Ek
wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)
Neck-deep in style and toe-deep in content. Reminds you of the trashy Hindi films from yesteryears that you love because of their silliness.
Read more
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.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Enkayaar, Glamsham.com : ...For the fans of Bobby Deol and Nana Patekar this film is a must dekho... full review
So-So, Movie Talkies : ...Sangeeth Sivan takes a break from the genre of comedy and makes a movie with some fantastic action sequences... full review
So-So, by Aakash Gandhi, naachgaana.com : ...Vintage Bollywood masala, flooded with action, drama, comedy, and of course romance.... full review
Thumbs down, AOL INDIA : ...Nobody knows when this business of remaking Southern films to Hindi versions will come to an end.... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice : ...Actors, director, action director, music director – all disappoint in equal measure... full review
Thumbs down, bigoye.com : ...The numerous twists in the film are quite predictable and fail to impress.... full review
Thumbs down, by Anand Vaishnav, Buzz18 : ...Unfortunately Ek-The Power Of One is as predictable as Bobby's facial expressions and dialogue delivery.... full review
Thumbs down, by Udita Jhunjhunwala, DNA : ...The writers and director seem to believe the audience is stupid... full review
Thumbs down, by Aniruddha Guha, DNA : ...Ek is at least 10 years too late... full review
Thumbs down, by Deepa Garimella, fullhyd.com : ...'Ek - Single Expression Extravaganza'.... full review
Thumbs down, by Shashi Baliga, Hindustan Times : ...Truly a fitting finale.... full review
Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ... Ek employs as many filmi formulas as possible... full review
Thumbs down, by Anupama Chopra, NDTV : ... It’s ugly, gratuitously violent and morally specious. And just when you think it can’t get worse, it does.... full review
Thumbs down, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...Ek The Power of One would be fortunate to have the power of a one week run at the boxoffice.... full review
Thumbs down, by Subhash K Jha, Now Running.com : ...Everything that can go wrong in a film does in "Ek: The Power Of One".... full review
Thumbs down, by Sethumadhavan, Passion for Cinema : ...You just don’t feel connected to the movie at all.... full review
Thumbs down, by Goher Iqbal Punn, Radio Sargam : ...http://www.radiosargam.com/films/archives/42992/review-ek-the-power-of-one.html... full review
Thumbs down, by Sampurn, real bollywoood : ...The film is aimed at the masses but could have been a better one had some loose end taken care of... full review
Thumbs down, by Patcy N, Rediff : ...Ek is a full-on masala film, which may have been a hit in the 1970s.... full review
Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Sify Movies : ...Ek-The Power of One isn't new-age cinema by any standards... full review
Thumbs down, by Harshita Kohli, StarBoxOffice : ...The concept of the story is not bad.... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...Watch it only if you want to see what old-fashioned Bollywood looked like... full review
Thumbs down, Zee News : ...‘Ek’ has everything Hindi movies shouldn’t be made of!... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Plot Summary
Nandu (Bobby Deol) is a hired shooter and goofs up on a job. What will that entail?
What Worked
- The titles are pretty slick.
What did not
- All the macho-men chasing Nandu and Shekhar bounce on a wall and fall together! Even for a trashy hindi film it is a bit much!
- Why does the politician's man have to get off the train to talk to his boss?
- How can a Bombay train be empty during day-time?
- The sequence in the long-distance train is too long and thus gets boring.
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda's dialogue delivery. What went wrong here - the beard was hurting?
- Bobby Deol dancing - has never worked, doubt will ever work.
- Does Nandu carry his check book around when he goes for a "job"?
Parental Guidance:
- Violence:
- Language:
- Nudity & Sexual content:
- Concept:
- General Look and Feel:
![[Wikipedia page of Ek]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Ek]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Sangeeth Sivan twitter account]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (2)
Mujhet merey paisey waapas chahiye , bhungi film hai kaash mai isay dekhney nahi jata aur isay cd ya TV par dekh leta can I get my money back , very bad movie , at-least special effect should be good but it also disappointed me, very bad movie I want my money back , its too much hyped , (khoda pahaad nikili moongi) I regret why didn't I wait to get on TV or watched it on CD as it is not Adult movie it will be definetly aired=EF=BB=BF on TV without any cuts, better I would have watched GOW 2 (gang of wasseupur 2)again, its thakela movie needs Revital ( salmaan khaan in revital avertisement).
@Sanjay I'm assuming this comment was meant to be on the 'Ek tha tiger' page. I can move it to that page if you like.
Leave a Comment