Movie Review: Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami

Starring: Anupam Kher, Divyendu Sharma, Aditi Sharma, Manu Rishi, Neha Dhupia, Rajesh Sharma Directed by: Ravindra Gautam Rating: * * * * Superstar SRK recently remarked, "Every movie has that one moment when you sit transfixed to your seat, bewitched by the magic unfolding on screen. It is this precise moment that makes the movie a hit." Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami is replete with many such moments that serenades and leaves you irrevocably 'touched'. The angst displayed by a scrupulously honest man when accused of corruption, vexing behaviour of frustrated sons, lusty desires of our despicable politicians and 'fleshy' manipulations weaved in by an out-of-work actress aptly portray the current state of affairs prevailing in our society. The story is a sure shot winner here. Purushottam Joshi (Anupam Kher) is a BMC employee in charge of spraying mosquito repellent medicine in slums, gutters and other lowly areas where breeding occurs. Honest to a fault, Anupam in his entire existence has survived on money earned truthfully, never even once giving into the viles of bribe or corruption. His sons, Shekhar Joshi (Manu Rishi) and Subhash Joshi (Divyendu Sharma) however are his exact antithesis. Good for nothing, these out-of-work wards are extremely distressed with their father's Gandhian ways of living and his lectures on honesty and need to lead a corruption free life. The sons believe their father's austere mindset has impeded their progress and success and often end up sparring with their old father. Enters Taanya Srivastav (Aditi Sharma) like a whiff of fresh air who is torn between the love of her life Subhash and his constant bickering with his father. A parallel track runs in the movie where a corrupt chief minister (Rajesh Sharma) gets embroiled in his own wrong doings when the bungalow and plot worth Rs. 12 crore gifted to his actress mistress, Jaya Prabha (Neha Dhupia) becomes a matter of national debate. Twin tragedy strikes when both the minister and Purushottam get accused of corruption, the former deservedly and the latter unwittingly. Unfortunately, both find it difficult to prove their innocence and in the ensuing melee end up suffering from fatal cardiac arrest. Purushottam in his death wish asks his sons to accord him a 21-gun salute honour. Purushottam’s death unites the family and ends up transforming the lives of the brothers who takes it upon themselves to fulfill their father's final worldly wish. Will they be able to prove themselves as model and dutiful sons? Will Purushottam get the ultimate honour he cherished for? You will have to watch the movie to find out more. The script emerges as a complete winner here. Writer Rahil Kazi and Mukul Abhyankar (concept) deserve real credit for packing the movie with a real story and blending it with wholesome entertainment using powerful dialogues. Debutant director Ravindra Gautam brings in his TV experience and expertly manoeuvres his resources making sure no scene is needlessly stretched. The movie starts slowly but takes off like a cruise missile after Purushottam gets unfortunately embroiled in corruption. The director succeeds in maintaining the tempo of the film making sure to hold the interest level of the audience by throwing in required twists and turns. The comic situations of the movie are well-timed and sufficient enough to elicit pearls of laughter and manages to do that without resorting to mindless loud joker like antics. The movie however rides high on stellar acting performances which makes it a worthy watch ably led by the redoubtable Anupam Kher who once again proves how enacting tragic sequences is his second nature. The facial contortions and expressions portrayed by Anupam's eyes to display the pain felt by his sacred interior when he is falsely accused of corruption could well be assimilated into the acting rulebook. The man impresses and how even when he is playing a corpse with eyes wide open. Divyendu and Aditi stand out for their effortless and stupendous acting prowess. The ease with which they mouth dialogues make them look a complete natural. Neha Dhupia clad in a sari for most time pleases one and all with her sexy candour. Rajesh Sharma as the loathsome Chief Minister does justice to his role. Manu Rishi looks a bit underutilized but comes into his own in the climax. Minor flaws do emerge in the plot (a dead Anupam undergoes a CT scan under the supervision of doctors...not a real possibility) but the context in which they appear makes it possible to easily overlook them. With many big movies in recent times failing to meet audience expectations, we feel Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami replete with multiple heart-tugging moments, good dialogues and stellar acting performances could well become the sleeper hit of this year. Don't miss this complete family entertainer at any cost.