Star cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Irrfan Khan, Zoya Afroz, Sonali Raut, Honey Singh, Adil Hussain
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Director: Anant Mahadevan
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What’s Bad: Himesh Reshammiya’s lean frame and once again inability to act. Also an un-engaging story line that is not intelligent but obvious.
Loo break: Yeah! Why Not.
Watch or Not?: This film could be an out and out entertainer for you if you wish to see bad acting, and an unkempt storyline. Watch it if you need a good laugh!
User Rating:
The Xpose is a thriller drama based in the late 60s era focusing on the showbiz industry and its not-so-popular dark side. Threaded in a narrative, it is a Hitchcock style whodunit but has no Hitchcock calibre.
In an era of the changing cinema, when the necessity to ‘xpose’ gained popularity, two upcoming actresses Zara (Sonali Raut) and Chandni (Zoya Afroz) are struggling with competition and rivalry against each other while the other supporting characters play catalysts to it. One murder is what shakes the lives of these retro stars and the question remains as to who out of the eleven suspects is the culprit.
Woven into a narrative with a montage of present and the past, The Xpose starts with a murder mystery and sucks you into the story with a flashback. Irrfan Khan is the storyteller in this one. Real life incidents of yesteryear stars such as Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman are tactfully sprinkled into the film. One major fault in the script is that the lead character Ravi Kumar (Himesh) is supposed to be an inspector-turned actor, although Ravi’s character is awfully self-centered and seems to possess acting prowess as an inborn talent, since the character in one of the scene says, “Main jo bol deta hoon, wohi script ban jaata hai!”
Secondly, the plot does not churn out into an essential murder mystery. With back to back punchlines and scenes filled with unwanted humour, there comes a point when one forgets about the crime angle. Certain scenes such as the courtroom drama have turned out hilarious because of their poor representation. An unengaging and a non-pacey plot is the loophole in the script. Also with majority concentration on Himesh’s character, the supporting characters seem underdeveloped and dull.
A determined Himesh, inspite of his previous flops, dares to take on the silver screen again and to top it all tries aping Leonardo DiCaprio’s stylish persona from The Great Gatsby. A leaner Himesh delivers his lines with full gusto yet fails to make an impression. With constipated expressions in certain scenes, Himesh’s Ravi Kumar seems nothing but an arrogant fool.
The debutante actresses, Zoya Afroz and Sonali Raut put up a decent show. A mean and racy Sonali playing the character of Zara will grab a lot of eye balls considering the ‘Xposure’ that the actress has done in the film, but her act stands out among the two.
Also debuting with this film, Yo Yo Honey Singh tries hard to be the rowdy ‘Pran’ but stumbles in his dialogue delivery. An ace actor like Irrfan Khan is wasted in the film as he is the narrator and has a blink and miss role in it.
Director Anant Mahadevan, who is a National award winner, disappoints with The Xpose. Missing the key elements of pace and building momentum in a thriller, Anant’s direction does not captivate you.
The praise worthy part is of the production design team whose detailing in recreating the 60s has been laudable. Also the extravagant sets and costumes are a treat to watch even though they have a heavy influence from Hollywood’s The Great Gatsby. Quirky one liners that keep coming all trough the film are a source of entertainment if you enjoy the typical ‘masala’. They almost remind us of Mithoon’s 1998 classic Gunda.
Glitches lie in the editing department as there is a lack of fluidity, while certain scenes are crisp, others drag and sometimes they seem to come out as independent frames lacking connectivity. Also the cinematography has nothing to offer other than Himesh and his close-ups, in fact after a point it seems to be his portfolio shoot.
A better work on the background score could have enhanced the viewing experience. Music on the other hand is signature Himesh Reshammiya, that his loyalists will certainly enjoy it.
If you are going for the film hoping to catch up on some suspense thriller, The Xpose will surely disappoint you. It is a half baked attempt at creating a scandalous 60s era with underlined themes of sex, infidelity and murder. With tongue-in-cheek dialogues, I found the film unsuccessful at creating suspense. I am going with 2/5 for this movie.
The Xpose releases on 16th May, 2014.
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