Review - Ek: worth a moment or two

I suspect the director had a deprived past. He was shown movies that lacked the slo-mo stylization of the "star". Also he felt disadvantaged when the writers didn't spell out how a particular thing "happened" in a film. So much so that when he saw it for the first time, he decided, "I swear by everyone dear to me, I'll make sure the viewers don't feel left-out. I'll explain in detail in flashbacks what just happened two minutes ago. It'll also have so much unnecessary style that no child will have to suffer like me." Only that hopefully, the child in you has grown enough to keep your kids away from Ek.

But, if you enjoy the absurdity that our films come up with more often than not, then this is your dose of nirvana. I kid you not; Bobby Deol doesn’t have a single regular speed shot or a normally delivered dialogue till minute 40. Complete with loud, pompous background music, weird camera movements and all. The style goes for about a minute and come right back. Maybe that's what the title refers to. O-kay, I'm exaggerating one tiny bit. And just in case you are wondering, they weren't partial to Bobby Deol, they had a bit of that going for each of the other main characters.

As promised though Nana Patekar does come in a different, "cool" avatar. His casual manner of saying lines adds that required touch of humor. It does require some finesse to deliver such crass lines with charm. While I'm at giving credit where it's due, there are a couple of smart lines when Nandu (Bobby Deol) talks to Joshi (Raghuveer Yadav). All of this is nullified and taken further down with one tiring monologue after monologue, especially towards the end.

None of the other characters are fleshed out. They all are just a part of your regular Punjabi family. No creativity at all. The loud women, one quiet lady, the giggling girls, the over-smart kids, the annoying lead actress, the cunning good-for-nothings. And yes the completely avoidable Chunkey Pandey!

Yet, the writing is not a 100% loss. The transition in Bobby Deol's character is pretty smooth. And yet, it’s a far cry from believable. It comes across as the start of a good thought that didn't go all the way to completion. Just like it is neither a full-fledged comedy, nor a romantic film, nor an action, nor a thriller. A bit of each of these and incomplete in all of them.

It serves as a strong reminder of the films in which masala was of utmost importance. This has that too, but again, not in full strength and thus doesn't leave a good aftertaste.