Movie review: Himmatwala, Devgn fails badly

New Delhi, March, 30: Ratings- *1/2Cast- Ajay Devgn, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Paresh Rawal Director- Sajid Khan Remakes are always a daunting task for the filmmaker. If we look at precedents, there are a few movies like Don and last year's Agneepath which maintained the sum and substance of the prequels. Of course, one can't expect the same charm which roped in the mass audience to the theatres. What we anticipated from Sajid Khan was a sheer entertainment from the remake of the 1983 movie Himmatwala with the new breed of Tamannaah and Ajay Devgn. The no-sense entertainment appears to be his trademark as we have seen in films like Heyy Babyy and Housefull franchises. But sadly he has taken that no-sense entertainment to another level which might also disappoint his genuine audience.A minor change in the narration and a surprise at pre-interval is all we notice as deviation from in Sajid's ‘Himmatwala' from the original. Ravi (Ajay Devgn) is back in Ramnagar to avenge the lost pride of his dead father. Here he falls in love with Rekha (South hottie Tamannaah), daughter of a depraved Mukhiya Sher Singh (Mahesh Manjrekar). Sher Singh has a shameless brother-in-law Narayan Das (Paresh Rawal) who insults him.Will Ravi be able to reclaim the lost honour of his widowed mother (Zarina Wahab) and sister (Lena Jumani)? The flick tries to give you answers to these questions.Director Sajid Khan has designed Himmatwala for his mass audience which is clearly seen in the flick. He has reloaded the old version to strike gold as his former Housefull did. He might be successful in this but he barely entertains with this drama. You will find 'n' number of loopholes in the flick but still the desire to witness Bollywood star Ajay and debutant from south will tease you to stay in. Ravi is a one man Himmatwala in this flick. He is the avenger, enforcer and terminator. He does an awkward break dance like Jeetendra, breaks down Sher Singh's life as well as the limbs of the baddies. He saves a mother-son duo from a hungry leopard, saves his sister from stalkers which finally makes him the Himmatwala. The director expected loud claps from the audience for these heroics, but unfortunately, there were few loud screams inside the theatre from the frontbenchers. This is where we find what the flick lacks in: it lacks infectious vitality and impulsiveness which triggered spectators to part with their money for the prequel and also for Sajid's earlier movies.Sajid packs in all the masala of the 80's in this drama. The mother-son reunion after decades, mother cursing the villain, the actress falling in love with the hero in typical 80's ishtyle, but all this leaves you static.Sher Sigh who was supposed to be the tormentor is just flummoxed by the creepy misinterpretation of his daughter being pregnant.At funny moments, Sajid fails to tickle your bone and on the action part, he fails to thrill with the sequences.Looking at the acting department, it was hard for me to imagine how Ajay Devgn got ready for Himmatwala. He fails badly. Though he maintains his trademark anguish looks but that's not enough to make you serious for the flick.Tamannaah has everything to show in the flick except her acting skills. Sometimes her expressions seem pasted on her face.We know Mahesh Manjrekar is a person of known caliber. Here, he is simply ruined by his mimic character.Zarina Wahab is ubiquitous in every dramatic flick and this time again she does her job.Paresh Rawal is the only saviour who has stepped into Kadar Khan's shoes and is delightful in his tone.The songs ‘Taki o Taki' and ‘Naino Mein Sapna' recreated here are only to adore the original background score. Sajid-Farhad's dialogues have nothing to praise about. I'll go with one and a half stars for Sajid Khan's ‘Himmatwala'. One needs a lot of courage to witness this drama. Like the 80's which delivered brainless fun, this remake is a big time let down by the director who promises sheer entertainment for his audience, but falters .