Rather than being a genuine movie, I would like to call this a homage to Bachchan's movies during his prime. And in that part, it is quite incredible. Bachchan even breaks the fourth wall, delivering some of his iconic lines from his prime (Kaalia, in particular) and even sings (raps) a lot of his popular songs in a way that mocks the morons like Honey Singh. At some point, he also acknowledges his legacy and the fact that many of the stars of present day (by which, I mean the ones during 2011) were merely his copycats. He does this quite innocently and being totally sarcastic. This trope of the film reminds us of Bachchan's characters in earlier movies, typically those made by Manmohan Desai. And at the same time, he plays the over the top and exaggerated version of his public persona which fits in the movie.
It's not just that he recites his iconic lines, many of his one liners from this movie are also great. No one from his time or the ones popular during 2011 or at present could've delivered those lines as Bachchan did. If you're a huge Bachchan fan like me, you're in for a treat whenever he appears on screen. This is really his movie. A tribute to Bachchan. This might have been the easiest role for Bachchan in his entire career. He is likeable, sarcastic and cool in this movie. He really owns the movie. Even the title clearly indicates Bachchan saying "I might be old and technically, belong to a bygone era ..... but I am way better than all of the ones who came with me and after me". Most of his costars are either no more in this world, or they aren't consistent like him. They're referred to as the heroes of the bygone era, no matter how great they are or were. The movie is clearly written keeping Bachchan in mind. That's pretty much of a summary of what I had to say about Bachchan in relation to this movie.
The first half of the movie is to the point, Bachchan is in one of his coolest avatars, and well paced with a twist that I never saw coming. It diverts a very little. In short, we get all that we want from this movie in the first half. But, right after the twist, we still get the "Bachchan part" and that's pretty cool. We get a backstory of Bachchan and that's okay. But the main problem is it slows down right after the twist. And it diverts a lot from the main plot. We get a really sluggish love story of Sonu Sood with that out dated out of place humor for the majority of the second half. That was something I would've never wanted to see. And the moments within that are cringe-worthy. It really holds the movie really really down. Since the movie had time for that nonsense to go on, couldn't they just show Bachchan's backstory rather than giving an exposition dump for that? That would've made it better than it is.
Honestly, the way it is written and directed, for the ones who don't know Bachchan from his earlier movies, it would just be a typical masala film - with an old man beating people up. Some of the action scenes are mere copies of "Wanted" (2008), which is a ridiculously stupid film in its own right. Even though Bachchan makes it really enjoyable seeing the stuffs that he does, the action feels very over the top and unbelievable - though quite entertaining when you see it.
Prakash Raj plays his comedic gangster role in the way he does. Nothing bad from him. Hema Malini doesn't have much to do. But reminds a lot of films they did together. Raveena Tondon is one of my most favorite Bollywood actresses of the 90s. Her role indicates the fact that she never had a chance to play opposite Bachchan in her days. She played his sister in "Bade Miya Chhote Miya" (1998) but not opposite to him. She also starred with Bachchan in "Insaniyat" (1994) but that movie doesn't really count or matter. But she did a lot of unnecessary overacting in this movie. So is with Charmi Kaur. Sonu Sood and his girl in this movie, felt like they were braindead when it was time to do some acting.
Score : 8/10, Grade : A-
It's not just that he recites his iconic lines, many of his one liners from this movie are also great. No one from his time or the ones popular during 2011 or at present could've delivered those lines as Bachchan did. If you're a huge Bachchan fan like me, you're in for a treat whenever he appears on screen. This is really his movie. A tribute to Bachchan. This might have been the easiest role for Bachchan in his entire career. He is likeable, sarcastic and cool in this movie. He really owns the movie. Even the title clearly indicates Bachchan saying "I might be old and technically, belong to a bygone era ..... but I am way better than all of the ones who came with me and after me". Most of his costars are either no more in this world, or they aren't consistent like him. They're referred to as the heroes of the bygone era, no matter how great they are or were. The movie is clearly written keeping Bachchan in mind. That's pretty much of a summary of what I had to say about Bachchan in relation to this movie.
The first half of the movie is to the point, Bachchan is in one of his coolest avatars, and well paced with a twist that I never saw coming. It diverts a very little. In short, we get all that we want from this movie in the first half. But, right after the twist, we still get the "Bachchan part" and that's pretty cool. We get a backstory of Bachchan and that's okay. But the main problem is it slows down right after the twist. And it diverts a lot from the main plot. We get a really sluggish love story of Sonu Sood with that out dated out of place humor for the majority of the second half. That was something I would've never wanted to see. And the moments within that are cringe-worthy. It really holds the movie really really down. Since the movie had time for that nonsense to go on, couldn't they just show Bachchan's backstory rather than giving an exposition dump for that? That would've made it better than it is.
Honestly, the way it is written and directed, for the ones who don't know Bachchan from his earlier movies, it would just be a typical masala film - with an old man beating people up. Some of the action scenes are mere copies of "Wanted" (2008), which is a ridiculously stupid film in its own right. Even though Bachchan makes it really enjoyable seeing the stuffs that he does, the action feels very over the top and unbelievable - though quite entertaining when you see it.
Prakash Raj plays his comedic gangster role in the way he does. Nothing bad from him. Hema Malini doesn't have much to do. But reminds a lot of films they did together. Raveena Tondon is one of my most favorite Bollywood actresses of the 90s. Her role indicates the fact that she never had a chance to play opposite Bachchan in her days. She played his sister in "Bade Miya Chhote Miya" (1998) but not opposite to him. She also starred with Bachchan in "Insaniyat" (1994) but that movie doesn't really count or matter. But she did a lot of unnecessary overacting in this movie. So is with Charmi Kaur. Sonu Sood and his girl in this movie, felt like they were braindead when it was time to do some acting.
Score : 8/10, Grade : A-