R... Rajkumar

I have always been a fan of Prabhu Dheva's work primarily because he is committed to the genre of masala movies. Committed to the extent that he has chosen to do high quality work in this field. I was amongst the few who really liked the way Rowdy Rathod was executed. The attention to detail, the consistency of script, keeping it larger than life and yet very grounded, usage of right doses of good quality humour - all hallmarks of a good PD movie.

While R... Rajkumar (with precisely 3 dots) adheres to the standard success formula that PD has always employed, to me, it faltered a wee bit. I think after stoically refusing to give into Bollywood's whims, PD has finally succumbed. Much like R... Rajkumar does to the bashing from Bhaisa (Sonu Sood) towards the end of the movie. What I am also certain of is that PD will be back with a bang with his next. In PD I trust.

Why do I say R... Rajkumar falters? First of all, the casting goes a wee bit awry. To PD's credit, he establishes openly that Chanda (Sonakshi) is not just tall but also large when R... Rajkumar tells her, "Tera vajan dekha hai? Maine kuch kaha kya? Mein bhi toh adjust kar raha hoon". So on that count, the script qualifies her selection. But why in the blazes would you pick Shahid Kapoor who is anything but an action hero (especially when the hero part still needs to be qualified).

Then there is the distinct drop in the quality of humour. What is with Bollywood and its recent fascination with passing wind? Aren't there other ways to ensure that the audience is kept entertained. And is there a sudden lack of dialogue writers who can't come up with anything better than

1. Convince karna mushkil hai. Confuse karna aasaan hai (cannot convince, confuse)
2. Maal toh kya, aapka koi toota hua baal bhi nahin loot sakta (never mind)
3. Mere mooh mat lagna, mein sehat ke liye haanikarak hoon (never mind again)

And of course, why would one try to choke the living daylights out of the audience by showing a frontal shot of Sonakshi Sinha coming out of a pool dripping wet in a half saree? I'm still recovering from that choke. And if that wasn't bad, it turns out to be a dream for just a second before she is replaced by Charme Kaur!!! Wonder who was giving who a run for her money? And then there was the last item number that featured Ragini Dwivedi. Seriously?

If you are willing to look behind these gaps and gaffes then R... Rajkumar is a fun movie on the whole. Some really good music (except Kaddu Katega) with some classic PD choreography thrown in. One part in "Gandi Baat" could have been avoided where PD makes a cameo and does the floor back crawl (for lack of any other description) step with Shahid Kapoor. If I was PD I may have moved this shot out in the edit. One feels sorry for Shahid when u look at how uncomfortable he is with the step and how easy PD makes it look.

The fight sequences are well choreographed as well. So as mentioned earlier, PD scores all points that were expected of him. If only some of the other points were taken care of, we would have had a blockbuster on our hands. Unfortunately, the audience wasn't too kind. While the walk outs should have happened for the likes of Chennai Express, R... Rajkumar faces or will face the brunt. Average movie overall 5 on 10. If you really liked Rowdy Rathod, then go for it, else wait for the TV Premiere.

And of course, R… means Romeo, ergo it is – ROMEO… RAJKUMAR

Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsnHky4wv5w