The Xpose

Some films come with big hype, months of promotions, and after watching the film the audience might feel 'was it worth the hype?'. Then there are some films which are decently promoted and well made, but straightaway rejected by the audience even without watching it! And at a later point of time when they get a chance to watch the movie, they may say 'arre, yeh film toh theek tha (hey, this film was alright!). The Xpose, unfortunately falls to the second category.

My friends laughed at me when I told them that I am gonna watch a Himesh Reshammiya flick, that too in theater! Well, this is not the first time they laugh at me, I have faced it before also. As a movie lover, I support people who work hard, and put in their efforts to make the best. This guy has worked real hard and shredded approx. 20kgs for this film, and he looks good! Also, the music seems nice, the film is rumored to be based on the dirty games in Bollywood during late 60s, and the director is a National Award winning man! I think these are enough reasons to watch this movie.

The film, promoted as a murder mystery, rather is more of a drama than a thriller. Yes, there are a few thrills but eventually it falls into the drama genre. It has its well-developed characters, the emotions and the dirty tricks human minds play to keep themselves safe. As mentioned earlier, the film is set in late 1960s and is all about the glamorous and larger-than life era. An era which showcased the other side of Indian women, who were otherwise portrayed as the usual traditional family girls. As the film unfolds, we are introduced to a world where actresses fight, heroes travel in Impalas, and speak daring one-liners frequently. Love at first sight happens, and hatred too, very often! The film is shot well, despite of its tight budget, and the songs are placed at the right place. The direction is good and he ensures that the audience who comes out the hall are not disappointed. The mystery-revealing portions were, however kinda loose and appeared to be wrapped up very quickly. Had the writers added 10-15 more minutes of investigation stuff to the film, it would have become one of the finest thrillers Bollywood has ever produced! Nevertheless, the film is good and has its moments.

But then, its a Himesh Reshammiya movie na, who will watch it in theater! Who can sit through his bad acting? Trust me, once the movie starts reeling, you will be shocked to see an unexpected good performance from him! Yes, he has put his complete effort to live up to the character. His one-liners have an extra-punch! His never-give up attitude ensures that he is here to stay. The débutant Yo Yo Honey Singh has done a decent job, and the rest of the cast enacted their characters convincingly. Special mention to the beautiful and hot lady Sonali Raut. She was awesome. The narration by the talented Irrfan Khan was another plus point.

Overall, Xpose is a good watch and an ernest attempt from the makers. Watch it, and explore the dark secrets behind the bollywood of 1960s. Thumbs up for this one!

I give this film a 1 as I know HR did not concept this as a spoof film. But the acting, the editing, the dialogue are all so bad that it works as a spoof of a bunch of mostly talentless actors working on a vanity project.

A wooden doll emotes better than Himesh. His character is a narcissistic sociopath but hey, it works for the non-multiplex audiences whom the film targets. And he is no Rajnikanth in delivering masala dialogues.

I think the film would have worked better if Himesh approached this as a spoof film and played the role over the top, with a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to the audience.

Pro tip : Don't pay money to watch the film. You'll get more fun with your cash if you burn it and watch the flames.

Yes, I did go to watch a Himesh Reshammiya movie for the first time in my life. And the movie fulfilled all I wanted out of it, fultoo fun and jibe moments through over-the-top performances by most actors (Himesh leading the pack all the way!)

Also, the movie does surprise with some twists. When you think it's all over, it reveals some more layers over layers. Finding the 'real' killer isn't that easy after all. The plot is Agatha Christi-c, the premises 60's ka Bollywood. Ananth Mahadevan (director) succeeds in presenting this murder-mystery on-screen upto an extent.

Its out an out HR movie who reminds you of actor Late Raj Kumar as superstar Ravi Kumar with similar attitude, arrogance, self-obsession (talking of himself in third person). All this exudes oodles of unintended humour. His dhaansu dialogues (some of which make no sense) can send intellectuals to coma but those searching fun will have a gala time. His overcoats and jackets (esp the red one) can't be ignored (ROFL). Characters of Sonali Raut and Zoya Afroz are drawn as parallels to Zeenat Aman and Late Parveen Babi. So beaucoup de skin show (justifying film's title). Honey Singh also doesn't act but even then his mannerisms too invoke smiles! Contrastingly, ace actors like Irrfan, Rajesh Sharma and Adil Hussain do justice with their brief roles. Music (both songs and background) is quite peppy and catchy and some songs are quite melodious. Full marks to Himesh and Yo Yo for the same! In all, this 2-hr movie isn't meant for our grey matter but is still watchable (esp if watched with friends and fun-intent). My rating: **1/2

I know the movie doesn't deserve one star out of 10. But that is the least I can give. 'Awful', the only word that can describe this movie. I don't know what glamour was the director trying to pull off. The movie was just an instrument for Himesh Reshamiyya to propound his songs. Yeah, and the songs too! I don't know why people loved the songs. They were just remakes of the previous super hit songs. I should have watched the election results today which were undoubtedly much more interesting than this crap movie. But my friends dragged me to watch it. And now they are regretting too. Speaking of acting, actor is good at his place and singer is best at his place. Himesh should never think of becoming an actor. He is not at all a star material.

'The Xpose', a musical-thriller, isn't without merit, but unfortunately, there isn't much of it either. Its works, but only in parts. It has a few absorbing moments & melodious moments working on its side, but an erratic Screenplay, spoils the fun, in totality.

'The Xpose' Synopsis: A top actress from the late 1960's is killed & now follows the search to find her murderer.

'The Xpose' takes us back in time, the late 60's, where glamour & ambitious, like decade, was at its peak. So in terms of nostalgia, 'The Xpose' is good-looking. But, the Screenplay is erratic & shaky. The film begins well & the narrative is nicely handled up-to interval. Its the second-hour, that disheartens. The suspense element lacks the fizz & so does the murderer's motives. In short, the film takes off safely, but loses focus later-on.

Anant Mahadevan's Direction is strictly okay. Cinematography & Editing are impressive. Art Design is excellent. The re-creation of the late 60's has been put-up, wonderfully. Music by Himesh Reshammiya is melodious.

Performance-Wise: Himesh Reshammiya is alright. Although he has shed a lot of weight & has worked on himself, he can still work on his acting skills. Yo Yo Honey Singh, cast in a negative role, has his moments. Zoya Afroz looks gorgeous & delivers a very confident performance. Sonali Raut has also done well. Anant Mahadevan is stiff. Rajesh Sharma is superb, as always. Irrfan Khan appears in a tiny cameo.

On the whole, 'The Xpose' holds limited appeal.