Aladin: Not entertaining enough!
|
 The story is set in a fictitious town called Khwaish. Aladin
(Ritesh) is a shy college going bloke who is forever bullied by his
college mates lead by big bully Kasim (Sahil Khan). They always force
him to rub lamps to get a Genie out of it only because his name is
Aladin. He instantly falls in love at first sight when he sees Jasmine
(Jacqueline) the new girl in his college. But then again Kasim always
succeeds in keeping him away from her. 
But one fine day he luckily
chances upon a lamp that actually brings out a genie called Genius
(Amitabh). Genius offers him three wishes so that after they are
fulfilled he can retire. At first Aladin doesn't believe that Genius is
actually a genie but after he is convinced the first two wishes he
wastes on getting Jasmine. Meanwhile Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) is hot on
trail of the magic lamp is an ex-genie who wants to kill Aladin and get
hold of the magic lamp so that he can be come the genie and use the
powers to further his own evil interests. In his team are a
fire-spitting lady, a clown, a knife thrower and other circus
renegades. On interacting with Ringmaster, Aladin learns of a secret
Genius had not revealed to him and he is heartbroken. Anyway, to become
a genie once again, Ringmaster has to catch a comet that comes once in
a million years. The comet can only be caught with the help of a magic
lamp. What happens when Ring master confronts Genius and Aladin and who
wins the battle for supremacy is revealed in the climax.
Its commendable that Sujoy has picked up the much heard famous fairy
tale and attempted to give it a modern day twist with some amazing
never seen before special effects. However, he along with his
co-writers have failed to make Aladin a fun filled entertainer. Even if
we take into consideration that the film is only aimed at the kids,
then too its a challenge for the kids to enjoy it as most of the
proceedings are wasted in Aladin wooing Jasmine. The emotional quotient
of the romantic story is zero. The script is completely dry and drab.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that just one dialogue stands out because
it unwittingly expresses the feelings of the audience watching this
film in the cinemas. The dialogue, mouthed by Genius, goes somewhat
like this: “Abbe, yaar, bore mat karo!” Indeed, that’s the dialogue the
viewer keeps muttering to himself while watching the film.
Amitabh brings Genius to life with his excellent act even though it
appears over the top at times. Ritesh is perfectly fit for his role and
does an endearing act. Sanjay Dutt though saddled with a half baked
role is in great form. You can make out he is having a ball playing the
fantasy villain. Newcomer Jacqueline has superb screen presence and not
only is she very attractive but is very expressive too. Sahil Khan is
well casted and his scenes with Ritesh are hilarious.
Vishal-Shekhar's tunes offer nothing new but gel with the film.
Editing could have been better but camerawork by Sirsha Ray and set
design by Sabu Cyril is top notch. Even the sound design is of
international standards.
If you had been anticipating a great entertainer then Aladin is surely a let down!
Rating: 2 out of 5*
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ritesh Deshmukh and Jacqueline Fernandez
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
|
