'Ready' - ATBB = All Time BlockBuster Pg.77 - Page 21

Ready movie review

Film: Ready
Director: Anees Bazmi
Cast: Salman Khan, Asin, Paresh Rawal, Mahesh Manjrekar

Dhinka Chika Dhinka Chika re... that is what the film Readymakes you want to do. It entertains from the word go and two-and-a-half hours colourfully disappear before you can think about what are you going to take home from this film. Just chillax, as Salman's character Prem says, this is not a film that you are supposed to think too deeply about.

You are supposed to sit back, forget your troubles and simply enjoy the ride while falling in love with this modern day rendition of Prem all over again. We first met and fell for the soft spoken but cheeky chocolate boy in Maine Pyar Kiya. 22 years later he's back, amply endowed with decades of experience in front of the camera. He's still soft spoken with pretty boy looks, who lies on a billiards table, spying on his lady love/nemesis but this time he's tougher and meaner and will make you roll on the floor with laughter with his ridiculously, meaninglessly, nonsensically funny lines delivered with impeccable timing. "Mein un main se hoon jo machli ko dooba ke maar sakta hai." No one can get away with cheapie comedy quite like Sallu bhai can and no one can make action as entertaining.

The story is... well unimportant and thankfully you won't be given a chance to miss it. The first half moves at a breakneck pace. On one side, you have Prem's perfect family - an ensemble of lovable mummy papa, chacha-chachis, mama-mamis, neighbours, gurujis and, of course, the dog. On the other, you have Sanjana's greedy uneducated family that lives and fights like rich animals. One heightened comic situation follows another till everyone can learn to live for love. There is a lot of susu-potty humour in this film - goons stop in the middle of a chase scene to let out a fart! But strangely there is also a simple message - treat your family with respect. I loved this film because in spite of the hardcore action no one really gets hurt, villains are beaten up with flower bouquets, no one seemingly goes to work and no one cries.

The film is brilliantly cast with Asin, Paresh Rawal and Mahesh Manjrekar matching Salman repartee for repartee. I'm not sure why fatrina, I mean Zarine Khan, gets one of the best dance numbers because she can't really move but who's looking at her when there is Salman in the song. I wonder how many more genius ways can filmmakers come up with to get this actor (who's buffer than before) to take his shirt off? So far the one in this film is my favourite. Any actor who can laugh at himself as much as Salman deserves four stars. Get Ready to be entertained.

Rating: 4 stars