, is a Tamil remake of ‘Pokkiri’ a film made in Telugu and directed by Mahesh Babu.
Cast
Radhe/Rajveer Shekhawat - Salman Khan
Jhanvi - Ayesha Takia (No Smoking, Dor)
Inspector Talpade - Mahesh Manjrekar (Slumdog Millionaire)
Gani Bhai - Prakash Rai
Golden - Aseem Merchant
Ashraf Khan - Govind Namdeo
Inder Kumar - Ajay
Vinod Khanna - Shrikant Shekhawat
Daniel Malik - Landlord
Mishal Mlaik - Jhanvi's Mother
Directed by Prabhu Deva
Produced by Boney Kapoor
Music by brothers Sajid (Main Aurr Mrs Khanna) and Wajid Ali (Welcome)
Buy the ‘Wanted’ soundtrack on Itunes.
Choreography:
Raju Sundaram (Kaminey)
Vaibhavi Merchant (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)
Rajiv Surti (Main Aurr Mrs Khanna)
Vishnudeva (Fast Forward)
Released: 2009
Distributed by Eros Enterainment
Written by: Diana
Edited by: Aline CineHindi