Direction: Ashish R Mohan

Production: Hari Om Entertainment Co, HR Musik and Eros International

Writers: Bunty Rathore and Himesh Reshammiya

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Himesh Reshammiya, Asin, Mithun Chakraborty, Raj Babbar, Mukesh Rishi, Rahul Singh, Rajesh Khattar

Music: Himesh Reshammiya

Genre: Action/ Comedy

Rating: * * * ½

Plot: Manuskh (Himesh Reshammiya) destroys his father Champak Lal’s (Manoj Joshi) marriage bureau business to such an extent that the latter throws him out of the house. Just then, Mansukh gets to know that Mumbai’s most dreaded don Tatya Tukaram Tendulkar (Mithun Chakraborty) is looking for a groom for his daughter Indu (Asin). Mansukh takes this as an opportunity to prove his worth to his father.

Mansukh feels Bahattar Singh (Akshay Kumar), whom he had met in Punjab once out of co-incidence, could be the right match for Indu. Although both families happily agree for Bahattar and Indu’s marriage, what follows is a series of crazy events due to the fact that both families have lied about their real professions.

Review: After watching the promos of debutant filmmaker Ashish R Mohan’s Khiladi 786, you don’t need a statutory warning to keep logic and reasoning miles away. So if you manage to do that, you are in for a treat full of dhamaal and laughter. There are a number of hiccups on the way (mostly, in the second half) that stop the film from being incredible. But considering the genre and the huge number of hilarious moments, you won’t be bothered much by it.

The film starts in an average manner but once the story starts developing, the laughter just doesn’t seem to end. In fact, you will be in splits after every few seconds! Bunty Rathore deserves high praise for some intelligently mindless yet hilarious humor. Some of the one-liners and incidents are extraordinary, especially the mention of Kejriwal! Unusual tributes to films Chak De! India, Singham, Devdas, Gadar – Ek Prem Katha and Housefull 2 deserve thumbs up too.

In comparison to the first half, the post-interval portion is a bit of a disappointment. The way a character falls in love all of a sudden is the biggest flaw of the movie. However, some hilarity and entertainment in the final culmination, although predictable, along with the great time you had in the first half, make sure you leave the cinema hall with a wide smile.

Other negative point that surely deserves mention is the fight scenes (Attar Singh Saini) which (throughout the film) take the mindless genre and its audience too much for granted. Due to this, you don’t get amused by the action on a number of occasions. Some degree of racism should also have been avoided.

After Bol Bachchan, Himesh Reshammiya once again makes sure that the music of the film contributes to the plus points with some foot tapping tracks, ‘O Bavaria’, the title song, ‘Long Drive (best of all)’, ‘Balma’ and ‘Hookah Bar’. It’s not often these days that you get impressed by almost every song of an album. The background score (too loud at times), cinematography and editing are average.

Akshay Kumar is lovable in the title role. Although this is not the first time he is seen doing such things, his entertaining performance will surely impress his fans. In such films, the leading ladies don’t get much scope to perform. The same is the case with Asin but she does manage to impress with her acting skills and not just good looks. Mithun Chakraborty is very impressive. He manages to generate that fear which was needed by his character.

Himesh Reshammiya is the surprise package. It is his weird expressions and dialogue delivery that provides intentional as well as unintentional humor. But he is at least bearable for the first time! Rahul Singh gives a fine performance while playing a difficult character. A series of supporting actors – Raj Babbar, Sanjay Mishra, Rajesh Khattar, Mukesh Rishi and Manoj Joshi – provide decent acts. Good performers like Johnny Lever and Bharti Singh are underused. Mushtaq Khan is just okay.

Overall, Khiladi 786 is an enjoyable affair as long as you can keep your topmost organ at rest. The film will slowly climb the box office ladder. The fact that it has two full weeks to earn will be an advantage.