Bodyguard review: "Salman's purple patch continues!!!"

Yet another Eid & as expected, it inevitably ushers in the release of Salman's "Bodyguard". Well it wouldn't be prudent to accept the fact that Salman's movie will never bite the dust if it's released on the auspicious day of Eid, as the past two Eids has witnessed the release of the biggest grossers in Bollywood history in the form of "Wanted" & "Dabaang". Interestingly, "Bodyguard" is being helmed by veteran Malayali director, Siddique who has already made it in Malayalam & Tamil with reasonable success. So does this mean it would be a hat-trick of sorts for Salman & Siddique???

The basic plot remains the same sans some minor changes to suit the persona of Salman & though many of us have already seen the Malayalam or Tamil version, I will just give a gist of the events. Sartaj Rana (Raj Babbar) is a well respected landlord of Jaisinghpur, who naturally has a lot of enemies plotting his downfall. In such a scenario, Sartaj makes arrangements for a bodyguard for his daughter Divya (Kareena Kapoor). Lovely Singh (Salman Khan) is entrusted with this task, who is willing to lay his life for Rana since his father was the bodyguard of Rana in yesteryears. Lovely's uptight manner & intrusive nature compels Divya to hatch a prank which eventually spirals out of control. All these & more forms the basic premise.

Siddique has more or less,maintained the basic concept though a couple of changes has been introduced to suit the taste of the Northies. Frankly speaking, the script of the movie doesnt have much substance to go gaga; but neither does it deserve to be deemed as worthless especially when the market as witnessed hits for far worser crappy stuff. Dileep's antics in the original did bring the roof down while Vijay in Tamil also delivered a decent performance which effectively revived his career. Similarly, Salman showcases his wares in his own inimitable style which will have the audience lapping it up. Another highlight of the movie is the music by Himesh Reshammiya & Pritam especially the title track & Teri Meri rendered by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Similarly, Vijayan's action sequences has been shot stylishly.

Salman is more or less stereotyped with his torso waiting to burst out of his shirt, however he has been given a character which is endowed with virtues such as honesty, loyalty etc., which makes him lovable & reminds us of his romantic flicks of his initial years. Kareena Kapoor has delivered a decent performance & it's to her credit that she gets noticed in a Salman flick. Inspite of being an integral part of the plot, Hazel Keech hasnt been able to attain the attention of the audience as Mitra Kurian managed to in the other two versions.

Verdict: The film is definitely gonna be an awesome hit as it's definitely much better than "Ready" , which in itself was a smash hit. In effect, it's Salman's fourth blockbuster on the trot & his fairytale association with Eid continues. As far as my opinion goes, it doesnt offer anything new if you have seen the original & frankly speaking wasnt as touching as well. In short, you may give it a miss unless you are a Salman fan!!!

Regards...Ben