‘Entertainment’ review: Simple lighthearted comedy, total paisa vasool

Zee Media Bureau/ Gayatri Sankar

After an actioner – ‘Holiday’, Akshay Kumar is back to enthral the audiences with a simple yet “entertaining” film – ‘Entertainment’. And make no mistake; the film is very much unlike the slew of comedy films we have had in the recent past. ‘Entertainment’, for a change, comes across as a clean film with a message that each of us will most definitely appreciate. As Akhil Lokhande, Akshay Kumar has added another leaf to his onscreen persona, delivering one of his best comic performances till date. Debutant directors Sajid and Farhad have done a fairly commendable job and their screenplay needs a special mention too. Akhil is an all-rounder of sorts who leaves no stone unturned to provide the best medical aid to his hospitalised father. He does modelling for a tele-shopping brand, works as a background dancer, does umpiring at a local cricket match, all in order to accumulate enough wealth for his father’s treatment. His best friend Jugnu (Krushna Abhishek) is a movie buff and runs a CD/DVD store. Like all young men of his age, Akhil too is in love and intends to get married to Sakshi (Tamannaah Bhatia), who is a TV actress. But the drama begins when he meets her stingy father (played by Mithun Chakraborty) who refuses to let his daughter get married to a broke like Akhil. He challenges him to turn into a millionaire, if he wants his daughter. Sounds clichéd but the sequences are fun to watch! One fine day, when Akhil decides to pay a visit to his father in the hospital, he learns about the biggest truth of his life, something that rattles him and his whole world goes topsy-turvy. Just when Akhil starts cursing his fate, destiny plans a rendezvous with good-luck for him. He realises that he isn’t a pauper but a multi-millionaire. But wait. Where is his wealth? Bangkok calls him for a visit. He flies to the Thailand capital to get the shock of his life! He meets Habibullah (Johnny Lever), the caretaker of his mansion, who informs him that his fortune has been taken over by Entertainment (Junior, the dog)! An agonised Akhil decides to kill Entertainment for the wealth but his attitude towards the dog changes when it saves his life. And Akhil, who is now indebted to Entertainment, befriends the mute being. But how can things be so smooth? There needs to be some action, no? Now let’s welcome the greedy villains of ‘Dabangg 1’- Sonu Sood and ‘Dabangg 2’ – Prakash Raj’, who happen to be Akhil’s second cousins! The screenplay is fabulous and innovative, and the dialogues are intelligently penned. There aren’t two but three heroes in the film- Akshay, Junior and the dialogue writer. Veteran Johnny Lever and Krushna Abhishek tickle your funny bone and deliver their dialogues in a manner no one else can. Mithun Chakraborty has a minute part to play and as always is perfect. Bad men, Sonu Sood and Prakash Raj, too are hilarious and come across as villains who would be adored. Some portions are really hilarious. There is one instance, when the villain-brothers Karan ( Prakash Raj) and Arjun (Sonu Sood) hug each other after remembering their late mother’s words and in the background, we have the song 'Sooraj Kab Door Gagan Se' from the film ‘Karan Arjun’, playing. The cinematography is neat. The director of photography has made the most of the scenic beauty of Thailand. But the film could have done away with a few songs that slowed the pace. The ‘Sadi Veere Di Wedding Hai’ number alone catches your attention but that too only in the end. The director duo has taken cinematic liberties wherever they felt it was needed. Towards the end, Sajid-Farhad, end up goofing up a bit. Nonetheless, they do succeed in sending out a message strong and loud enough- to treat animals with respect and love. If you like watching clean films and wish to take your family along for a movie, then ‘Entertainment’ best suits your requirement. Three and half a star for the film and half a star for rockstar Junior!