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Movie review: ‘Tevar’

Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha paired up for the first time on the big screen in ‘Tevar’, directed by famous Google ad director Amit Sharma. As the first big release of the year, there were a consideration amount of expectations of the film – not only because it was a remake of the popular ‘Okkadu’ (2003) which was originally made in Telugu. Produced by Sanjay Kapoor and Boney Kapoor, who are presenting their junior Arjun in the male lead role, it would be interesting to see how the film fared with the audiences.

Tevar

The story of the film surrounds Kabaddi champion Pintu (Kapoor) who is not only obsessed with the sport but also with the right thing being done by women. He doesn’t take kindly to men who eave-tease and takes it upon himself to teach the culprit a lesson. When out of town for a friend’s wedding, Pintu happens to be in the same area as Gajender Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) who is trying to kidnap Radhika (Sinha). Without knowing the background or the enormity of the situation, Pintu gets involved to save the damsel in distress. He soon discovers that Radhika herself is in an impossible position and he then makes it his mission to free her from it.

Sharma, who is making his big screen debut with this film as director, seems to have taken inspiration from a number of mass entertaining experts. With flying cars, cheesy dialogues and sometimes unbelievable situations for the main characters to escape from, Sharma does make his mark in a somewhat half masala film. The film has all the ingredients of a mass-entertainer and a very many scenes too but it has to be said that it is not as predictable as one would have thought it might be. For fresh eyes who haven’t seen the previous remakes or the original, ‘Tevar’ is centred on the chase of getting Sinha’s character away from the villain who is played by Bajpayee. In and around all of this, Sharma makes fantastic use of the ensemble cast as well as give a great backdrop of Delhi (in the most part) a great portrayal.

As far as performances go, it is definitely Bajpayee that stands out in the film. This is not because Kapoor and Sinha are underwhelming but simply due to the fact that Bajpayee has stepped into a double role somewhat of a loverboy and also a villain. This is rare for such an actor as he has continued to maintain that he is doing something different in ‘Tevar’. His character is very colourful in both attire and personality and Bajpayee carries himself with articulation in the role. It can be said that he is one of the few highlights in the entire movie. Kapoor is seen in an action role and he hasn’t been seen in one of them many times in his short career. His performance is suited to his character’s passion and his honesty has a great sentiment as well as a very fitting portrayal to the society that a modern India would want to promote – specifically in relation to attitudes to women. Aside from this, he also delivers some very Salman-Khan-esque dialogues pretty well. Sinha, disappointingly, seems to only really shine in the Radha Nachegi song. Her presence in the film is simply a catalyst to the story and it was inevitable that Radhika would fall for Pintu in true Bollywood fashion. It would be great to see Sinha in a more performance based role and she has said she is also ready for that kind of cinema now. It is a delight to see Raj Babbar and Deepti Naval on screen once again, playing Pintu’s parents. Shruti Haasan is also seen in item song Madamiyan.

Manoj Bajpayee Tevar

The music of ‘Tevar’ by the ever-popular and award winning duo Sajid-Wajid in the most part has been making a mark. However it has to be said that the slower songs, Joganiyan and Main Nai Jaana Pardes, are gems which perhaps have been overshadowed by the faster numbers. Imran Khan also comes in with special track Let’s Celebrate which is a delight to see on the screen.

For those who expected an out-and-out mass entertainer, ‘Tevar’ ticks that box. It gives the action of a Rohit Shetty blockbuster and the dialogues of a Salman Khan action-packed film. However, ‘Tevar’ is packaged differently and has a sports element as well as a brand new jodi to feast your eyes on. What lets the film down is the fact that it doesn’t really offer anything that you will walk away remembering in particular, apart from a stalwart like Manoj Bajpayee walking around in shorts for some of the film.. and that too willingly! Give this one a miss if you prefer the actual mass entertainers which also take the box office by storm; ‘Tevar’ doesn’t quite achieve that mark.

BizAsia Showbiz rating: 2/5