8 X 10 Tasveer

Nagesh Kukunoor, the poster boy of independent, small-budget cinema changes track - and how! He tries to re-invent himself with a thriller - and a superstar.

Although the premise sounds interesting to start with - as the plot unfolds, it becomes evident that Kukunoor has lost his way and the audience interest with it.

Canadian forest ranger Jai Puri (Akshay Kumar) is so dedicated to his work that he will not only jump off the cliff to plumb the depths of a lake for several minutes to fish out an incriminating evidence to nail a poacher.

But also will forsake his father’s millions made in oil business to pursue his higher goals! Jai also has a supernatural power to see beyond a photograph and unravel mysteries. But he’s totally foxed when his father Jatin (Benjamin Gilani) meets sudden, accidental death and a crack detective Happi (Javed Jaaferi) with.

A delightful Hyderabadi accent and an engaging obsessive compulsive disorder for cleanliness insists that it’s a murder! Jai tries to ‘read’ into the photograph of his father and his business associates taken just before the fatal accident. He revisits the picture four times and that itself is trying on the patience of the viewer. The denouement of the plot is so contrived and confusing that you would rather give it a miss!

Writer-director Kukunoor is clearly not in charge of his survey and he’s lost his grip totally this time. Technical Expertise- Kukunoor must be lauded for choosing such a picturesque locale as South Africa; the autumnal red-browns of trees are absolutely enchanting as is the main colonial bungalow. Some action sequences like Akshay’s last chase after the masked man who’s knifed his mother are executed well. Sadly.

The same cannot be said of the rest of the film which is long-winding and most outrageously illogical. Akshay’s almost fatal trance when he ‘enters’ a photograph borders on the ludicrous. Also how a trained nurse leaves him to his devices with a life-saving adrenaline injection is inexplicable.

Of the actors, Akshay underplays and underscores. Lost somewhere in this meandering and illogical plot are the pleasant South African landscape, a modern mom act by Sharmila Tagore and to an extent the cuteness of Ayesha Takia Azmi. The sole relief in this wild-goose chase is Javed’s straight- faced comedy. He sure steals the show. But veterans like Girish Karnad and Ananth Mahadevan are totally wasted in insignificant cameos.

Cinematographer Vikas Sivaraman paints attractive frames. But the special effects by Prime Focus aren’t effective. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is lacklustre. Between the director and the editor Sanjib Dutta - they bring the long-winding film to a confusing climax. All in all, a crawling storyline that only bores.