Writer: Janak

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Watch this if you liked: “The Bourne Identity”, “The Matrix” & “Don: The Chase Begins Again”.

According to trade reports in India, there has never been a movie lead by a no-so-popular lead actor who got sold out seats on the release day itself. Names like Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Bachan and of course not missing the three Khans - Shahrukh, Aamir and Salman are a few of those big stars who always managed to do this so easily. Perhaps, it must have been good marketing skills and promos with a wonderful soundtrack that made audiences take notice.

Vivek Oberoi finally gets a role that suits him after a string of failures these past few years. Despite some of his over-the-top scenes, fans will forgive him somehow with his overall decent acting. Maybe he should just stick to action films for now. The film also surprisingly has not one, but three different leading ladies: Aruna Shields makes her Hindi film debut watchable, Nandana Sen (of "Black" fame) gives a good performance though with limited scenes, while newcomer Neeru Bajwa outshines the most. With her good acting skills and perfect timing, she should go far if any offers are poured in the near future. Other cast were purely descent as they were just filling out the gaps whenever the lead actors were not around.

The first half of the movie will surely keep audience glued to their seats, but as soon as the second half approaches, it loses its grip with a messy storyline and ending. It's unfortunate that it could not keep the momentum going. Perhaps the writers were too focused on the leading ladies that somehow they forgot to bring the story forward and fasten the film to an end.

On the bright side, director Kookie V Gulati decided to put more focus onto the action sequences. The cinematography and effects were superb. Without these two elements, the film would have fallen flat from the beginning. Credits should be given to the cinematographer and also action directors (Allan Amin) for delivering good fighting sequences throughout the film. Here, it manages to showcase that it can be matched with some renowned Hollywood production house.

Last but not least, music director Sachin Gupta composed amazing, melodious tunes, mostly sung by India's favourite singer Atif Aslam. Good job to lyrics writer (Sameer) for penning wonderful poems after a long time.

Overall, the movie is worth a watch at least once thanks to strong promos, melodious songs, over-the-top action scenes and not forgetting Vivek Oberoi's role in a film that fits him.

Cinema Online, 12 April 2010