Boss Hindi (U/A) **Cast: Akshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty, Ronit Roy, Shiv Pandit, Aditi Rao Hydari, Danny DenzongpaDirector: Anthony D’Souza



The cast of yesteryear hit Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander has thrown up many directors, but Boss director Anthony D’Souza seems to be following the path taken by Deepak Tijori, and not Aamir Khan or Amole Gupte.



It seems D’Souza, who has the 2009 bomb Blue and some other “shelved” projects to his credit, didn’t even try to make a good film, forget one that would garner critical acclaim. Why else would the entire climax be predicted by what happens within the first 20 minutes of the film, when the hero makes an entrance after half an hour and the starting credits begin 40 minutes after the film does?



There isn’t much of a story either. Young Suryakant Shastri is sent to jail after he is found holding the sharp object that penetrated and killed a schoolmate with whom he had had quite a few spats. His father (Mithun), who found him like that, disowns him when he is drawn into another fight after serving a three-year juvenile term. He flees to Haryana, only to be taken under the wing of and brought up by a golden-hearted transporter-cum-vigilante/criminal (Danny).



Years later, when his younger brother is being rolled over in police custody by a corrupt top cop (Ronit) for hobnobbing with this sister (Aditi), the old father approaches the disowned son (Akshay) to help him out.



Let’s not delve into the plot holes, for where the laws of physics don’t work, our logic shouldn’t either. Acting-wise, Ronit Roy is menacing, Hydari, Danny, and several powerhouses are underutilised, and Akshay himself is no better than what he was in Rowdy Rathore or some of the other recent films he has been.



However, look outfor the boy who plays theadolescent Surya. He shows promise.

The 140-minute runtime seems interminably long, especially during scenes that could have been reduced to a third or quarter of their original. It would have also made the narrative crisper. And that’s all the more true for the significantly lengthy climactic fight scene. The conclusion was foregone, so why make us sit through nearly 10 minutes of it?

