Kathmandu:

James (Thriller)

Cast: Mohit Ahlawat, Nisha Kothari

Direction: Rohit Jugraj

Music: Amar Mohile

Showing at: Kumari

This one’s overloaded with oodles of oomph! Seems like Bollywood’s bent on creating Indie ‘Gulliano’, but the Sicilian air just fails to permeate its desi climate. Not even when we have a chic and brawny James to play it. After a sequel of films like Satya, Shiva and Company, we least expect to see a newborn novice take over just like that! At least not when his exploits try our credibility limit.

Isn’t a one-man show, a thing of the past? But, here we’re forced into believing a twenty- something can rise to overthrow the deeply entrenched Mafioso rule in Mumbai. So what’s the hoopla surrounding James? Despite the story that drags on with a drab screenplay and repulsive resonance of long forgotten action flicks, it still has some USP’s that could click.

First things first. You have the lead characters, including the director, making a daring debut venture. While Nisha Kothari establishes herself as the new bombshell on the block with her interminable sequels of skin show, Mohit Alhawat exhibits his flair for simply running riot with his saturnine looks. But does he have the screen presence that makes us believe the unbelievable?

The movie itself begins with the lacerating title number by ‘Nisha’ that makes the audience expect more of skin shows than any action thrill. Enter James and everything starts going awry.

James (Rohit Alhawat) comes to Mumbai following his dreams but the journey itself begins with an omen. He grabs the job of a bouncer, and on the job he ends up wrangling with one of the biggest Mumbai Mafioso. The drunken brawl ends in a battle between the invincible hero and a bulk of hulky hooligans.

The director has made the hero James too powerful for the villains to grapple with. And herein lies the biggest drawback of the flick. But, of course we savour every moment of the can’t-keep-my-eyes-off part of the heroine’s dare-bare act that constitutes the first half of the movie. But, post-intermission the excitement level just droops.

The thriller fails to thrill despite its brilliant sound effects. But, don’t write both of them off just yet. While Mohit could make it up with another flick, Nisha is yet to hound many a young heart.