Main Khiladi Tu Anari Review

This is one of those movies that work on an old formula inspired from a Hollywood hit but with some desi ingredients in them that click with the public and cause them to be hits. The acting is quite light-hearted - no award winning stuff here; the story, not very original; and the direction of the movie, again, not very slick. But this film had some things going for it that caused it to be the hit it was. The best thing about it was the chemistry between the two lead heroes, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. They play contrasting roles, and the script had plenty of opportunities for comedy that were properly exploited.

Karan (Akshay) is a typical Hindi film cop, and is out to clean up the streets with a vengeance. His brother has been killed, and so the young man has just cause to be angry. But the cop is so filmi that a film hero, Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan), decides to make him his role model. Impressed by the style with which he disposes of goons, Deepak Kumar uses his contacts to get the permission to hang around with Karan all the time.

Karan hates the film star with his mannerisms and his taste for luxury. Deepak, though, admires the tough cop and imitates him at every step. And so there are several hilarious moments as Karan needs to tag Deepak along while tracing his brother's killer, Goli (Shakti Kapoor). There are plots and sub-plots to develop the romantic angles and give the heroines, Shilpa Shetty and Raageshwari, some reel space. This does dilute the story a little, but with Saif fooling around with a stern-faced Akshay, there is always a lot to laugh at.

The songs are very catchy, and even after all these years, you can still enjoy Churaake Dil Mera and some of the other tunes. The picturisation and the tunes go well together, and though they are a digression from the story, they played a major role in making the movie a hit. The music was from the time when Anu Malik used to compose original and catchy songs. A nice movie to watch, if you ignore the clichés and the general silliness.