|
By Taran
Adarsh, August 31, 2007 - 02:00 IST
 Remaking a yesteryear hit is considered an easy route
for winning plaudits and paisa. With a readymade
script at your disposal, all you need to do is cast
the right set of actors, hire a director who's equally
charged to remake the film and who'd do complete
justice to the material, retain the popular songs from
the original [if need be]… Presto, the new avatar is
ready for public viewing!
But the new avatar may not necessarily be as effectual
as the original. That holds true for VICTORIA NO. 203,
directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan. It's a great
idea to remake a rollicking entertainer like VICTORIA
NO. 203, but the 2007 interpretation lacks the heart
and soul of the original.
One of the prime reasons why the original worked was
courtesy the fun element, besides packing every
available ingredient in those 2 hours. The new version
starts off brilliantly, but runs out of breath after
the initial 20 minutes. And the graph only goes
downhill thereafter.
To sum up, this Victoria is hardly a fun ride. Not all
diamonds sparkle!
VICTORIA NO. 203 takes off with a display of diamonds
worth Rs. 300 crores. Bobby [Javed Jaffrey], a rich
industrialist and his moll Devyani [Preeti Jhangiani],
are smitten by the diamonds. Bobby is willing to do
anything to acquire them. When the diamond owner
denies his offer to buy the diamonds, his ego is hurt.
He hires the services of Ranjit [Kamal Sadanah], who
in turn hires a burglar, Tora [Tora Khasgir], to steal
the diamonds.
 Tora performs a daredevil heist and escapes with the
diamonds. She has an agenda of her own and plans a
double cross with her brother Karan [Rajesh Khera].
Just as she is about to escape, Ranjit stabs her. She
escapes though and falls next to Victoria No. 203 in
which she hides the diamonds. The Victoria driver
Raman [Jatin Sial] offers to take her to the hospital
and in the process gets caught by the police, who
suspect him for attempted murder.
Raman's daughter Sara [Soniya Vinod Mehra] is forced
at this stage to ride the Victoria in order to earn
money for her father's trial. She is unaware that she
is riding around Mumbai with diamonds worth Rs. 300
crores in her Victoria. Jimmy [Jimmy Joseph], an
expert on diamonds, takes a ride on the Victoria and
instantly falls in love with Sara.
Raja [Anupam Kher] and Rana [Om Puri] are two small
time crooks who are released from jail. They hear
about the diamond heist and are extremely impressed,
hoping one day they will be able to do something of
the sort. All the characters meet in a climax and none
of them know where the diamonds actually are.
If you watch VICTORIA NO. 203 with a magnifying glass,
you'd agree that it packs every masala on the shelf.
There's a heist, there're light moments aplenty
[courtesy Raja and Rana], there's emotional bonding
[father - daughter], there's romance, a dash of oomph
and of course, thrills. And all this is merged to
create a wholesome entertainer that doesn't bore you
even for a minute.
 But the new version looks disjointed. Sure, the script
remains the same, but the holding power is clearly
missing. The heist at the very start is superb
[reminds of SHALIMAR], but the comic scenes are far
from funny. You do break into a chuckle at times, but
Raja and Rana here aren't as impactful. The comedy
falls flat. The romance too is far from exciting.
Ditto for the thrills!
Director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan is a talented
storyteller, but he's not in his elements this time.
The music is a mixed bag. The two tracks from the
original ['Do Bechare' and 'Thoda Sa Thehro'] are the
only ones that work. Cinematography is eye-catching.
Om Puri is in form, but Anupam Kher isn't. Om seems to
be enjoying his part, while Anupam looks mechanical.
Jimmy Sheirgill deserved more footage. He's okay.
Soniya Vinod Mehra has a long way to go before she can
be called an actress. Javed Jaffrey is competent, as
always. Preeti Jhangiani is a revelation. She looks
alluring and enacts her part well. Kamal Sadanah does
a fine job. Tora sizzles. Rajesh Khera and Jatin Sial
are wasted.
On the whole, VICTORIA NO. 203 doesn't work. It's a
bumpy journey for this Victoria at the box-office!
Rating:- * 1/2
|
