Bodyguard, Hindi Bollywood film review, Johnson Thomas

Hindi Film ReviewJohnson Thomas

Protection Unsuccessful but Phillum successfoolFilm: BodyguardCast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Hazel Keech, Mahesh ManjrekarDirector: SiddiqueRating: * ½‘Bodyguard’ is Salman’s biggest challenge yet. He has had successive successes in “Wanted’, ‘Dabangg’ and ‘Ready.’ His star is on the ascendant. It appears that on-screen, he can do no wrong. But will a film like ‘Bodyguard’ which consists mainly of film mag poster shots, song and dance music videos and conspicuously obvious FX enabled stunt choreography with neither a credible story or plot line to speak of, really do well? Salman Khan’s Sister Alvira and Brother-in-law Atul are the producers so they were obviously not going to take any risks with their home brand. They just needed a framework that suited Salman and Siddique’s south-side successes (in Malayalam and Tamil) both titled ‘Bodyguard’ was the ideal project for just such an occasion. Siddique was roped-in to direct and an equally successful Kareena Kapoor was pencilled in as the heroine. The resultant was bound to hit the bulls-eye what with an all-encompassing marketing campaign making Salman’s presence omnipotent. Salman’s on-screen antics are usually designed to poke fun at himself. He usually performs them with a twinkle in his eye and a sweet-sweet smile on a visage that can never appear seriously serious. So when in this film, he performs the most outrageous and unbelievable stunts you just gape with incredulity . There is obviously no time to think and pick fault with such a contrived set-up. Lovely Singh( Salman) jumps from one train to another, both travelling in opposite directions and at speeds above 100kmph and then again he dodges a fullisade of bullets by going around in circles. And that is old hat for the typical bollywood masala film-cliches be damned. An over-weight side-kick provides the sidey humor and the girl who Salman body-guard’s, Divya(Kareena kapoor) calls him up anonymously innumerable times everyday so that the two dysfunctional people can eventually and quite conveniently at that, fall in love. Now, why would anyone be surprised? To add a bit of melodrama, Salman is said to owe Divya’s father Rana(Raj Babbar) his life and therefore is hard-pressed to continue the assignment. The story is incredibly pithy. The characters lack wholesomeness and the treatment is pretty much one-dimensional. Even Katrina kaif’s item number, amidst all the ubiquitous nonsense on-screen , is a pretty unnecessary addition.

Siddique doesn’t attempt even a single realistic frame- every visual is crammed with gloss and stardust. Salman’s stiff-backed posture looks toonish and Kareena’s bubbly irreverence is far too plastic to be heart-felt. The climactic struggle with the baddies appears to have been an after-thought because Salman just about wipes them out in a fell sweep without much preamble.

Salman is a non-actor, cannot shake a leg to save his face yet whenever he comes on screen his presence is magnetic. His sincerity comes through like a beacon, luring the hoi-polloi in droves. His brand is supreme-what with the super success of ‘Wanted’, ‘Dabangg’ and ‘Ready,’ and ‘Bodygurad’ I am sure will be no exception. Right now, everything this man touches turns to gold. Even a film ‘Chillar Party,’ which he chose to lend his name to much after the post-production stage, did reasonably well because of his star name attached to it. He is amongst the biggest stars Bollywood has ever seen. The brand may be cultivated but the image is genuine. Whatever he does on screen basically shows off his innate character to good effect. From his romantic films( Maine Pyar Kiye) to the comedic( Partner, No Entry, Judwaa) to the demented (Tere Naam) Salman never embodies the character, he always plays himself with a style and panache that endears and endures- and therefore has developed a direct link with the audience that others, even far better actors , have not managed to do. His films have a buzz all their own that even’ Bodyguard’ – a repetitive dose of Salman posturing, hitting 3000 screens across the country has managed to surpass . Canny marketing, smart packaging and songs that make you go tap-tap, just add weight to the star magic that Salman himself emanates. His is a success story that cuts across all classes, defying logic, traditional wisdom and even aesthetics . In fact the audience have stopped expecting him to emote –they’d rather deal with the real man with all his ticks, quirks and inadequacies , who despite it all manages to wipe out the bad guys in one fell sweep. And it’s all well worth the hefty-price of a multiplex ticket or even a specially re-configured single screen one. So Rs.20 crore from a first day showing on Eid is an expected bonanza. Another Rs.20 crore is expected from the second day. There is no surprise here.In aesthetic terms this film is a zero while commercially it may be regarded as supremely successful just on the basis of the first two days collections. Whether this film can stretch beyond a week and still manage such immaculate returns is a question that only time can answer.Johnsont307@gmail.com