Sometimes, the reliance of putting two good-looking costars can be the driving force for the audience to sustain itself through the film. Case in point: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or for that matter Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in Bang Bang. Because we have good-looking people to look at, we propel ourselves through the movie and gloss over the fact the movie hasn’t got much substance.
It’s the same case with A Gentleman. Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez are ridiculously good-looking people. Since the movie has Sid playing a double role, he’s on the screen for most of the time, so it’s a pure joy for Sid’s fans.
Sid is playing two characters in the movie: Gaurav and Rishi.
Gaurav is a simple, straightforward working man in Miami, who has just bought a new house (filled with furniture and decoration from Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel), holding a steady job and waiting to marry the girl he loves so he can fill his new minivan with four kids.
On the other hand, in Mumbai, we have Rishi, a hitman working for Colonel (a rather wasted Suniel Shetty— why is he even still acting?!), and Rishi doesn’t want to do any more secret mission because he is tired of killing innocent people. He wants to settle down– but Colonel has one last mission for Rishi to carry out: to retrieve the hard drive, which could potentially wipe out Colonel.
Halfway through the movie, it turns out the Gaurav has to fly to Mumbai to close a deal, all the while Rishi is on the run after having completed his mission. In what is the best part of the movie, the rather clever twist is revealed which totally changes the game of the movie.
Having said that, I wish the climatic twist had been revealed towards the end because post interval, the movie didn’t sustain itself well and delved into silliness. Which is when I realized that I needed to turns my brain off to enjoy the movie.
A Gentleman is in the rein of one those silly, adventure, rom-com movies where you need to leave your thinking caps at home. Things will not make sense (forging a passport, entering a high rise through abseiling etc) which is why the movie begs itself to not be taken seriously. With that frame of mind, one can sail through the movie and find out the fate of the much needed hard drive.
Subplots include the on-off love between Gaurav and Kavya, played by Jacqueline Fernandez (all she had to do was look pretty, act dumb and groove to some amazing songs– and oh yes, fire some guns!). Kavya doesn’t like Gaurav because he’s too safe, and wants some adventure in her life. That happens when she encounters Rishi and so thus begins a new love affair.
The arrival of Kavya’s parents provided some chuckles but that subplot is somewhat written off quickly.
The movie is directed by Raj & DK, who directed Go Goa Gone, a zombie movie starring Saif Ali Khan as a Russian zombie killer. The sense of humor in that movie can be seen in A Gentleman too (such as the discovery of India’s Defence Minister being gay) so it makes sense where the makers are coming from.
Having said that, A Gentleman is mainly watchable because of Sidharth Malhotra, whose ridiculous good looks will indeed save the film. His acting skills aren’t that impressive (unlike Kapoor and Sons and Ek Villain) but he’s certainly become a better dancer (Chandralekha is a standout song!)
Fun, entertaining, enjoyable but ultimately forgettable, A Gentleman warrants at least a one time watch, and don’t forget to leave your thinking caps at home. A Gentleman, in short, is all style- and what style it is- and no substance.
2.5 out of 5
Genre: Action, Romance, Drama
Director: Raj & D.K.
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez
Rating: PG
Synopsis: Story of two men, Gaurav and Rishi, one a straightforward man working in Miami, the other a professional hit man. Things get confusing when the two men are connected leading to confusion and mayhem.
Running time: 132 mins
Seen at: Supercinema, Vogue Towers, Lahore
Mansour Ahsan 