Simply, off the track

Nonika Singh

Bewakoofi ka koi jawab nahi.

Or, perhaps there is. To expect even a semblance of intelligence from Race 3 is one big bewakoofi, if not asking for the moon. The tagline— You don't need enemies when you have a family… might be a giveaway of sorts. 

But as the spotlight shifts on this family placed in Al Shifa, a faraway land where Shamsher Singh (Anil Kapoor) owns arms factories, little makes sense. Strangely enough, in a Salman Khan film Anil Kapoor gets the meatiest part. Not only does his name appear before Salman’s, he makes a grand entry too and let’s grant it, even with a grey beard, he looks debonair. 

Back to the family, lest you get confused who’s who, a voice over is at hand, handing you introductions of principal characters. Singh has twins Sanjana and Suraj (Daisy Shah and Saqib Saleem), a stepson Sikander (Salman Khan) and then there is his bodyguard Yash

(Bobby Deol). Thus begins the Race which moves in several directions; there is action, there is romance, not to miss the lovely heroines. Indeed, Jacqueline Fernandez looks like million bucks and surprise of all surprises Daisy Shah gets to do a lot in the two-heroine and many-hero film. 

But does it all add up to anything?  Frankly, there is no method in the madness. Every once in a while the choreographer in director Remo D'Souza is tempted to throw in many a choreographed sequence. 

Alas, songs come and go with as little impact as characters and actors. The twins’ bravado as well as spite is facile. Our Punjab da puttar, Bobby Deol, missing in action for a while, we were so looking forward to watching, gets a short shrift. Neither the twist in the tale nor his shirtless act in the end where he gets to match abs to abs with Salman, elevates his persona. As for Salman bhai well, well, he seems to be taking the bhai title a tad too seriously. Whether he is carrying his off-screen persona onscreen or vice versa, you can only expect him to play a good goody bro.

Indeed, as with other Race franchise who is good and who isn’t; twists and turns abound in measure, especially in the second half. But be it the stitched up love triangle or the shift in relationship dynamics, the surprise elements too are as unintelligible as the rest of the topsy-turvy plot that among other things includes a sex scandal involving politicians. Seriously? There is more… Jacqueline as Jessica turns from a con-woman to… ok ok, we won’t spoil your fun (anyway rather short here) and spill the beans. Besides does she not quip; ‘Why ask questions when the money is good’?

Hey, hello but here the money too is ours and in case you are tempted to watch the 3D version, kindly refrain. Except for a few splinters of glass coming your way, the 3D effect does little to enhance the cinematic experience.

Oops, did we use the word experience? Weird? But in a film where hero calls the heroine weirdo rather lovingly, you can only expect us to parrot similar inanities. Sorry, Race franchise fans; uttering race again and again in the background doesn’t make it racy. The high voltage action reserved for the climax too doesn’t salvage the damage. 

The one rare smart dialogue comes in the end. The twins remind us of the impending possibility of yet another installment (god forbid) and wonder aloud who will be the Sikander in future series. Salman says deadpan; ‘How am I supposed to know’. But what we know for sure in this Race outing, it’s not just the cars that go flying off the track but almost every other thing, most notably sense and sensibility. The film may be high on style but substance is almost zilch. 

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