Patiala House is about to be released. And expectations are sky-high. Scheduled to hit the theaters on 11th Feb 2011, it can very well be a comeback vehicle for Akshay Kumar as well as director, Nikhil Advani. The leading lady, Anushka is the latest midas-touch and truely enough, she seems to light up the scene every time she makes an appearance. She looks fresh and confident and her pairing with Akshay looks real good.
Patiala House, which is based against the backdrop of the Southhall Sikh riots seems to be full of “masala”. Earlier on, speculations had it that the Akshay’s character was based on the British-Asian spin bowler Monty Panesar. The filmmakers have categorically denied any such rumors and stated that it is a work of fiction.
A sneak peek at the story :
Directed by Nikhil Advani, “Patiala House” is basically about a second-generation Sikh guy Guttu (played by Akshay Kumar) and his authoritarian “Bauji” (played by Rishi Kapoor). The story is about Guttu and his siblings who can’t embrace the London dream wholeheartedly because of Bauji, who hates anything English. In this scenario Guttu and his sister, Komal (Hard Kaur!! in her acting debut) and the rest of the family continue to live an apologetic life before Simran (Anushka Sharma) comes along. She motivates Guttu to live his lifelong dream of becoming a cricketer. Of course, Simran will play Akshay’s love interest.
Let us see what can work in the favor of Patiala House:
– Akshay: After all, he is the hero and the movie will ride on high shoulders.
– Anushka is riding high with her on the success of ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ and is being touted as the next big thing of B-wood. She is a notable draw for the movie lovers, especially since she has managed quite a fan following among the cine-goers even in this short career-span of hers.
– Music: ‘Rola Pe gaya’ (sung by Hard Kaur) and ‘Laugda Lashkara’ are already hits. Other tracks are also catching up. No reason why these songs won’t keep the audience glued to their seats.
-Nikhil Advani’s last outing, ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ was one of the biggest disasters of Bollywood, still if you look a little more into the past, he has a ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ to boast of.
– Strong supporting cast: Most noticeably, the supporting cast includes Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia and a plethora of urban desi youngsters.
– The Punjabi and Cricket connection: The movie has a story which integrates Punjabi family drama (bonus – on overseas locales) and Cricket. Both these have always been a huge draw for the public.
Here are some strong reasons why Patiala House may NOT work:
– Akshay: Has been on a losing spree. Akshay has over-done the good guy as well as the con man act and of late all his movies made him look highly repetitive. Will he reinvent himself? Well, only time will tell.
– Ah well, that’s all I could come up with. On the face of it, the movie looks like a winner.
Patiala House seems to have all the ingredients of a typical blockbuster “masala” movie. Will Akshay conquer again? Will Anushka prove to be Akshay’s lucky charm? Well, only time will tell.
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