Finally mil hi gaya mujhe mera asli KICK. Salman Khan & Single Screens zindabad.

Have to say watching KICK in a multiplex that too twice, had still made me feel something was missing. That too this time, it didn't feel like watching a Salman Khan flick due to audience pretending to be over-sophisticated. It's a Salman Khan film for heaven's sake & there is only one way to watch it. And if you're like me who doesn't know to whistle, doesn't scream or shout or openly dance in the theater then the least you could do is enjoy others doing it, every bit of it. Without that, it ain't the way to watch a Salman Khan film.

I reached at the venue. Big hoardings of Salman Khan & his fans welcomed me. I knew I was at the right place.

The fans had already climbed up to do all the pooja's & decorate the poster. It's Bhai's film & it's on EID. Double celebrations toh banta hai. EID is a huge festival by itself & Salman Khan's film demands to be celebrated. It was indeed a sight to watch, something to be experienced.

Thankfully, I had already booked my tickets online so that housefull board didn't bother me much at all. And this time no more buying tickets in black. Spoke directly to the theater's manager & he took extra care to let me inside before everyone rushes in. But before I made up my mind to get inside the theater this happened.

When this was happening outside there was no way of me missing it. I joined the rest of the crowd to capture this moment which has become a synonym with any Salman Khan starrer. I might've shifted to multiplex for a long time now but when it's a Salman Khan starrer, single screens are the best way to experience his films. Infact it's like a tribute on it's own. The LAST ACTION HERO of Bollywood & one of the rare megastar to actually get this kind of "worshipping" from his fans. Single screens are deteriorating, worst part is that one day this madness will come to an end along with the single screens. Capture most of it as and when you can. Because this is something you can only experience & the actual KICK lies in it.

I am a loyal fan of Salman Khan for more than two decades, well that's another way of saying I've been his fan ever since I realized I could be a "fan" of someone. Was one year old when Maine Pyar Kiya released, the first ever song I sang as a kid was from the same film. Ofcourse as told by my parents. See, the connection has been instant which has turned into loyalty.

Being loyal fan of his, I refused to take any sort of pics or video inside the theater. Nevertheless, the experience of people cheering, whistling, clapping throughout the film & dancing whenever the songs arrived, it was really a treat to me as a fan. EID pe maine apna EIDI zarur paya.

Aur isse kehte hai asli KICK. Aur sabhi ko life long KICK prapthirasthu !

Jao, aap bhi movie ko dekho apne 3 doston ke saath, feel the experience. aur apne 3 doston se kehna ki woh aur 3 logon ko zarur Salman Khan ki film dekhne ko bole. JAI HO !!!

KICK - Yaar Is KICK ki HANGOVER itni aasani uthregi nahi. KIIIICCKKKAAA !!!

Story -

As we all know this is a remake of Telugu hit KICK. The female lead's characterization has taken major changes. Shaina is a psychiatrist, who is asked to meet Himanshu Tyagi who is a strict police officer. They meet on a train formally as their families want them to get married. They choose to open up to each other & Shaina starts narrating her past to him, her lost love Devi Lal Singh. He's a character who does anything for his own "KICK". Devi Lal Singh chooses his "KICK" over his love Shaina & has left her. Himanshu too shares his story where he found his partner in the form of Devil, a thief who has robbed over 600cr & how he has given him nightmares. Himanshu has come to Poland, not just to marry Shaina but also to catch the Devil. Devi Lal Singh re-enters Shaina's life & what happens forms the rest of the story.

Film -

The first half of the film is completely loyal to the Telugu original. The pace is decent here with right amount of entertaining scenes backed up by very good dialogues & comic timing of the actors making it a fun first half. The story like in the original, takes a lot of time to begin so until then it's more of an assortment of all the fun escapades of Devi Lal Singh. Enough time is given to establish his character. The actual "KICK" begins when Randeep Hooda's Himanshu starts narrating about Devil. The action scenes kick in & the camaraderie between Hooda & Salman, all the war of words makes it very entertaining helping the first half to end on a very high note.

The second half has a complete different approach compared to original version. Unlike Telugu, here the writers don't follow the comedic approach. The retrograde amnesia which was portrayed completely comically in the original version is completely toned down here with the second half starting on a serious note with the twists happening at the right time. Most importantly, one of the best talent of our industry, Nawazuddin Siddique makes his entry as Shiv & right away steals the show. The pace in only certain scenes seems to drop a bit but that's no concern once the truth about Salman Khan's KICK is revealed which is extremely emotional & well captured. The climax of the original is retained in Hindi too but what makes it extra special is the blockbuster dialogue "Dil mein aata hoon, samajh mein nahi" is the last thing you get to hear. Now that's a powerpack punch.

Performances -

The role is tailor made for Salman Khan. He lives it, he enjoys every bit of it & excels in the emotional scene like anything. It's his show all the way, he looks a lot younger which is a huge asset. He dances his way, he excels in comic timing, the action involving him is all the more common things which people are so used to now but what makes this more special he gets the romantic Salman Khan from 90's efficiently & shows the glimpses of his attitude of the Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya era. Awestruck is the word.

Jacqueline Fernandez is good, her dance bit in the Jumme Ki Raat song is a paisa vasool moment. Ofcourse her diction is just like Katrina in her early days, nice that she gets limited scope in the second half which doesn't let her shortcomings to be visible. Randeep Hooda plays the role of a cop with gusto, he brings in a honest performance & all his scenes with Salman Khan is commendable. Mithun Chakraborthy is good as the father of Salman Khan & his party scene with Salman in the first half is more entertaining than the police station scene. Archana Puran Singh is alright. Saurabh Shukla is good & the scene where he interacts with Salman at his house is hilarious. Sanjay Mishra is very effective, his comic timing deserves to be applauded. Sumona Chakravarthy is passable. Nargis Fakhri is eye candy but the choreography isn't.

Now what do I say about this actor? Nawazuddin Siddique is an asset to our film industry. Loved every scene he featured in as he undoubtedly ruled it. Be it the dialogue delivery, that weird laugh, the bottle cap popping sound.... whatever he does straight away entertains. Watch out for him during the climax. I Salute him.

Technical Department -

The production values is never seen before for a Salman Khan film. It's lavish & every frame looks like a million bucks. The DOP deserves all the credit. The background score was decent but nothing more than that. The film's runtime is perfect but considering some of the scenes that drop in momentum, I felt the editing could've been a little more crispier. As far as choreography goes, it was just about okay. Expected a lot so I can say it was just not at the level of Ahmed Khan. Although the choreography was nowhere close to be called bad, just the expectations were higher & only Jacqueline's solo act matches it. Action is mindblowing.

Direction -

Got to praise Sajid Nadiadwala on his first attempt at direction. He has definitely handled the film well for a first timer. Wish he had ventured into direction a lot before.

Plusses -

1. Ofcourse Salman Khan. He's loving, living and enjoying his character. We all know we are in for a grand treat when Salman does that.
2. Some episodes in the first half is very entertaining. The police station scene featuring Sanjay Mishra. Ofcourse the action scene before that is very good too. But it was even more fun when Salman Khan & Mithun Chakraborthy danced for Akshay's Party All Night from Boss.
3. The whole Devil's introduction, the chase scene & most importantly the train-bicycle scene.
4. Again Salman Khan dancing to Divya Bharti's Saat Samundar song was again a high point.
5. Salman Khan doing Nawazuddin's bottle popping noise & laugh pre-climax plus Salman's dil mein aata hoon dialogue in the end.
6. The entire kid's episode in the flashback. Salman Khan at his emotional best.
7. And who else, NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUE & every scene that he features. 1-2 cha cha cha.....

Negatives - 

1. The pace being uneven when it comes to certain scenes. Those few scenes just couldn't maintain the momentum.
2. The songs placement. Yes, the songs were entertaining but except the Tu Hi Tu version which comes in the opening credits and Yaar Naa Miley, Jacqueline's version in the end credits, all other songs were not placed properly as they affected the pace.
3. They said only 6 scenes are similar to original version & rest all is new. That is not at all the case. Still couldn't find what new was contributed by Chetan Bhagat.


Final Word - KIIIICCCKKKAAA !!!

My Rating - 4/5

Yes the movie deserves it for it's entertainment. Although I am being slightly influenced to rate it 3.5 because the makers said the story is not a scene to scene remake but apart from the Nawazuddin's character, the movie was indeed a scene to scene remake. But anyways it's EID, it's SALMAN KHAN & the movie is damn entertaining so as of now I will stick to 4/5.