Knock Out Movie Review : Too Much Beating Around the Booth

Posted by admin on Oct 16th, 2010 | 1 comment

The matter of copyright infringement is still in the court, as Knock Out battles with 20th Century Fox, which has claimed that the Bollwyood movie has lifted from its hit, Phonebooth. Okay, keeping aside, what is happening in the court, let us look at the film and find out if it does justice to the viewer.

Story of Knock Out:

In these times of cell phone dominance, where a phone booth is basically an outdated thing, director Mani Shankar decides to jazz it up with plush glass interiors and a bulletproof bottom pane. An investment banker (Irrfan Khan) enters the phone booth to make calls so that he is not traced back. It looks like he has millions stashed in his car, parked outside the booth. Just when he is about to leave the booth, the phone rings and an anonymous caller (Sanjay Dutt) keeps a close watch on him and tells him to stay put in the booth. Stationed in the opposite building, this guy holds Irrfan hostage inside the booth at gunpoint.

The police and the media contingent slowly come to the destination and the area is flooded with press reporters and the cops, as you may have seen in its Hollywood version. We have assorted characters coming up regularly like the self contradictory Gulshan Grover, a politican who asserts in the begiing that he does not trust anyone, yet he has a side-kick who remembers the password of his Swiss Bank accounts. There is enough dosage of exaggerated patriotism to make you feel sleepy due to the cliché element.

What is good about Knock Out:

Though the movie is mostly made of borrowed elements, there is nothing really impressive here. But there is a fair share of thrills and those who have no watched Phonebooth or Wednesday (tough call though!) may enjoy it

What is not good about Knock Out:

Knock Out may have copied from Phone Booth but it draws heavily from A Wednesday. Sanjay Dutt is also nameless as was Naseeruddin Shah’s character from the 2008 surprise hit. Like in a Wednesday, Sanjay Dutt also manages to deceive the cops and keep his identity secret. Surprise, surprise! Deepal Shaw’s shaky character from that movie is better than Kangna as a news reporter. Kangna falters with her misplaced accent and exaggeration. Also the patriotism that Dutt infuses is preachy and weary compared to A Wednesday.

The story telling could have been more on-the-edge and sharp but the movie becomes one-dimensional and there is no real tension that comes out between the protagonists. The proceeding tends to stretch post interval. Such a film should work on interesting repartees and excellent dialogue; there is nothing of this sort from Shiraz Ahmed.

Performances in Knock Out:

The performances in the film are nothing home to write about, considering the fact that this movie has three of the best actors in the business. Kangna is miscast, Irrfan Khan hams his way through the film, don’t know how Mani Shankar managed to extract this quality in him. Sanjay Dutt is the only reassuring character in this film, he sleepwalks through the film

Conclusion: Watch Phone Booth instead

Rating:**(Average)