Race (2008)

Destiny makes two brothers- Ranvir and Rajiv - enemies of each other. Everything is fair in love and war.

Directors:

Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla (as Abbas-Mastan), Mastan Alibhai Burmawalla (as Abbas-Mastan)

Writers:

Shiraz Ahmed (screenplay), Shiraz Ahmed (story)

Stars:

Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu

4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Saif Ali Khan	...	Ranvir Singh
Akshaye Khanna	...	Rajiv Singh
Bipasha Basu	...	Sonia
Katrina Kaif	...	Sophia
Anil Kapoor	...	Inspector Robert D'Costa
Sameera Reddy	...	Mini
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gurpreet Ghuggi	...	(as Gurpreet Guggi)
Johnny Lever	...	Max - Marriage Registrar
Dalip Tahil	...	Kabir Ahuja
Natalie Walsh	...	Dancer

Storyline

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, and a chronic alcoholic. Sophia, Ranvir's personal secretary adores and loves him. Ranvir is unaware of her feelings. Shaina, an Indian ramp model in Durban loves Ranvir but through a twist of fate gets married to his younger brother Rajiv. When she discovers that Rajiv is a chronic alcoholic, her world is shattered. Ranvir too is disturbed as he has sacrificed his love for his younger brother because Rajiv had promised to leave alcohol for good if he marries Shaina. In a weak moment Ranvir and Shaina come very close to each other. When Rajiv starts suspecting, all hell breaks loose. A murder is committed, a contract killing is issued. A sharp tongued detective R.D., getting wise on the proceedings, starts an intriguing investigation with his brainless bimbo assistant Mini.

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Plot Keywords:

stud farm | alcoholic | secretary | model | rival | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Abraham was offered the role of Rajiv Singh, but he was not interested in playing a negative role. However he would later star in the sequel to this film Race 2 (2013) in a negative role.

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Goofs

When Inspector RD & his Asst. discuss the habit of a person to borrow the other person's pen to sign the same form, the Marriage Certificate shows "Durban" as the city whereas it should actually have been Cape Town because Ranvir and Sophia allegedly got married in Cape Town.

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Connections

Referenced in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009)

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Soundtracks

Race Saanson Ki
Written by Sameer
Composed by Pritam Chakraborty
Performed by Sunidhi Chauhan and Neeraj Pandit
Courtesy of Tips Cassettes & Records Co.

User Reviews

One of the 10 Best Thrillers from Bollywood in the recent years.

After seeing "Race", I could say that keeping the inspiration fact aside from their track record, Abbas Mastan are no doubt one of the top 3 directors of thrillers movies in Indian Cinema. And "Race" proves that again and the movie can be stated as the most impressive work from the director duo after their last few pale attempts.

"Race" is a high paced and slickly edited thriller with shocks & more shocks for the viewers at regular intervals. And with each new turn you come forward on the edge of your seat. As I don't prefer wasting words on giving out the story of the movie in my reviews, I would just like to add that its one of the most tightly written script and you dare don't go for a popcorn in between the movie or else you will miss a new twist in the story.

All the characters have a well defined role and the casting is just near to perfect too (with only Sameera Reddy as a miscast). Each person in the script has a plan against the other and after the light 20 minutes in the opening, the movie just picks up the speed with a kick start. At times you feel that its going too pacy and there are too much twists and turns in the plot, but still its all enjoyable to a great extent.

The first half has Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Khanna, Bipasha & Katrina as the lead. Saif clearly gives another powerful performance after "Omkara". Akshay Khanna too performs a tough role in an impressive manner. He can easily add this movie in his career's Top 3. Bipasha looks more ravishing than Katrina, but they both surely give the required "Oomph Impact" to the racy thriller.

At the end of the first half enters Anil Kapoor as the detective. And from here onwards you start enjoying the movie more with his one liners and comic timings. But Sameera seems to be unfit in her "Kitty-Karmachand" role as an assistant to Anil. Anil is very entertaining eating all kinds of fruits while he is investigating. Johny Lever is wasted as he is there only for one scene, but he had to be there since he is the lucky mascot of the director duo from "Khiladi" days. While watching "RACE", each time you think that now the whole plan is told, there comes another twist and this continues till the last scene of the movie.

The one thing which can be said as the weakness in the script is that there is no Police involvement shown in the crime. Anil Kapoor is supposed to be the only official detective looking into the case and he is too involved in the plot. The second half belongs to Anil and Saif equally and they both simply excel. The Climax is one of best in the recent times as it is not concerned in showing the victory of truth, but shows how the conmen win and respect the intelligence of the other. The songs are quite enjoyable but there is already plagiarism factor involved with "Pritam" lifting more than one tunes. The background score also seems to be inspired from "Mission Impossible" and "James Bond" Themes. I think the fast paced instrumental version of "Allah Duhai Hai" should have been used repeatedly in the background rather than the slow theme music. It would have given more pace to the scenes.

Summing up, this is one of the best works of Abbas Mastan, and one of the best Thrillers coming out of the Indian Film Industry. The only fear I have is that I should not receive any mails in the coming days that the movie is an inspired one. I pray that it should be an original work from the makers as this is indeed a commendable one.

Go for it, the movie can turn you into a fan of thrillers.

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

21 March 2008 (India)

Also Known As:

Cursa

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$802,254, 23 March 2008

Gross USA:

$1,367,024

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,503,269

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films & Casting Temple Pvt. Ltd. Sydney, Tips Films Pvt. Ltd., Tips Industries

Technical Specs

Runtime:

149 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1