Action Replayy Movie: Action Replayy Movie Review & Story

Story: Young Bunty doesn’t want to marry his girlfriend because he’s seen his mom, Mala (Aishwarya Rai) and dad,Kishen (Akshay Kumar) spend their life sparring with each other.

Will he change his mind after he gets a chance to do a bit of time travel, revisit the past and set his parent’s love story straight?

Movie Review: Retro is chic in Bollywood right now. And director Vipul Shah seems to have got his research right on the glorious 1970s, when go-go girls romanced bell-bottomed guys with the twist, the shake and the tube-burst of colours.

Stylistically, Action Replayy is a fun watch and sets the 70s generation on a nostalgia binge, even as it opens up an exotic window to a vibrant new world for a whole new generation of new millennium kids.

The long-haired Akshay and the pig-tailed Aishwarya bring back the pyar-mohabbat (romance) ishtyle from the past. And the retro idiom works….But only till a point.

WHAT’S HOT: There is no denying that Action Replayy is based on the Robert Zemeckis-directed Back To The Future series, which made waves in the mid-’80s. Vipul has adapted the concept and added a desi touch to it. The film depends a lot on the relationship between the two protagonists, Kishen and Mala.

Which is why their respective characters needed to have an added edge and the director succeeds in that. Their profiles are clearly defined and that helps the screenplay. For a film that’s set in a different era, what’s pertinent is also the look and feel.

To an extent, the director succeeds in that be it with regard to the ambience, the sets or the costumes. Though the 70s look is in-your-face, it serves the purpose in terms of communication. The performances of the lead players are a highlight.

Aditya Roy Kapur makes a smashing debut and is a scene-stealer. His interaction with his parents is a delight. Here’s a young talent to look out for. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan makes her character of Mala truly believable.

Action Replayy is Akshay Kumar’s baby all the way and he makes sure he never slips out of character. In the present as well as the bygone era, he surprises you once again with his restraint and impeccable timing.

WHAT’S NOT: Somehow, the film doesn’t connect with you because of the several liberties taken by the director on the script front. It almost seems like Vipul was so busy focusing on the look and feel that he overlooked the inconsistencies in the story.

If Kishen and Mala

for each other, how did they get married in the first place? The most crucial question remains unanswered till the end. The relationship between Kishen’s father (Om Puri) and Mala’s mother (Kirron Kher) is filled with confrontations and arguments. But there is no solid foundation to it.

Also, the entire bit about Bunty zooming back to the ’70s and befriending Kishen and Mala so easily is a bit unconvincing. There was a lot of potential in changing the present as well once Bunty has achieved his goal in the past.

But Vipul fails to delve into that. At the core, Action Replayy is a love story but the director tries focusing more on the comic tracks. Embellishments work only when your structure is solid enough. Sadly, that’s the part that’s ignored the most.

Akshay Kumar is, after all, a hero playing a comic part. His geeky look, after a point, gets on your nerves. Most importantly, the film had enough possibilities to hold your attention on an emotional level but the director cannot explore those aspects.