Blue - Movie Review

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif, Rahul Dev

Rating: **

Director: Anthony D’Souza

Music: AR Rahman

I had missed the press show of Blue for some reason but since work compels I opted for the first show of the movie, the earliest show I have ever caught. 7 o’clock in the morning is always very early for a movie. But to my surprise I was not alone. In fact, the hall was quite full with only a few seats left vacant. Such a turnout at such a time slot – Blue surely generated enough hype, I thought. But does it deserve all the attention is a different matter altogether.

To start with, Blue does have a story. Plus it is one rare Indian film about a treasure hunt, while Hollywood keeps them coming by the dozen! A super diver Sagar (Sanjay Dutt) who ‘knows the ocean like the back of his hand’ is supposed to be the only person who knows where a ship containing a lot of treasure sank, while cruising on its way to India. And this is somewhere near the Bahama coast where this Indian guy lives. He works with a rich businessman Aarav Malhotra (Akshay Kumar) who is very inquisitive about the treasure but Sagar keeps denying the story. Sam (Zayed Khan) and Mona (Lara Dutta) are the two people Sagar cares about. Situations are created where Sagar has to opt for the treasure hunt. Life comes full circle here as he is made to do the same thing to save his only family that had actually led to the death of his father. And there is a reasonable suspense in the film.

To add to this story, Blue has blazing cinematography. It is just awesome. In fact, just the opening credits are a thorough paisa vasool along with AR Rahman’s music. Though the music as a stand alone, in my opinion, is one of Rahman’s most forgettable works, it works in the film, especially the background. And accompanying sounds show Oscar winner Resul Pookutty is not a winner for nothing.

But despite these, Blue does not translate into anything great. It falls as a rather mediocre piece of work. And that’s because of the thin screenplay. While the first half does not make sense and refuses to move, the suspense that is supposed to be the factor that holds the story turns too weak. And weaker is the way it is revealed. The entire first half is wasted on efforts to tell people how good a diver Sagar is, how good a racer Sam is, and how intelligent Aarav is. And most of it is added just to make the film more flamboyant rather than tell the story better. Sigh! May be the first half could have been edited out. Wonder who to blame – the writer or the editor! The action that the film promises does not come through screenplay and fast narration but with a few bike races and under water stunts.

On the scale of performance, Akshay Kumar does a job which is appreciable. But Sanjay Dutt looks aged and not too fit for the action. What a contrast as he romances a younger looking Lara Dutta. Lara on her part, looks every bit the Miss Universe, the crown she won years back. She has a lot to show and she shows. And don’t wonder about the scope for acting though. It clearly looks she was just there to flaunt designer bikinis and lingerie! Zayed is decent and shows signs of getting better with emotions. Rahul Dev is as cool as the gun he carries. Katrina does not have much to flaunt except an interesting new hairstyle and her accent. You could look forward to Kylie Minogue’s fleeting appearance though – a couple of dialogues apart from the song. She is HOT!

Overall, Blue somehow justifies one perception. Western stars are too eager to work in a Bollywood flick. And they don’t bother to check the script when offered one. Kambakkht Ishq indicated it when a film featuring stars like Dennis Richards and Sylvester Stallone turned out to be a dampener. And Blue adds more weight to it. Kylie surely didn’t bother to check the script or they just have bad judgment. So if you want some international stars, just get a big banner to produce it. Script does not seem to matter much, so far at least! If you ask me what the rest of my morning was after watching the 7am show, I would say – Mourning Blues!