PHANTOM Reviews/Box Office thread. - Page 21

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, Sabyasachi Chakraborty

Direction: Kabir Khan

Ratings: (2/5)

Kabir Khan chose to call his latest film on Indo-Pakistan relationship Phantom. Phantom: As per Oxford Dictionary, a ghost / a figment of the imagination. In Khan's world, Phantom is a mission that doesn't exist. Much like his story, logic and a lot more in this so-called edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Starring Saif Ali Khan as the wronged Indian Army officer Daniyal Khan and Katrina Kaif as Nawaz Mistry, who has her fingers in a lot of pies, Phantom is a wishful tale. Based on S Hussain Zaidi's book Mumbai Avengers, this film deals with the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai Attacks, and how one person is unofficially employed to do away with the four masterminds of the attacks. It blends fact with fiction, and tries to put across a believable deal. So your David Headley Coleman and Sajid Mir are introduced in the film by their exact names. Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed becomes Hariz Saeed, and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi is Sabauddin Umvi.

The germ is born in one mind inside the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) headquarters, with the chief Roy (Sabyasachi) snorting in disbelief first, and then giving in. Court-martialled Army officer Daniyal Khan is handpicked for the mission. Reason? No one knows him, no one has seen him, he's got no family to speak of. Father doesn't speak to Khan (and mother speaks about him to people she's not supposed to). On a mission as covert as this one, Daniyal asks Nawaz to take him out for coffee. To hell with sermons like no falling in love when on a government mission, etc. After all, when the person on the other end of the falling-in-love-with equation is someone as jaw-dropping-ly hot (help me with adjectives here) as Nawaz, denial is clearly not Daniyal's modus operandi.

The grander loopholes apart, what is baffling is that Katrina leaves her salon-styled hair open while battling bullets in the dust and rubble of the warzone that is Syria, and while in Pakistan, in perfectly peaceful surroundings, she ties her hair up in a pony. Why?

Zoned out? This is exactly the kind of buffoonery one ends up spending time on during the film. There are so many long-drawn pauses and sub-plots, and so many new faces introduced at the drop of a hat, that you can't help but steer yourself out of the maze that is Phantom. Kabir Khan's treatment of the story is at best passable. And contrary to who says what, the makers of Phantom bash Pakistan as hard as possible with their feet on Indian ground. The Pakistan government, not the people. So, the people of Pakistan are ready to help two unknown, never-seen, un-Pakistani nationals, and no one raises an eyebrow. Katrina's un-moving speeches help convince Umvi's doctor's nurse in being part of their highly-inflammable plan, and the latter is fine with it. Seriously? Not sure if humans are that gullible on that side of the border too.

On his part, Saif's performance is okayish. When in motion, he's convincing; when speaking, not quite. Katrina's gun-toting avatar is as smoking hot as her sea-diving one. As for her acting, not much has improved. Hearing her admonish Lashkar-e-Taiba for creating suicide bombers, with her accented 'jannat-jahannum' in tow, is hilarious at best. Zeeshan Ayyub stands out among the supporting cast. Sabyasachi's seasoned skills come handy in nailing his RAW head act.

Parts of the film are tight and paced well. Some of the suspense is delivered properly; others, lost in transmission. Phantom begins fine, and then loses way so badly that by the end, you're just waiting for an extra helping of Afghan Jalebi. Among the songs, that's the one that stays on the mind long after the credits roll.

By the end of Phantom, one is left with a disarray of emotions within.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/phantom-movie-review-saif-ali-khan-katrina-kaif-story-of-phantoms-is-a-phantom-story-kabir-khan-phantom-review-movie-review/1/461561.html