Race (2008/I)

Directors:

Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla
Mastan Alibhai Burmawalla

Writers:

Shiraz Ahmed (screenplay)
Shiraz Ahmed (story)

Release Date:

20 March 2008 (Kuwait)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Ranvir and Rajiv are half brothers who own a huge stud farm in South Africa. Ranvir is a very shrewd and aggressive man while Rajiv is laid back...

Plot Keywords:

Alcoholic | Secretary | Murder | Detective | Bimbo

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Bipasha Basu	...	Sonia
Gurpreet Guggi
Katrina Kaif	...	Sophia
Anil Kapoor	...	Inspector Robert D'Costa
Akshaye Khanna	...	Rajiv Singh
Saif Ali Khan	...	Ranvir Singh
Johnny Lever	...	Max - Marriage Registrar
Sameera Reddy	...	Mini
Dalip Tahil	...	Kabir Ahuja

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | India:A

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

Tips Films Pvt. Ltd.

Trivia:

Akshay Kumar turned down the role of Robert D'costa, but he did not want to play a secondary character.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In a song, Akhsay Khanna teaches Bipashs Basu how to play Pool. All the balls are still on the table, and they pot the 8 Ball. Logically, the game should be over but they happily continue the game.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Goodbye Lover (1998)

Soundtrack:

Zara Zara Touch Me

Too twisty and tries to pack it all! Saif has done a great job though!

When you’re talking of an Abbas-Mastan movie, you know what to expect. Big money, big game, plots, deceits, back-stabs twists and turns. It’s just that, this time, it gets so much more complicated and twisty that the duo’s previous hits like Baazigar, Khiladi will seem like a kid game. The saving grace however is Saif who has lately come of age after delivering great performances in Parineeta, Omkara, Hum Tum, etc.

Ranvir (Saif Ali Khan) and Rajiv Singh (Akshaye Khanna) are step brothers owning a lavish stud farm ‘Stallions’ local biggies at the turf club in Durban. The older Ranvir loves horses more than anything else while younger Rajiv is a drunk who is least bothered about the family business which is now totally under mortgage. Racing, money, fending off enemies and partying are a way of life for both, till an accident triggers change.

The older brother sacrifices his love (Bipasha) when the Rajiv one promises that he would give up drinking addiction if he married Sonia. But, Rajiv doesn’t change after marriage and things end up getting steamy between Sonia and Ranvir. While things look nice between brothers, one of them is busy plotting for the other’s death to pack off 100 million bucks from his insurance. Then, there is a murder and things get murky.

The rest of the movie merely survives on the director duo’s ability to set up things in one direction, then, twist it at the very next moment. Till the last few minutes, one is not too sure as to who the conspirator was and which actress is whose love interest. Adding to the mêlée is a fruit munching cop RD (Anil Kapoor) and his inept assistant (Sameera Reddy), both competing with each other in being as silly as things ever can be.

Of the performances, Saif is awesome and Akshay Khanna has done a neat job too. All three glamor dolls had no more to do in the movie except to look good. Another funny thing was that every other character there was mostly an Indian, the doctor, the registrar, the cops, their assistants, Saif’s competitor, whew; I never knew Indians were so omnipresent! The music is decent and Atif Aslam’s song is already a hit.

Race has many points when twists get too much, and you would it end soon and when things start seeming comical. But, nevertheless to their credit, the directors have delivered a stylish flick set in South Africa and Dubai with some good stunts. Alas, they don’t do much to save the movie. Still, if you are one of those who like movies sans logic and merely sit through and pass time, Race is not a bad idea if you get tickets cheap.