Another major flaw of the film is Aamir’s over the top performance. In many scenes it looks like he is trying to copy the great Johnny Depp’s character from the franchise ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’ but most of the comedy falls flat
Finally the biggest project of the year is out in cinemas and the film has disappointed us like nothing else. The Aamir Khan starrer has failed to create a good impact on both critics and audience, unlike his previous movies. ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ is based in the late 17th century when the British are trying to invade the sub-continent and are killing innocent people in the process.
Characters: “Khudabaksh” is the character played by legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan who is a warrior and a freedom fighter. The entire film is based on the character of “Zafira” played by Fatima Sana Shaikh of ‘Dangal’ fame. Zafira is a princess whose father was killed by the British and she is bent on seeking revenge. And then there is the titular character of “Firangi Mallah” played by Aamir Khan who is a conman.
Plot: The film’s is weak and so boring that it will make you fall sleep in the theater. The story is like the Bollywood movies of the 70’s. Moreover the audience has become bored with watching Aamir fighting against the British, first in ‘Lagaan,’ then in ‘Mangal Pandey’ and now in ‘Thugs of Hindostan’.
Performances: Another major flaw of the film is Aamir’s over the top performance. In many scenes it looks like he is trying to copy the great Johnny Depp’s character from the franchise ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’ but most of his comic scenes fall flat. Amitabh and Fatima did a good job as far as their specific roles were concerned but the weak script overshadowed their performances. It seems Director Vijay Krishna Acharya forcefully added the character of “Suraiyya” played by Katrina Kaif just to add a touch of glamour to the movie. Her presence is there for a few item songs and some romantic dialogues.
Another drawback of the film is its long running time of almost 2 hours and 44 minutes. The film seems to drag on and on and at times it is hard to witness the weak dialogues and poorly performed action sequences by the lead characters.
The VFX and the editing are also a big disappointment. The film’s music and songs are quite average and the costumes design not relevant to the era. YRF spent Rs 300 crores on a film that is perhaps the biggest disappointment of recent times. The film is being released on a huge scale across India as well internationally, so it will be able to get a good opening but won’t be able to sustain the momentum for long.
All in all, Aamir Khan fails to meet our expectations and our final score is 2 stars out of 5 for this disappointing film by YRF.
Published in Daily Times, November 10th 2018.