But 5 years is a long time Neeraj. We'd almost forgotten you. And it seems like you've forgotten a little bit about your movie-making edge too. Five years is especially a long time, in a country like India and in the movie business that evolves, changes, grows and reaches new milestones every year. What was a kick-ass movie (and never-seen-before) in 2008 can easily become been-there-done-that in 2013. Thankfully, Special 26 doesn't fall in the been-there-done-that category (just about), but its definitely not in the wow never-seen-before space that A Wednesday was, either.
What works in the movie, is the plot essentially. The story line of a group of fake CBI guys (led by Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher) who raid politicians and businessman to usurp their black money, which is the perfect crime because it makes this motley gang rich, without it ever getting reported by the guilty victims. Until now, when the real CBI (led by ace officer Manoj Bajpai) gets involved and is committed to catching the impersonating criminals, with the help of the local Delhi police officers (Jimmy Shergill and Divya Dutta) who were also duped by the fake-CBI gang in one of their fake raids. And so enters the Grand Heist of the movie, where the cat and mouse games begin, with a grand trap laid out for Akshay and the gang to catch them finally red handed.
What in fact makes the plot stronger and come alive well, is the portrayal of the characters. From A Wednesday, I remember that, this is also Neeraj's strength, which is possibly his biggest trump card in a sea of Bollywood movies with many actors, but very few characters. The lively and fertile Punjabi Anupam Kher from Chandigarh who is heisting and planning daughter's wedding (and not family planning!) all at the same time, the next-in-line in the group living in old Delhi Muslim large joint matriarch family, the other hen-pecked guy who may be ace at raiding but can't seem to get in a word edge way with his wife, the humble and self-respecting police officer Jimmy Shergill, even the hawaldarni Divya Dutta who is watching the world cynically, and finally ofcourse the honest yet practical CBI officer Manoj Bajpai (in one of the scenes he asks his superior about his pending promotion and wonders aloud sarcastically whether he should start taking bribes).
But the weakest character, unfortunately, is the protagonist himself. Akshay Kumar was Akshay Kumar, not Ajay the rejected CBI applicant who turns to faking CBI for a living. He is a character sure, but is the character of Akshay Kumar, the actor in Bollywood who can play different kinds of roles in different movies (from Oh My God to Rowdy Rathore), and this was one of his many movies. The power of A Wednesday was equally in the powerful portrayal of Naseeruddin Shah's character of the guy-next-door who's finally had enough. A weak characterisation of the protagonist leads to a less convincing and less involved experience of the overall movie. And Special 26 suffers from that.
However, the one thing that I loved in the movie was some sheer acts of randomness and a funny bone that we didn't know Neeraj had (from his previous movie). The random shiva impersonator in the (real) CBI office, the topless guy making important calls from the CBI office, the disapproval of Manoj Bajpai at his wife's missing pallu, and some random dialogues like
Manoj: Call Solanki, the Mumbai IGP, and get him involved in this mission
Assistant: But Solanki has got transferred out. He is no longer in Mumbai.
Manoj: Ok. Then who is the replacement in Mumbai?
Assistant: Solanki (another one)
Randomness and the related humour is a huge talent and something that will grow over the years. It was one of the winning aspects of Delhi Belly (as I have reviewed earlier). So Neeraj, please explore this side of your writing more. Waiting to see more of that in the future.
The other disappointing thing about the movie is the dragging parts. It could have been a crisper 90-105 minute movie. It didn't need the elaborate (and very very painful) romantic scenes between Akshay and this really plainest-of-janes heroine (there is the girl-next-door type sure, but this one should be many many doors away). And it didn't need the equally elaborate (and even more painful) romantic songs. I think at one point I even heard someone snoring in the movie hall! The heroine seemed like on a parallel track story, unconnected to the main plot. It's like someone was playing a heist with her too, showing her a fake script (which said that the film was a love story between a criminal and society-ki-maari-but-independent-minded Mumbai girl). So, may be it wasn't her fault, that till the end she kept trying to emote (and failing miserably) as a woman helplessly in love with her swash-buckling neighbour who despite his evil ways will finally sweep her of her feet and elope. This whole piece was totally unnecessary and came in the way of truly enjoying the movie.
However, all said and done, it was a fun movie with all the Neeraj Pandey twists and turns. It keeps you engaged and is definitely worth a watch. Even though we may not go raving about it and telling everyone about this movie, like we did for A Wednesday, it does re-assure our faith in the potential of the director and 'different' movies like these which put the story at the centre of the film. Waiting to see a lot more from you Neeraj. And please don't make us wait for another 5 years for your next.
