By no means is Knock Out original, except perhaps for the message it conveys. Mani Shankar does a mix of Phone Booth, A Wednesday and the formula behind his previous films to create this one.
Knock Out
A; Drama
Dir: Mani Shankar
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Irrfan, Kangna Ranaut, Gulshan Grover, Sushant Singh
**
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What's it about: By no means is Knock Out original, except perhaps for the message it conveys. Mani Shankar does a mix of Phone Booth, A Wednesday and the formula behind his previous films to create this one.
It works to a point but a film of this genre needs fine detailing. Any questions left unanswered and the impact is lost. Tony Khosla aka Bachchu (Irrfan) plays an investment banker and wheeler-dealer for a politician Bapuji (Grover). A sniper (Sanjay Dutt) has Bachchu in his sights and traps him inside a phone booth and holds him to ransom. The entire drama unfolds within a few hours, while the shooter (later revealed to be the Intelligence Bureau chief, Veer Vijay Singh) attempts to bring home the crores of rupees hoarded by politicians in Swiss banks. Nidhi (Kangna) is a TV reporter who covers the events live, helping Veer in his mission.
What's HOT: Mani Shankar takes the Phone Booth plot and adds a patriotic twist to it. There is a lot of similarity with A Wednesday too a common man fighting for a cause in his own unique manner. The director makes the drama interesting in parts. The conversations between Veer and Bachchu are quite funny at times. There is enough masala in the film to keep you interested. Slick action scenes, the suspense behind the gunman's identity and purpose and the good guy-bad guy conflict the screenplay is fast-moving. Set almost entirely indoors, the protagonists occupy centrestage all the time and it is largely up to them to hold the audience's attention. Irrfan is in fine form again. His lines are delightful and he portrays the transformation of his character brilliantly. Dutt is in super form and fits comfortably in a role tailor-made for him. The typical Sanju swagger and style works brilliantly for him. It's his screen presence that makes the character believable.u00a0u00a0
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What's NOT: A hostage-drama like this (especially set within a time frame) needs to be precise any loopholes in the script and you've lost the plot. Although Knock Out keeps you hooked for the most part, the glitches galore are distracting. For instance, when such a big drama is unfolding on the streets of Mumbai, the security present are not commandos and special police, but rifle-bearing havaldaars. You begin to question the goings-on and that's where the problems occur. Getting Rs 32,000 crore back from a Swiss bank into the Indian treasury is inspiring but does the Reserve Bank official have to publicly address the crowd giving them minute-by-minute details of every transaction? Who would do that even in a dire situation? The encounter specialist (Apoorva Lakhia) angle with sharp shooters firing brazenly from top of buildings is preposterous. If only the director had controlled his excitement and focussed on some authenticity, Knock Out had all the makings of a winner. Kangna as the TV reporter is grossly miscast we wonder how she got the job at India TV with her diction and accent?u00a0
What's that: Why is the phone booth so big in size? Given the space crunch in the city, a family of four could easily move in. Also the crowds celebrate the transfer of money from Swiss accounts so jubilantly, you wonder if it's going into their pockets.
What to do? If you're in the mood for some over-the-top patriotic fervour, go for it.
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