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By Joginder Tuteja, October 1, 2009 - 12:54 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Nasser Khan, Sonali Kulkarni, Milind Soman, Hrishita Bhatt, Sachin Khedekar, Sameer Aftab, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Soniya Mehra
Director: Rohit Nair
Producer: Nasser Khan & Shamshaad Alam
Music: Anand Raj Anand
Lyrics: Satya Prakash & Anjaan Saagri
THE FILM
You know for sure that it is B-Grade cinema that you are venturing into. Especially so with as many as three item numbers, one Bond-isque title track sequence and a 90s style 'rabba mere rabba' love song waiting to unfold in front of you. Still, you want to see what exactly did Nasser Khan mean when he hissed in the promos - 'Mission To Poora Hoga'?
In this context, the mission indeed got accomplished, at least for Nasser Khan, since he proved to the world with this film that nothing is actually impossible. In spite of his physical handicap (he is blind in real life), he comes up with a full fledged hero's part where he kills, dances, indulges in comedy, gives instructions as 'the boss', performs stunts, gets sentimental about his 'zameer' and challenges cops. In nutshell, he does everything that a leading man from 90s cinemas used to do and comes up with an all around act.
Does he perform well? No. Does he deliver? Yes. And this is where the difference lies.
He knows his limitations and hence doesn't allow many expectations to be build around him. So whatever minimal that he delivers for camera, it only appears to be an added incentive. As a contract killer who sits in India and has his lines routed through an American call centre, he is a tech savvy man (he is a Software Engineer by the way in the film, as is revealed later) and is always ahead in his game.
So much so that he kills all the 'mash-hoooooor' builders (he somehow tends to stress upon 'mashoor' here) in Mumbai, gets good media coverage rolling for him, charges as high as Rs. 2 crores for a killing, works as a car mechanic in a cover up job, wears countless disguises, operates through the outskirts of Bangkok and camouflages it as 'aamchi Mumbai'. Not just that, he also makes the woman cop (Sonali Kulkarni) go weak in her knees as she announces in front of her entire department (which by the way is carrying a death warrant for Nasser) that she is in love with him. Talk of cinematic liberties!
Things do slip in the last 30 minutes of the film though. Ideally, the film should have wrapped up soon after Nasser is caught by the cops. However, an entirely new chapter opens soon after as the motive behind him turning contract killer and the flashback sequence is beamed all over the satellite channels and radio stations. The entire pre-climax and climax is stretched endlessly too. To add insult to the injury, there is a full length item song picturised on Sonali Kulkarni that makes you cringe in your seats. Frankly, it's completely out of place.
From performance standpoint though, Sonali tries to be as earnest as possible in the given setup though she is visibly uncomfortable in her song and dance sequence. Hrishita Bhatt has a barely few scenes and it is disheartening to see the actress from Asoka and Haasil to be relegated to such roles. Milind Soman does carry a charm with him. Sachin Khedekar plays the quintessential corrupt politician well. Sameer Aftab, who has earlier done a couple of films as a main lead, is relegated to the background while Soniya Mehra (daughter of Late Vinod Mehra) is simply poor in those two clichéd scenes that she gets to enact.
Having said that, Shadow moves at a rapid pace for most of its duration which justifies the thriller subject of the film. So we see some 'chor-police' drama and chase sequences that keep the narrative reasonably gripping. No, there isn't anything absolutely terrific about the plot or its treatment by director Rohit Nair here. However, since Shadow doesn't come with any expectations whatsoever, even those routine moments seem golden in the context of the film.
PACKAGING
DVD of Shadow comes in a thin regular plastic case
DURATION
The film's duration is 134 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Making of the Film
The beginning of the 'making' segment of Shadow hints on how internationally, film makers haven't succeeded in making a movie with a real blind man as the principal protagonist. In this regard one has to compliment the makers of Shadow for actually achieving the impossible. There are also quite a few anecdotes from the sets which are shared in this segment which makes one give it a closer look.
Of course the centre of attraction here is Nasser Khan and his work in front of the camera and behind it in spite of his handicap. Right from stunt sequences to his dance steps to his regular movements in front of the camera, the viewer is taken through the challenges that Nasser faced as an actor. In addition, the actual scenes from the movie along with the happenings on the sets and bytes from cast and crew are interspersed well enough to actually make you check out the film!
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 199/=
CONCLUSION
As for Nasser Khan, his act would make kindergarten kids feel proud of their school play performances. His dialogue delivery would make amateurs confident enough to try their luck in Bollywood. His paunch would make many a health clinics protest. His dance would make DJs tremble. And yet, there is something about him that makes you curious enough to check out what exactly is Shadow all about!
 
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