Appa and Mamma says you watch it

When I saw the 4 star rating for Wanted in two different newspapers, I was sure that the producers had paid big money to get a good review. Chrys and I decided to do a movie marathon and watch two movies one after the other. Unfortunately, the first one we wanted to watch, The Ugly Truth was sold out so we settled for our second choice Wanted.

I am not a fan of desi style maar dhaad and had kept my eyes closed during the fight sequences in Ghajini. Since Wanted too is a remake of a South-Indian movie called Pokhiri, I was sure that I could take a nice nap during the action scenes. But as soon as Salman Khan strode in on the screen, I was hooked. As one of his sidekicks in the movie says, he is Terminator, Bruce Lee and Rambo rolled into one. His character is called Radhey (Tere Naam anyone?). He works for anyone who would pay him big bucks and would do anything for money except 'Main aurato aur bacho pe haath nahi uthata' (Does Aishwarya Rai have anything to say to that?).

The Mumbai they depict here seems to be the one it was 15 years ago with gang wars and encounter killings happening everyday. Radhey in spite of being arrested a few times seems to be otherwise immune to the police. In the midst of bashing up the bad guys, our hero also finds time to make puppy eyes at a wholesome good girl (Ayesha Takia). The romance track is really cute and funny. Ayesha Takia is sadly so underutilised in Hindi movies. Thank God the South Indian directors (Prabhu Deva in this case) haven't given up on her. She looks good, slim but not thin, curvy but not fat.

The movie doesn't really have a story but it isn't brainless either. It's a series of action, comedy, romance scenes and lots of witty dialogues. The villain is also quite funny. I don't know this actor's name but I think he is a respected character actor down south. Prabhu Deva has brought out his own personality through this movie... irreverent, bold, funny and absolutely entertaining. Of course, this movie wouldn't have been the same without Salman Khan. Only he can be cute, lovable, vulnerable and menacing at the same time.