Writer: Janak

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Watch this if you liked: “Om Shanti Om”, “Singh Is Kinng” & “Back To The Future trilogy”

Let's transport back to the golden era of Bollywood, the 1970s. "Action Replayy" is the fifth collaboration between Vipul Shah and Akshay Kumar after their previous outing "Singh Is Kinng" hit the jackpot at box office. With a different genre altogether and using the theme of traveling back to the past, the idea of "Action Replayy" was born. The synopsis itself would have sound interesting and the attempt on a new territory would have made headlines overnight, but does "Action Replayy" have what it takes to entertain its audience?

Both Akshay and Aishwarya remain faithful to their title characters but sadly there is no spark on screen between them. Fresh from "Enthiran", Aishwarya undoubtedly serves as eye candy though. The real surprise has to be Aditya Roy Kapur, who looks like a persuasive, demoralised and dispirited son of Akshay-Ash in the film. His character is somehow nice to watch and Bollywood will surely open its doors to him with more offers soon. Some veteran actors like Om Puri, Kirron Kher and Rajpal Yadav provided good supporting roles but Randhir Kapoor and Neha Dhupia are wasted as they don't contribute much to the film.

With a film bearing the concept of time travel, one would really expect a good traveling machine but the machine looks very awkward and funny. What really kept the film going are the performances of its principal cast. "Action Replayy" does move at a brisk pace and first half was quite entertaining. The second half became better as more funny scenes were instilled and also wonderful acting by the cast.

The settings, costumes and styling deserve high points as the bygone era looked very realistic. Pritam comes up with an average score. 'Zor Ka Jhatka' might leave audiences singing to it while 'Nakhre' is catchy and hummable. Surprisingly, Salim-Sulaiman's background score is very good. Despite the film's pace, even an ordinary sequence gets enhanced with the right sound and music.

"Action Replayy" does come off as a light-hearted comedy drama that should be viewed without seeking much rationale or logic. Chances of audience liking the film is much higher with a free and absent mind.

Cinema Online, 10 November 2010