Producer: Guddu Dhanoa, Lalit Kapoor and Raju Narula
Director: Guddu Dhanoa
*ing: Akshay Kumar, Urmila Matondkar, Anupam Kher and Shazia Malik
Music: Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen
Reviewed by: Mohammad Ali Ikram
ali@indolink.com
out
of 
Bechara Akshay Kumar. He is in dire need of a hit film to resurrect his flagging career. Through 1997's bombing of Lahu Ke Do Rang, Daava, Insaaf and Tarazu, the audience rubber-stamped the death of Akshay's 'cop on the revenge trail' antics. Then again, Juhi Chawla's takeover as the real hero of the comedic Mr & Mrs Khiladi impressed only critics. So will Guddu Dhanoa's Aflatoon bring Akki back to the forefront? Sorry, but I am certainly not a film pundit.
I can only claim that Aflatoon is a better product than the above-mentioned revenge traumas... er, I mean dramas. The story is a bit refreshing and Akshay displays his latent acting potential. In the past, he has only been appreciated in romantic roles - Yeh Dillagi and Dil To Pagal Hai - but in giving away part of Aflatoon's plot twist, Akki also makes a very credible villain. Rocky (Akshay Kumar) is an eccentric and enigmatic antagonist bearing characteristic resemblance to most of Batman's arch rivals. Ignore the villain's idiotic entry song (dressed in drag) and wait for his first killing spree.
The major flaw with Aflatoon is the often mediocre direction, combined with a very unimpressive hero in Raja (Akshay Kumar, again). Like Akshay's role in Mr & Mrs Khiladi, Raja is a boring and unheroic lead character. If you are like me, you will wish Rocky had succeeded, at the end of the movie, with his cunning master plan. Of course, the main story-line is one of mixed identities.
Urmila Matondkar and Anupam Kher waste away in the sidelines. Urmila may have more footage than heroines of other Dhanoa flicks, but she is there predominantly for visual appeal in the pre-interval romantic/comedy track and songs. Too bad Urmi seems disinterested in the film's talkie portions. Ms Matondkar looks breath-taking in the songs, especially "Tu Maange Dil, Main Dedoon Jaan", but her pairing with Akshay lacks the sparks one expected. Anupam sleep-walks through his role, with an unfunny, memory-deprived servant at his side.
After Himalay Putra's debacle, poor Shazia Malik tries her pathetic best to woo the audience with a vulgar vixen role. No, Ms Malik, this is not attractive. I, like most males, prefer the subtle, sensuous beauty of Urmila in Rangeela and Daud, and Karisma in Dil To Pagal Hai, over your crude shenanigans. Your obvious lack of acting talent helps little in resolving the matter.
Aflatoon has its positive and negative attributes. The responsibility for both
lies in the hands of Guddu Dhanoa. The director does not so much direct the movie, rather
letting individual technical departments 'do their own thing'. The result is an
engaging scene or song here, a boring one there, a dunce hero, a fun villain and a bored
supporting cast. I believe Mr Dhanoa had his mind elsewhere during the days of his
film-making education, much like the history students in his film's college sequences.
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