Movie review: 'The Xpose'

It is a whodunit alright, but it also makes you giggle

The Xpose
U/A: Thriller
Dir: Ananth Mahadevan
Cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Zoya Afroz, Sonali Raut, Honey Singh
 

Zoya Afroz and Himesh Reshammiya in The Xpose

It is a whodunit alright, but it also makes you giggle. So as long as you are getting entertained (in whichever way – horror or delight), you tend to overlook what’s not — and what could have been — in this murder mystery which has the 1960s film industry as its setting. 

This time around Reshammiya, apart from his drastic weight loss, has tried his utmost to get his act in place including mouthing some profound dialogues. The film has been tailormade for him like those trench coats that he flaunts throughout.

As the superstar Ravi Kumar (inspired by the Jaani Raj Kumar), he mouths one-liners like “God has sent me with make-up on!” and “The king’s son is born nude, but he is still the prince!” So by now you get the drift about his starry act.

His arm candies Zara and Chandni (newcomers Sonali Raut and Zoya Afroz — who in some scenes looks like a younger version of Saira Banu — respectively) do their bit with a cleavage and thigh show besides crooning: Icecream Khaungi, Kashmir Jaaungi, Sholo Mein Bhadke Jiya.

In all this singing and dancing, the hunt for the killer drags on interspersed with courtroom scenes and Raj Kumar’s one-liners.

Though the film is set in the razzmatazz of 1960s Bombay and the sets are resplendent, minute attention has not been given to the detailing, at times you wonder if the styling is of that decade or of 2014.

There’s a believable story however in place with some twists, but not exactly spine-chilling and taut. The suspects are all lined up in a row and among them is KD (rapper Honey Singh) spinning his web of deceit when he’s not crooning.

In case you’re looking for plain entertainment, this extravagant endeavour won’t disapppoint. So who do you want to see the film for? Himesh or Honey? The choice is entirely yours.

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