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REVIEW: Ritesh-Big B's Aladin

Neither magical enough for a fantasy nor identifiable enough to be real

By Anand Vaishnav . Oct 31, 2009

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Aladin Chatterjee (Riteish Deshmukh) shares his name with the cult character but behaves more like Spiderman’s Peter Parker. Low on self-esteem he too secretly admires his beautiful classmate Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez). Burdened with the famous legacy of his name,Aladin is bullied all his life. But one fine day, he actually chances upon a lamp and the modern day smooth talking genie, Genius (Amitabh Bachchan). Aladin uses his three wishes to winover Jasmine - while an evil Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) prepares eliminate him and take over the lamp.

At its premise Sujoy Ghosh’s Aladin is admittedly interesting. Ghosh’s new age spin mixing realism and fantasy in a fictitious town called Khwaish stars off well. Right from Aladin’s childhood to his initial interactions with Genius, the sequences are fast paced and bring a smile on your face. But hereon the film slips into predictability. After you have been served the first round of special effects the film becomes a romantic comedy. The Genius is less magical and behaves more on the lines of Kishore Kumar in Padosan, as he goes about sorting out Aladin’s love story. But there is still a charming innocence to the proceedings. That's also because Sujoy Ghosh is always good at light hearted portions.

Post interval and several songs later the action finally begins. But soon runs out on the thrills. While the first half worked because of its simplicity, the second half is just too confusing. Ghosh tries hard to create an engaging mystery encompassing various fantasy elements. However it doesn’t add up into anything concrete. The bit aboutAladin’s parent’s death is straight out of Harry Potter’s life. Aladin’s fears about life after Genius' exit remind you of Jaadu in Koi Mil Gaya. The Ringmaster’s evil plan is also never clear, as the plot keeps meandering in several directions. His army too resembles leftover mutants from the X-Men series. By the end of it all you just wish Ghosh had simply remade Walt Disney cult animated classic.

Riteish Deshmukh is stuck in a one-dimensional part. Despite his confident screen presence, he fails to evoke any emotion in his character. His co-star Jacqueline Fernandez has a great body, flawless skin and radiant face. We’ll skip commenting about her acting though. Sanjay Dutt as the Ringmaster is far from menacing. Looking like Dr Loveless from Wild Wild West his overall mannerisms are trademark Sanju Baba. Can’t blame an actor when the role is so sketchily written.

So once again it is upto Amitabh Bachchan to save the day. And he does it with style. The child like enthusiasm in the way he approaches the role, is a delight to watch. Bachchan laces his dialogues with several references to his popular films. Unfortunately in the end he too is made to go overboard with his anger for no reason.

Vishal-Shekhar’s music has a lot of RD Burman, even as the songs crop up at most unwarranted plot points. Imagine Aladin, Genius and Ringmaster breaking into a 80s style pre climax song and dance! The special effects are decent but the production values aren’t exactly grand or breathtaking for a film of this genre.

Sujoy Ghosh certainly had honest intentions. But couldn’t come up with a coherent plot. When the breezy love story stands out in a fantasy flick, you know something is amiss.

Verdict: Ghosh's setting is neither magical enough for a fantasy nor identifiable enoughto be real. It’s too confusing for kids and adults alike. Except for a few laugh early on and Bachchan’s stand out act, Aladin is another addition to Bollywood’s failed attempts at fantasy.

Rating: 1.5/5