Movie Review: Badshaho

The Milan Lutheria- Ajay Devgan combination brings a certain angst to cinema. The two keep the repute going. The film maker keeps his terse tryst with history and revisits the 1975 emergency for a political backdrop. He adds a Sanjay Gandhi look alike who makes advances to Rani Gitanjali (Ileana D’cruz). Taking advantage of the emergency she is arrested and the political boss orders that her wealth be seized. In-charge of operations is a top military officer (Denzil Smith- suave, dignified and perfect keeping with the demand of the role) .

From the jail, Rani Gitanjali employs the services of her Man Friday Bhawani (a brooding Ajay Devgan) to restore the huge wealth. While Bhawani does wonder why the queen wants the wealth and suspects the bonafides, his is not to ask and thus he in turn gets his team to work on a heist that would enable the return of the huge palace wealth to Rani. His team includes a gun trotting lady Sanjana (Esha Gupta) the lock-breaker maverick Tikla (Sanjay Misra- flawless as usual) and rogue Daliya (Emran Hashmi). The foursome plan the heist even as simultaneously the army official and his trusted lieutenant Seher Singh (Vidyut Jamwal) work out the details for its safe transport beyond public gaze to Delhi from Rajasthan. In the midst of this unfurls a story of double crossing and cheating by many and we soon realise that palace intrigues are more than what meets the eye. Every one out there is a shade of grey and is by implication unreliable. Yet these Badshahos wear bravery on their sleeve. A pale attempt to give it a social angle is feebly made in the course of the long drawn execution of the heist.

The film maker gets good support from the cinematographer and the cast. Special mention in the cast must go to Emran Hashmi and Sanjay Mishra and also the efforts of Vidyut warrants mention.

The film for all its pace and drama could well have been shortened to be more effective.