Patiala House Hindi Movie
Patiala House comes at a time when both the leading man - Akshay Kumar - and his director - Nikhil Advani - are quite desperate for a success. Akshay's last few films haven't exactly set the cash registers ringing and Advani is yet to taste success after ditching the Karan Johar / SRK camp after his debut Kal Ho Na Ho. On the other hand, leading lady Anushka Sharma is yet to taste failure. All her films (Rab Ne, Badmaash Company, Band Baaja...) have worked at the box office. Can the Anushka factor bring luck to the film? Let's find out...
Patiala House is about Gattu (Akshay Kumar) who is torn between the love for his Bauji (father) and his passion for cricket. Bauji who has suffered from racial abuses and jailed for violence has deep hatred towards the British. His hatred is so strong that he stands in his son's way, when Gattu gets a chance to play for the English Cricket team. Enter Simran (Anushka Sharma) who re-ignites Gattu's passion for the game and pushes his families thinking against Bauji. Will Gattu realise his dream, his passion and play for England?
Firstly the story is dumb... why does Bauji continue to live in a country, whose citizens he hates? Why not simply move back to India? Also, which father would want to break his son's dream of playing international cricket no less and instead want him to turn into a shopkeeper? Pretty dumb isn't it? But moving on, the film will be loved by those who love melodrama and family oriented movies.
Patiala House does at times go over the top, but what is the most important for a film of its genre is music, performances and hitting the right note with emotions. And that's exactly where it scores big. It has good music, great performances and a heavy dose of emotions that should work well with the viewers.
And yes, for the first time since Kal Ho Na Ho, director Nikhil Advani is in complete control! Patiala House should silence his critics and Akshay Kumar's too! The actor is in terrific form and his performance is a refreshing chance over the buffoonery that he overdid in many of his last films. Whether it is playing Gattu the family man or a cricketer, Akshay excels!
Anushka Sharma, who has great screen presence, does very well and effectively supports Akshay. Rishi Kapoor is loud and irritating at times, but then again, he adheres to the requirement of his role. The many supporting characters, all of them well-handled by Advani, perform well too.
Overall, Patiala House is the 90's family melodrama at its best. If such movies appeal to you, book yourself a ticket, you won't be disappointed.
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