SPEED
CELLHELMER
By Vishal Verma

Rating:- * *

What is it?
I got an ‘IDEA’, this flick though borrowed from the 2004 ‘Cellular’ directed by David R. Ellis starring Kim Basinger can be used for mobile phones promotions by any co. Vikram Bhatt has become famous for two reasons. One he is at his best when it comes to thrillers and secondly his inspirations always come from the west.

So here also he gets inspired from ‘Cellular’ and churns out a thriller in Hindi language shot in the land of the Queen. Long live the inspirations and the Queen!

So will speed provide any recovery to Vikram Bhatt after a series of debacles like Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee, Red: The Dark Side, Ankahee etc?

‘Well’, the answer is ‘Speed’ may provide some relief for its edge of the seat moments mostly in the first half. But a ‘speedy’ recovery is doubtful due to its predictable climax and bad choice of characters by the maker.

Kya ‘Raaz’ aur Kiska ‘Kasoor’ well blame it on the actors. Aftab Shivdasani sleep walks the whole film wearing glasses with an occasional strange smile and never acts. ‘A true Villain’.

Without quelling further, let’s ‘speed’ up the proceedings

Whats it all about?
A mix of some mystery, thrill, action, no suspense and 4 unwanted songs on the beautiful backdrop of London.

Zayed Khan (fine) comes to London to convince his girlfriend Tanushree Dutta (wasted) to give him another chance to prove his love for her. Meanwhile, Sanjay Suri (looks exhausted) an undercover MI5 agent, receives a CD from Aftab Shivdasani ( sms acting guru roshan taneja’s address to him)and his lady, Sophie Chaudhary, (passable) which contains the recording of his kidnapped wife, Urmila Matondkar (notable) and is asked to follow the instructions. He asks his colleague (played by a ‘see my teeth’) to crack the code and moves off. He's completely confused about what's happening and so we are. Soon he realizes that he is being used as a weapon to assassinate the PM of India on his London tour. As he is still not agreeing to plans, Aftab finally decides to kidnap his kid (played by a broken tooth).

Sanjay's kidnapped wife, Urmila, starts trying to escape. Her only ray of hope is the telephone call she's accidentally made to Zayed Khan. He's in touch with her throughout the movie on his cell phone. Continuously talking with her and giving her moral support. As Zayed decides to help Urmila, his love of life, Tanushree gets annoyed and threatens to break up again. A happy-go-lucky brat Zayed, who never takes anything seriously, risks his own life to save an unknown family just because of a call.
 
Aashish Chaudhary (disappointing) - the super-cop of London is in charge of security of the visiting Prime Minister. But as his girlfriend Amrita Arora (for approximately 4 ½ minutes which includes a song) has her birthday the very same day, Ashish is caught between his personal life and duty. He obviously chooses the later.

What follows is a ‘thanda’ predictable climax which makes audience rush to the exit even before it’s all done.

What to look out for?
That’s a good question but……… yup there are some factors like the outdoor locations, Urmila Matondkar ‘s sincere performance after a gap as she has distanced herself. Zayed Khan as the happy go lucky yuppie is enjoyable and entertaining as well.

Vikram Bhatt shows his flashes of brilliance during the first half in this thriller which has been his forte.

What Not?
Aftab Shivdasani Aftab Shivdasani, Aftab Shivdasani, and Aashish Chaudhary with a predictable plot.

Remark: ‘Speed’ will find speed breakers and potholes in its journey even after being a solo release.