JOHNNY GADDAR
JOHNNY HANDILY SEN
By Vishal Verma

Rating:- * * *

What is it?
A different thriller which is somewhat dark made in James Hadley Chase ishtyle, boasting a vital scene from Jyoti Swaroop’s (1971) thriller ‘Parwana’ which had Amitabh Bachchan in a negative role but however, a tribute to Vijay Anand!!

Got it! Never mind. Director Sriram Raghavan showed promise as a smart story teller with ‘EK HASINA THI’ and now by paying tribute to Vijay Anand in ‘JOHNNY Gaddar’ he only goes further as a nimble story teller.

This is not a whodunit thriller as the audience knows who has done it and how he has done it. But this belongs to a different variety of thrillers altogether. Sriram Raghavan crafts this thriller well which compels viewers to use their mind as layer after layer is peeled off.

Whats it all about?
Five men, the eldest is 60+, the youngest in his 20s. This ensemble group has their fingers in various activities. The story starts with one of the gang members Seshadri(Dharmendra – fantastic) a charming gentleman living out his days by listening to his deceased wife's voice on a tape recorder gets an offer to make a fortune in four days. All the gang members are up for it as this is the deal that will catapult them into the big league.

But few know that this sweet and simple guy is also a mastermind criminal. His crew consists of a club owner, Shardul (Zakir Hussain- efficient), a game parlour owner Prakash (Vinay Pathak- consistent), a wrestler Shiva (Daya Shetty) and a stock speculator Vikram (Neil Mukesh- charming debut).

We are quickly led into the lives of the crew and before you know it, they have an assignment where they stand a chance of making Rs 2.5 crores in just four days, with an equal share of Rs 50 lakhs each. But as is always the structure of a heist film, there is a double cross, and someone in the team gets killed.

The director holds the audience's interest through intricate planning, and a lot of twists and turns.

The gang members get killed one by one and when in the end we feel that it’s all over a bullet is fired.

What to look out for?
Sriram Raghavan’s narration which speaks style but also defines the content remarkably.

In perfect sync with the genre of the movie it doesn, t has any song apart from the title track which is quite good.

Production values are up to mark

Neil Mukesh makes a promising debut though by some angles he looks like Hrithik

What Not?
The second half could have been trimmed. Vinay Pathak’s murder is not convincing. People are getting killed one after the other and the police is on vacation.

Conclusion: Due to lack of face value, it has not got a decent opening, there where 22 guys in the suburban multiplex but may pick up by word of mouth.