July 10, 2009
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao
Director: Neeraj Vora
Shortkut starring Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi and Amrita Rao is not what I’d call a bad film. But it is, most certainly a pointless one. It’s got a standard storyline and no surprises in its telling.
Akshaye Khanna plays an assistant director in the Mumbai film industry who’s just finished writing a script he wants to direct himself. His struggling actor roommate, Arshad Warsi steals the script and hands it over to a producer who promptly agrees to make the film and to cast Arshad in the lead.
So while Akshaye’s dreams of becoming a successful filmmaker are shattered, Arshad turns into an overnight superstar.
Over the course of two hours and fifteen minutes, director Neeraj Vora drives home the point that there are no shortcuts in life, only sincerity and hard work ultimately pays.
Problem is, the film’s so lifeless and boring, you find yourself searching for a shortcut in the cinema that could instantly take you back to the comfort of your home.
Remember, this is Neeraj Vora, the dialogue-writer of so many Priyadarshan remakes including Hera Pheri, and yet the comedy in Shortkut is so juvenile, you struggle for a half-decent belly laugh. Before you know it though, this film turns into emotional rona dhona, when domestic differences plague Akshaye and his movie-star wife, played by Amrita Rao.
Unable to find its groove in either comedy or drama, this film lumbers along unsteadily with a screenplay that lacks direction. And saddled with such uninspiring material, neither of the actors can muster up anything that even remotely resembles a performance.
Shortkut isn’t the kind of film that makes you angry. It just leaves you very bored. I’m going with one out of five for director Neeraj Vora’s Shortkut, it’s a long, tiresome journey to nowhere.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)