Director: Prabhu Deva Producer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ronnie Screwvala Music: Sajid-Wajid Genre: Action, Comedy Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Paresh Ganatra

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“Jisne bhi yeh socha ki main darr gaya, vo arthi pe apne ghar gaya.”  When you see a larger-than-life protagonist delivering such heavy handed dialogues in a rustic yet unflinching fashion, you ought to put your appetizer down and give a hand to the rowdiness of our own khiladi, Akshay Kumar. The dancer turned director, Prabhu Deva directs Rowdy Rathore, a remake of Telugu movie VIKRAMARKUDU [2006], with eccentric confidence and panache. With Rowdy Rathore, he proves that WANTED [2009] was no fluke and he has an eye for the masala entertainment.Shiva (Akshay Kumar) is a con who falls for Priya (Sonakshi Sinha), a girl straight from the Indian heartland, Patna. When things are going heavenly for our veteran, a juvenile girl calling Shiva her father enters the scenario. Life threatening attacks and a deadly secret leads Shiva to a town in Bihar ruled by ruthless politicians and small time thugs. A place whose inhabitant’s only redemption lies with Shiva! Raving dialogues, vivid background and unabashed heroisms of Akshay Kumar makes Rowdy Rathore a hardcore crowd pleaser. Sonakshi Sinha reprises the role of a desi girl with charm and brilliance. A lack of expressions of our female lead is redeemed by the brutal delivery of her raw one-liners especially in the second half of the movie. Prabhu Deva deserves brownie points for handling the flashback sequences with subtlety and ease. The first half of the movie was a tad unevenly paced, but is backed up with a visceral second hour which gives the audience enough to whistle about. Akshay Kumar seems to have found comfort in this role and brings out a strong performance elevated by his sense of comic timing. The compelling action sequences derived from the cinemas in the south were a definite USP. Special mention of the music composed by Sajid-Wajid is a must as it has been a rage since its release and definitely explodes on the silver screen. When the main aim is to make an instant blockbuster, storyline usually finds its feet in the grave. Rowdy Rathore suffers from a similar fate. With a tinge of predictability and seen-it-before feel, the storyline does not let the movie reach its crescendo. The emotional scenes lacked a punch and the romance between Priya and Shiva felt unbaked. The packaging of the movie is such that it shadows the faults and provides paisa vasool entertainment in all measures. Rowdy Rathore has ‘blockbuster’ written all over it. Have a decko and relish the rowdiness. Rating: 3.5 / 5