Diya (Disha Patani), Radhe’s (Salman Khan) love interest, keeps referring to him as a boy along with a few adjectives. Well, as we all know the 50+ actor is anything but a boy, the guess here is she is talking about the boy within the superstar, who refuses to grow up, in spite of the decades of stardom. How else do you explain the casual and easy-go-lucky approach that Salman Khan takes every time towards his films, even though there are hundreds of crores riding on them?
Radhe, despite many worthy contenders, must easily be one of the worst films that Salman has starred in. This Prabhudheva-directed film, talks about a drug mafia led by a ponytailed kingpin (Randeep Hooda) who wants to create havoc in Mumbai by supplying drugs in every nook and corner of the city. Even though the film is inspired by a Korean film, The Outlaws, this one looks and behaves exactly like scores of earlier Salman Khan films.
When the drug mafia succeeds in his endeavour, the policemen look for a solution, which appears in the form of a suspended police officer, Radhe. He is called back and, as expected, arrives in style. It takes about two hours for Radhe to tick all the predictable boxes, before he nabs the kingpin. He romances Diya with corny lines, sheds his shirt to show off his VFX-ed abs, does the daring chases in cars and even jumps on to a helicopter. Most of the characters in this film, which includes the assistant police commissioner (Jackie Shroff) and an assortment of henchmen, are bumbling fumbling idiots. It is evident that by now Prabhudheva considers the audience as one of those too. An unbelievably jaded screenplay, trite action and romance sequences, shoddy editing add to the mess that this film is.
Salman sleep walks through the film. It looks like for some scenes he has given his shots in his bedroom while the rest of the characters were fitted in around him later. There is one scene that is shot right outside the gate of his building. Well, this could be Salman’s version of working from home. Randeep Hooda, a brilliant actor that he is, manages to shine despite the half-baked character he plays. Why he takes up such roles is a mystery. Disha Patani looks glamorous and decades younger than Salman and Jackie, who plays her brother.
This can’t come with the excuse of 'leave your brains at home' as you are paying to watch it at home. Watch it only if you are a Salman Khan fan and have endured a few of his earlier films out of love and loyalty towards the star.
(Shubha Shetty is Director — Quest Films/Quest Digital)
Title: Radhe
Cast: Salman Khan, Disha Patani, Randeep Hooda and Jackie Shroff
Director: Prabhudheva
Platform: Zee5/ZeePlex
Stars: 1
