WANTED is like the road side Pao Bhaji – where you relish the taste without bothering about the hygiene or nutrition factor

2009 did not start on a bright note for Bollywood with major releases like Chandi Chowk to China delivering a turkey at the box-office. Then there was the multiplex-producer fiasco which meant there were no new releases for a good couple of months. Then a barrage of films followed - After another film on relationships of the new generation by Imtiaz Ali (Love Aaj Kal) & the Guy Ritchie/Quentin Tarantino inspired Kaminey by Vishal Bharadwaj - all eyes were set on Prabhudeva’s Wanted, the rubberman wielding the directorial baton for the first time in Bollywood. More than Prabhudeva – this movie was taunted as the return vehicle of Salman Khan after having delivered major duds like Yuvraaj, God Tussi…in recent years. And boy, he delivers and how – more on that later.

Wanted, *ing Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Mahesh Manjrekar & Prakash Raj is full on masala entertainment. The movie essentially a remake of Prabhudeva’s own Pokkiri in Tamil (which itself was a remake of Mahesh Babu *ing Puri Jagannath’s movie by the same name) has a wafer thin story line and relies solely on the star power and charisma of its hero. It is about a street smart rowdy Radhe who will kill anybody for money. Ayesha Takia plays his love interest – who falls in love with him inspite of knowing his profession. Mahesh Manjrekar playing the lecherous & corrupt cop & Prakash Raj as underworld king pin Gani Bhai complete the story. I am not going into further details on the story – as saying anything else would be a spoiler ( remember it has a wafer thin plot).

The film wholly and solely rests on the shoulders of Salman Khan. If there was anybody who could match Mahesh Babu’s act in the original, it was this guy and he does it with full aplomb. The movie seems tailor-made for his personality – full of attitude and casualness. And what takes this movie several notches higher is the action and dances - the Khan definitely seems to have put in some efforts. Any other actor – this movie would have fallen flat on its face. Check out the Khan in the basketball court scene and in interactions with Ayesha Takia when he complains about her not giving him Pasta. Howlarious!!

Ayesha Takia has to basically look good and scared and she carries on her role with effortless ease. She complements the Khan to the tee. Mahesh Manjrekar puts in great act. His body language is perfect for the role. But it is Prakash Raj as Gani Bhai who sets the screen on fire literally in the second half. His villainous act laced with dollops of humour is super to watch and has you guffawing in your seats. I would love to see this recent National Award winner more in Hindi movies.

Talking about the technicality of the film, Prabhudeva actually does a better job here than his Tamil version. The action scenes, dialogues, songs are wolf whistle type – have never seen audience going this crazy for a movie in recent past. Music could have been better. Jalwa is top notch – this song alone is worth the movie ticket. The sheer energy of the song sends your adrenalin soaring to dizzy heights and add to it – Prabhudeva and Govinda sharing screen space shaking their leg – simply amazing.
So all said and done, go watch Wanted, chances are high that you will enjoy it. . It is like the road side Pao Bhaji – where you relish the taste without bothering about the hygiene or nutrition factor. If you are a Salman fan, you should not miss it, if you are not – watch it you will become one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!