BROTHERS

Brothers is an official remake of the 2011 Hollywood actioner Warrior. With the predilections of Indian audiences in mind, it tweaks the source storyline in significant ways in a bid to whip up high-pitched emotions and over-the-top drama.

 

‘Brothers’ uses a form of kinetic martial arts to foreground its story of two warring siblings, but it stays, at heart, a Karan Johar movie: the crunching bones and spraying blood is as heavily underscored by we-are-family soppiness as it is with deafening background music. The ‘Brothers’ is a film that actually has a plot (officially adapted from Hollywood film ‘Warriors’, with shades of ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Rocky’ thrown in) riding on competent acts, but which squanders its advantages because of the treatment.

 

It is regularly reasoned that remakes don't turn out to be as good as originals, but Dharma movie Brothers, which is the remake of Hollywood hit Warrior might just prove to be an exception to the rule, simply because the makers have infuse so much emotion and drama in the story that without it, the movie would have not been so entertaining.

 

When alcoholic street-fighter Gary Fernandez (Jackie Shroff) ends up killing his wife Maria (Shefali Shah) unintentionally during an argument over his disloyalty, a line of hatred gets drawn between step-brothers David and Monty. David (Akshay Kumar) grows up to be a physics teacher with a loving wife (Jacqueline Fernandez) and a daughter, while Monty (Sidharth Malhotra) grows up to be a borderline drunkard with a chip the size of Kansas on his shoulder.

 

In urgent need of money for his daughter's medical treatment, David jumps at the chance of participating in a MMA tournament, which can net him sufficient money to sort out his issues while Monty enters the same competition to channelize his anger and earn some glory at the same time. What happens when the two brothers at last lock horns in the final battle? Watch and find out…

 

We all have seen Akshay playing the action hero, but with Brothers, he takes things one step ahead as the thoughtful family man, who has to trust on his fists to save his daughter. Akshay Kumar is in top form, whether it be the action skills or his performance. Jacqueline is astonishingly earnest and honest as David's supportive wife, while Sidharth comes across as a larger version of his Ek Villain character. Actor Jackie Shroff simply blows you away with his powerful and touching act as the remorseful Gary, who is haunted by his past and tortured by his present.

 

The cameo role work well. In a little role, Shefali conveys trembling, conflicted emotions while Ashutosh Rana as a cheeky manager and Kiran Kumar, as a martial arts promoter covered in mystery and cigar smoke, pad this drama well.

 

Karan Malhotra, who had made his directorial debut with Agneepath, should indeed be applauded for infusing the much-needed drama in the story of two estranged brothers.

 

But, the same element that makes Brothers entertaining, also proves to be its weakness. At times, the tale gets too overdramatic for your taste and Malhotra could have surely dialed it down a bit. Not only this, the pace could have unquestionably been faster, especially in the first half so as to not cause impatience among the audiences, who keep looking forward to the fight sequences and the dramatic clash between the siblings.

 

The music of the movie is decent enough and the Brothers anthem is one of the highlights of the film.

 

The fight sequences are some of the best ever watched in any hindi movie and provide a major adrenaline rush for action lovers. The makers had seemingly roped in an international stunt crew for the mixed martial arts sequences and they deserve a pat on their collective backs for this.

 

Overall, Brothers is a commendable film and watch once for action and drama loving buffs.