Special 26

Special 26 has shaped into a reallly good movie which entertains you. The movie itself is a comedy packaged into a thriller format and the director Neeraj Pandey has been able to deliver a punch in his somewhat oddly named cinematic product.

Neeraj Pandey, if you remember had given us that wonderful movie- A Wednesday which was also a taut suspense story told in a simple format. Here , in this movie also he has kept the storyline simple and uncluttered. The situational comedy with humorous punchlines have been very well executed by the actors . The editing of the movie is fast with jumpcuts and superfast montages. The music by M A Kreem adds up to the urgency and propels the pace of the movie. Very good camerawork and clever use of locations and props give an authentic touch to the story set in 1987 and brings back memories of the good old days .

The director and his team have done good homewoork to create the ambience of the period in which the film is set and makes the scenes look believable and realistic. The film speaks of a time when mobile phones and computers were not common in India and you will sometimes feel the difference of lifestyle it has made for us , particularly for the police while chasing fraudsters.

The story is about a gang of fraudsters committing a series of daring heists at the places of the corrupt and the rich by impersonating as CBI or Income tax officers. And in all cases , there is no report of the swindle made to the police because the people cheated out of their treasures do not want to report lest their extent of illgotten wealth is made public. How an intrepid CBI officers gives a chase to the gang and the thrilling chase and its culmination in a very different climax makes up the storyline. The suspense of the story is maintained till the end and unlike Talaash but more like Kahaani, you will like it because it will make you laugh .

The story has no moral pretences , no message to preach, no item number, no fight sequence, no sex scenes,no stylish sets and dresses,no stunts or action scenes . In short it is not a masala movie in any yardstick. But it is a wholesome entertainer which you would like to visit both with your mother and daughter and it will make you laugh. Strangely , you will bond with the crooks in the movie and pray for their well being. This is where the director scores on the emotional quotient.

Along with good direction and editing, the success of the movie also rests on the teamwork of the actors in delivering scenes in a manner which reminds you of setpiece movements of football . All of the actors play their roles to proffessional perfection and this is what makes the situational comedy stand out with perfect timing. Akshyay Kumar once again gives a very good performance as the mastermind fraudster and team leader of crooks. Manoj Vajpayee and Jimmy Sheirgill also have acted well upto their reputation. But Anupam Kher is simply excellent. He has again proved what a great actor he is. The scene where he, the crook, is interrogated by the CBI officer Manoj really stands out due to the acting coordination of both and worth remembering.

The weak point of the film is the romance angle and the heroine related diversions . May be the director planned the scenes involving the heroine as relief from the suspense and fast pace of the film. Or maybe he wanted to garner support for the lead character by showing his emotional compulsions. But the fact remains that the character of the heroine and her presence in the film is totally unnecessary and does not really gel with an otherwise very good narrative structure.

My recommendation will be – See the movie. Don't try to find any meaning or message in the story. Just enjoy it for a good dose of suspense laced with fine humour.