Agent Vinod

The thing about watching a movie a few days after its release is, you know what you’re heading towards. So when I took my seat to watch Agent Vinod, even though I wasn’t really expecting novelty, there were moments which left me entertained.

Agent Vinod is a slick three hour roller coaster ride spanning over 11 countries. The story is very simple- One Secret Agent – One mission - to locate and dislodge a bomb so toxic that it could lead to genetic mutation for generations to come.

As the bomb’s fate travels from country to country Agent Vinod takes us along from Afghanistan to Moscow to Russia to Latvia to Somalia to Morocco to Pakistan to ‘I lost track’ to India – its final destination. The story though pretty simple, most time’s has more being crammed in then required. I may not give it points for brain stimulation but I wouldn’t mind giving it points for its slickness and editing. The use of different camera filters and varied background score (an obvious and smart thing to do) lends an interesting flavor to the story which makes one connect to the country on display.

Mr. Agent for his part is looking very smart and absolutely believable as Vinod…Khanna, Amar, Akbar Anthony, Freddy Khambatta or whtever it is that he moods to disguise himself as. The action directed by Peter Heins many times goes from heart in mouth to overboard, but has added the much needed risqué touch to a story which otherwise may have sagged at many ends. Sriram Raghavan as a director needs no introduction. His direction has the same flavor as that of ‘Ek Haseena Thi’ and ‘Jhonny Gaddar’ but one can easily tell that with Agent Vinod, the meal spread just went lavish! The seasoning, a culmination of a big production house, a big director, a big star couple, somewhere, I felt, overpowered the essence called Sriram Raghavan.

Kareena Kapoor, as many feel, has already given her lifetime performance with Jab We Met. Nothing before and after may have been as worthy as raising an eyebrow. Yes, she looks lovely. Yes, their off screen drama makes them appealing onscreen, But if there’s anyone who can give Hrithik Roshan sleepless nights over auditioning for James Bond, I honestly think it would be Chotte Nawab ( I never thought I’d be able to place Hrithik and ANY other actor in the same sentence!)

Apart from the background score, the album itself is quiet interesting. Pritam’s ‘Pyaar ki Pungi’ I think has cracked what ‘twist’ couldn’t put a figure on. Saif ali khan is NOT A DANCER, and yet his hand and feet coordination in this song - so cute that heck! any Babloo, Chaploo or even Pappu can dance saala! It took me a while to accept Saif Pungi bajaoing, but I think he IS what makes it in the first place anyway. 'I’ll do the talking' had me distracted, and this time it wasn’t Saif! 'Dil mera muft ka' claims to be a techno mujra with no grace in the melody or Kareena’s moves. Raabta’s choreography has strong likeness to khoya khoya chand but it’s nice anywho.

So go watch Agent Vinod, Sriram’s contribution to India’s Bourne and Bond, with an unsullied espionage genre phully Hollywood ishtyle!