Review: ‘Aladin’ is a sheer assault on your mind and pocket

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai: If you happen to be a fan of ‘Aladin’, then give its movie adaptation a royal miss, as it’s a sheer assault on audience’s mind and pocket. For a fairytale with a genie, a magic carpet, a typical poor boy-rich girl love story and a conniving evil-doer, ‘Aladin’ has all the elements that go into the making of a blockbuster, but sadly, director Sujoy Ghosh fails miserably at an attempt to make one. And it’s not only the filmmaker but also the entire cast, including the talented Mr Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt, who contribute equally into making this one a sloppy-tale. In fact, it’s the legendary Amitabh Bachchan (Genie) and Sanjay Dutt (Ring Master) that hasten the disaster of an already sinking ship. And it won’t be wrong to dub their performances in the flick as their most bizarre till date! Wonder why? Well, for starters, a poor make-up job makes the audience feel eerie and bemused. Throughout the film, Amitabh looks like a character, who has had an incomplete make-up session. And if his wigs and poor facial get-up is not enough to challenge your patience, his costumes are bound to do the trick. From sequenced jackets to shimmery pants, Big B looks like a disco genie. As for Sanjay Dutt, he seems to be too laidback and ends up giving a dud of a performance. Riteish and Jacqueline make a poor couple, thanks to their bad expressions and lousy chemistry. Talking about the plot, the premise of the film remains the same except a few changes in the script. With a name like Aladin, Riteish Deshmukh, who plays an orphan is made the muck of jokes. Often laughed and bullied by his peers, he grows up hating his name. However, things change for the best when in collage Jasmine (Jacqueline), gifts him a lamp on his birthday. Even though Aladin thinks of the gift to be yet another prank from his scheming friends, it ends up being the real magic lamp wherein a genie emerges. Going by the typical storyline, here too the genie grants three wishes to Aladin. Here on the film enters into a series of misadventures with genie playing cupid and ring master chasing a comet. After a series of torturous sequences, the film ends on a happy note much like the fairytale. Nevertheless, this happy ending should be given a cheerful slip. Rating: 2 cheers for this one!