So the Eid hitmaker is back. It is that time of the year when Bhaijaan gives his fans reasons for ‘wee bit o’ celebration’. But this flick is nothing like the harebrained superhits he has delivered incessantly, year-on-year. It is hard to point out that magic element which makes this Salman starrer Eid offering notches above anything he has worked on in the last decade. It doesn’t have an inventive story; on the contrary it is a predictable, loopy mess. But it does benefit from the basic plot in place. It is frequently laughable, often devoid of logic but has far too many positives to let the flaws curb you from savouring the exuberance the film holds.
The safest bet will be to say the film has its heart in the right place and the unanimous opinion echoes that the little Harshaali Malhotra is absolutely delightful and winsome, almost enough to take attention away from the Khan, who knows best how to reign frames and hearts.
Right at the start, director Kabir Khan sets the theme right. The film opens to an Indo-Pak match, which India is losing and Pakistanis cheer as Shahid Afridi scores sixes. This is nothing short of blasphemy for Indian sensibility, but the tenderness with which Kabir’s narrative takes course is impeccably thought out. It doesn’t stench of secularist ranting but the idea of love prevailing is what triumphs overall.
