Dharma Productions tries to do a
solid, and makes a legitimate copy of a Hollywood film, unlike the other 90% of
Bollywood films. Last official Hollywood remake was Bang Bang, ‘inspired’ from Knight and Day. Like it, Brothers too,
keeps up the good work, and proves that spray-painting something golden, doesn’t
make it gold, something in this case being the quintessential Bollywood masala
film.
Brothers, the official remake of the Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte and Joel
Edgerton-starrer, Warrior, follows
the exact same plot-line and climax as the original, with minor twists to the
story. So those who have seen the first, skip ahead to the next paragraph. For the uninitiated, the
film is about a dysfunctional family of wrestlers... sorry, ‘MMA fighters’ (I
never knew that the MMA scene was that strong in India). Anyhow. David (Akshay)
and Monty (Sidharth) are step-brothers, and sons of Gary Fernandes (Jackie), a
recovering alcoholic who has served time in prison for the accidental murder of his wife, Maria (Shefali Shah). A turn of events and individual desperations leads both
brothers to an international MMA championship being organised at Mumbai, where
they emerge against all odds to face each other as finalists.
Bad direction, a bad script, and
excessive use of slow-motion render this film a sad waste of 2 hours and 38
minutes of precious time. The story is commendable. Way richer than Warrior,
Brothers comes packed with a lot of emotional content. The problem is, director
Karan Malhotra loses control somewhere in this emotional sea, putting out
over-stretched, artificial fight sequences, that are the polar opposite of what
one would expect from a gripping MMA fight.
Jackie Shroff delivers one of his
most moving performances, playing a man who has nothing left in his life but
regrets, and wishes to make amends with his estranged family. Everything is
right in his equation – the trembling, the shivers, and the abusive
drunkenness. Akshay Kumar is not bad, but then again, not that good. He passes
off convincingly enough as a doting family man, who is ready to fight any
battles for his sick daughter. Sidharth Malhotra is straight-faced and plastic. Shefali Shah does an expected good job in the role of the boys' mother.
Dharma Productions gave a dull
shot this time, with a bulb that tried to shine so bright, it fused right out.
Over-the-top dialogues, a cartoonish supporting cast that includes Ashutosh
Rana and Kiran Kumar, and an extremely artificial sports setting, just add to
the insipidity that this film wasn’t lacking upon in the first place.
Verdict – 1 ½ out of 5 stars
 |
| I know it was a bad movie bro! I know ours was better! Please don't cry!! |
Every few years or so, someone
comes up with the grand idea of a sports film that intends to elevate the
popularity for the featured sport in India. Brothers
tries to hold the mantle for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, and fails magnificently.
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