Race
Movie Report
Race is Abbas-Mustan's most accomplished work. There is nothing new in the story line. The story moves in a serpentine manner, there's a twist every fifteen minutes and it's impossible to guess what the culmination would be. The girls involved are sometimes as confused as the viewer mean when did Bipasha Basu (Sonia) hatch the plan with Saif Ali Khan (Ranvir Singh) to knock off younger brother Akshaye Khanna (Rajiv Singh)? And what is the Katrina Kaif (Sophia) angle? Director duo Abbas Mastan, despite having over two-and-a-half hours at their disposal fail to throw convincing light on her role with both the brothers, especially Akshaye. Katrina has clearly been wasted.
Ranvir [Saif Ali Khan] and Rajiv [Akshaye Khanna] are step-brothers who own a huge stud farm in Durban, South Africa. They breed horses on their huge ranch house and are also the biggest bookies in the horse racing circuit. Ranvir, the elder of the two, is known to be a very shrewd man. He is very aggressive and is always on the move. Rajiv, on the other hand, is very laidback and is also a chronic alcoholic. He likes the smell of alcohol. Embittered because the entire estate is in his elder brother's name, he hatches a plan to kill him and claim the insurance money apart from the other businesses. He ropes in Bipasha Basu for this heinous crime. However, it turns out that Bipasha was already roped in by Ranvir.
Sophia [Katrina Kaif] is Ranvir's personal secretary. She adores her boss and loves him. Sonia [Bipasha Basu] is an upcoming Indian ramp model in Durban. Sonia loves Ranvir, but through a twist of fate gets married to Rajiv. When she discovers that Rajiv is a chronic alcoholic, her world is shattered. Ranvir too is disturbed as he has sacrificed his love for his younger brother because Rajiv had promised him that if he gets married to Sonia, he will leave alcohol forever.
After marriage, Rajiv breaks his promise and the story starts getting complicated. In a weak moment, Ranvir and Sonia come very close to each other and an affair starts between the younger brother's wife and the elder brother. When the younger brother starts suspecting his wife, all hell breaks loose.
Even though the plot is convoluted, the movie will work because there is a hidden star who will never be highlighted. His name is Allan Amin, the action director. The action is top class and slickly executed which gives the movie the edge in the absence of a tight script.
Every actor in Race puts his/her best foot forward. Saif is solid as an actor; looks, style, dialogue delivery - the entire package. Akshaye gets into the NAQAAB mode quite often, while Bipasha Basu is quite the temptress with her role reversal. Anil Kapoor delivers his due but has not much meat in his role.
Dialogues are excellent. Styling is superb. Background score has the international feel. Choreography is top class.
In nutshell the movie is especially good for them who are action addict. Race is a superb entertainer all the way. It's not just style, it has substance as well. Even the camera work by Ravi Yadav is top class.
