Rocky Handsome: Reviews and Box Office Thread

With the long weekend in place, this definitely looks like a fun week for movies. On the films' front, this week sees the release of the action packed ROCKY HANDSOME that stars Bollywood's action hero John Abraham. While there have been many action films that Bollywood has witnessed, this week's release promises to be a bit different as it also shows a strong bond between John Abraham and a small girl. Will ROCKY HANDSOME prove to be a 'handsome' hit at the box-office or will it meet an ugly fate, let's analyze.

The film starts off with an extremely silent Rocky (John Abraham) buying fishes and flowers. The very moment he smells the flowers, the film goes into a 'flashback mode' followed by the introduction of Rocky's beautiful wife Rukshida Kabir Ahlawat (Shruti Hasan). When the movie is brought to the present day, a cute little girl by the name of Naomi (Baby Diya Chalwad) gets introduced. She is a frequent visitor to Rocky's pawn shop. On one such visit, when she starts conversing with the ferocious looking Rocky, she confesses that all her friends call him as 'Handsome' and that, she has been deliberately told to stay away from him because 'he had committed a crime', something that her heart refuses to believe. As days pass by, she opens up about her dreaded life before Rocky. She confesses that her mother (Nathalia Kaur) is a hardcore drug addict who gets beaten up always by some men. The unsaid bond of friendship gradually increases between the two and Rocky (without saying) becomes extremely protective about her. One fine day, when Rocky enters his shop, he becomes shell shocked to see that his shop has been broken into and that some men are driving away with Naomi in their captive. All of this leads to a deal that Rocky strikes with Naomi's kidnappers Kevin (Nishikanth Kamath) and his psycho brother. As per the deal, Rocky should deliver a certain (drug) consignment to an assigned place, in return of the freedom of Naomi and her mother. And when Rocky lands up at the assigned place for the delivery, he realises that the police has cordoned the area. What follows after that is oodles and oodles of violence including many merciless killings and brutal murders all for a single reason. Amidst all this, the police department discovers Rocky's past that shocks the daylights out of them. What is the reason for all the killings, what is Rocky's past and what reference has it got with his present, does Rocky become successful in tracing out Naomi and her mother... is what forms the rest of the film.

The film's director Nishikant Kamat, who has made varied films in the past like DRISHYAM, FORCE, MUMBAI MERI JAAN, brings an action packed entertainer in the form of ROCKY HANDSOME, which happens to be an official remake of the South Korean film THE MAN FROM NOWHERE). He has effortlessly blended style and content and has maintained a fine balance between jaw-dropping action and heart-rending emotions. One has to give it to the action directors for raising the bar for action films, with ROCKY HANDSOME. Full credits go to Nishikant Kamat, John Abraham and the film's stunt directors (Suniel Rodrigues, Kecha Kammpakdee)

ROCKY HANDSOME has a story (Ritesh Shah) that is extremely average, which could have been much better. The same holds for the film's screenplay (Ritesh Shah) that definitely could have been tighter at many places. Despite the fact that the film has a small runtime, the film's story and narrative looks highly disjointed at places, which may just act as a speed breaker with the audiences' likings. The film also sees many clichs, which just could have been avoided. The flip side is that the film boasts of some of the high-octane action drama (including the blood soaked action punches and gun fights) that Bollywood has never witnessed before. The film's adrenaline rushing action provides reasons enough to keep the audiences engrossed till the end of the film. The film's first half takes some time to firmly establish the plot; the real story starts post the kidnapping of the girl and her mother. One has to give it to the director Nishikant Kamath for having wonderfully combined nail-biting action in the song 'Teri Toh Yaad Sataye'. One word to describe the unusual combo of fight and song is 'outstanding'. The USP of the film, however, has to be its climax, wherein John Abraham enters the villain's den and the action that follows after that. One really has to applaud Nishikant Kamath for the way he has presented the film - extremely stylish.

As for the performances, it's an out and out John Abraham flick, in which he leads the way from the very start. Even though he may not have many dialogues in the film, his breath taking action is what does most of the talking. Readers may know that, ROCKY HANDSOME is his second film with Nishikant Kamath, the first being FORCE. With ROCKY HANDSOME, John Abraham (who can rightly be called as the 'soul' of the film), takes the film notches above what one has seen in his earlier films. He has very sensitively handled the strong bond of relationship between him and the little girl. Even the reason for which he saves the girl in the film seems extremely valid. In simple words, one can very rightly say that John Abraham has carried the film on his brawny shoulders, essaying a part that fits him like a glove.

He is followed to a close second by Nishikant Kamath himself, who does full justice to his villainous avatar. The conviction and the confidence with which he has acted in the film, he lands up spitting terror with a capital 'T'. Shruti Hassan, who has a special appearance in the film, does justice to whatever little screen time that she gets. Baby Diya Chalwad delivers a very innocent performance, which is bound to strike a chord with the cinegoers. The other actors help the film in moving forward.

Even though the film's music (Sunny Bawra, Inder Bawra, Ankit Tiwari) is average, it's the film's outstanding background score (Sunny Bawra, Inder Bawra) that makes the film feel very international. While the film's editing (Aarif Shaikh) is watertight, the film's cinematography (Shankar Raman) is superlatively spellbinding.

On the whole, ROCKY HANDSOME is for people who like action films. Despite the film having a simple plot, it has been garnished with engrossing drama and action stunningly. One can find the right mix of tension, action, emotion under one roof. A well-made action thriller!

Thursday 24 March 2016 12.00 IST

shruti is only in rehnuma no?