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17 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Too twisty and tries to pack it all! Saif has done a great job though!, 24 March 2008
4/10
Author: Vikas SS from Mumbai, India

When you’re talking of an Abbas-Mastan movie, you know what to expect. Big money, big game, plots, deceits, back-stabs twists and turns. It’s just that, this time, it gets so much more complicated and twisty that the duo’s previous hits like Baazigar, Khiladi will seem like a kid game. The saving grace however is Saif who has lately come of age after delivering great performances in Parineeta, Omkara, Hum Tum, etc.

Ranvir (Saif Ali Khan) and Rajiv Singh (Akshaye Khanna) are step brothers owning a lavish stud farm ‘Stallions’ local biggies at the turf club in Durban. The older Ranvir loves horses more than anything else while younger Rajiv is a drunk who is least bothered about the family business which is now totally under mortgage. Racing, money, fending off enemies and partying are a way of life for both, till an accident triggers change.

The older brother sacrifices his love (Bipasha) when the Rajiv one promises that he would give up drinking addiction if he married Sonia. But, Rajiv doesn’t change after marriage and things end up getting steamy between Sonia and Ranvir. While things look nice between brothers, one of them is busy plotting for the other’s death to pack off 100 million bucks from his insurance. Then, there is a murder and things get murky.

The rest of the movie merely survives on the director duo’s ability to set up things in one direction, then, twist it at the very next moment. Till the last few minutes, one is not too sure as to who the conspirator was and which actress is whose love interest. Adding to the mêlée is a fruit munching cop RD (Anil Kapoor) and his inept assistant (Sameera Reddy), both competing with each other in being as silly as things ever can be.

Of the performances, Saif is awesome and Akshay Khanna has done a neat job too. All three glamor dolls had no more to do in the movie except to look good. Another funny thing was that every other character there was mostly an Indian, the doctor, the registrar, the cops, their assistants, Saif’s competitor, whew; I never knew Indians were so omnipresent! The music is decent and Atif Aslam’s song is already a hit.

Race has many points when twists get too much, and you would it end soon and when things start seeming comical. But, nevertheless to their credit, the directors have delivered a stylish flick set in South Africa and Dubai with some good stunts. Alas, they don’t do much to save the movie. Still, if you are one of those who like movies sans logic and merely sit through and pass time, Race is not a bad idea if you get tickets cheap.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Too many twists doesn't make a winner, 30 April 2008
1/10
Author: Karishma Tiwari from Malaysia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

My analysis on the movie.. i would rate it below 0 if i could

1)For a movie set in Durban, you hardly see any foreigners, all the people are hindustanis who can speak perfect Hindi.

2)Hindi movies have reached such stage of advancement in movie making that they even have fictionised song and dance sequence in a fictionised flashback situation

3)No one is surprised (not even the so-called investigator) that the so-called wife of the deceased Ranvir is not at all bothered that her husband of 2 days has slept with his sister in law

4)By the way, what kind of investigator is RD?

5)Investigators like RD have requirements for their assistants: - strictly only blond Indian babe - dress code of nothing less than cleavage as deep as your assets go

6)The hit-man hired to kill Bipasha had to restart his engine after hitting her car, perhaps his manual car failed at first gear, time to get a real driving license

7)So many twists and turns, the unpredictable plot was very predictable after Ranvir's death

8)This is the most original movie of BW of this year, come on, do u think any other movie/story/director can be as stupid?

9)Despite having a 'gupt' camera at the registry of marriage, they were unable to detect the change of certificate done by Rajiv and Sofia?

10)All govt buildings, offices and even morgue in Durban have exteriors like a mansion, with a tiny signboard to keep us abreast of the venue (becos inside, they all look the same)

11)Why did RD have such a stupid assistant? i have the answer, she was like the narrative voice of the genius analysis of RD, so thru her questions we get to know how advanced is RD with his investigation

12)Woman are still strictly regarded as ornaments in most parts of BW

13)Both brothers were stupid enuf in the end to accept their opponents car for race

14)So where is the actually Race u may ask... it was the Race among the actresses of whose cleavage ran deeper!!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Remarkably unpredictable, 22 August 2009
8/10
Author: karthu1993 from Kerala, India

I wouldn't say that race is a great movie. It is good and different. It is not the usual triangle love story and betrayal and it is unpredictable. The plot should not be known completely before as it has many twists and turns. Knowing the plot reduces the effect of watching like many other thrillers The twists are the main attraction of this film.

Coming to the plot Ranvir(Saif Ali Khan) and Rajiv(Akshay Khanna) are brothers who has so many different likes and dislikes. Ranvir is very mature and serious while Rajiv is semi alcoholic. Both of them share a common interest one is racing and the other is supermodel Sonia (Bipasha Basu). Ranvir's secretary Sophia(Katrina Kaif) has a crush on him. She remembers his birthday and presents him with a birthday greeting card.

Songs composed by Pritam are great. Songs like pehli nazar mein and allah duhai are wonderful to listen.

Acting is good. My opinion about Saif Ali Khan in a serious role has changed after seeing this. Akshay Khanna has done his best performance so far. Bipasha was good in her respective role. Even though Katrina Kaif is not considered a great actress, she was above average in this movie.

It is worth a look if you admire bollywood film. And this film is worth watching if you are a fan of either Saif or Bipasha.

8/10

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Revival of Saif, 19 April 2008
8/10
Author: cybersupam from Bangalore

Firstly take note that - Race is not a movie made for them those who power on the DVD player then insert the disc in it, and watch it till they feel asleep. This is made for them those who want to use their inner intelligence and sharp-brain to understand actually what is going on in between every roles. Don't rate this comment those who don't like Hindi thrillers.

I find it hard to believe even after fourth time watching Race that how Saif performed a deadly serious role as Ranvir Singh. In his first offer with director duo Abbas-Mustan he proved it great. So far his roles were mostly prepared for comedian purposes like in Hum Tum, Dil Chahta Hai or Salaam Namaste, but here he really proved that now he is matured as an actor by performing a serious, no nonsense and one-word guy's role.

Personally I like to watch movies made by Abbas-Mustan for their sense of making thrillers in Bollywood, and I cannot throw away Race apart from my mind. The story has some worth seeing twists which are surprisingly enjoyable. In funny and hilarious sections Akshaya and Anil own their credits. Although this is Akshaya's second negative character under the project of Abbas-Mustan after Humraaz, his role has enough importance in moving forward of the movie. Anil's role as a fruit-eater inspector Robert D' Costa (RD) makes a good sense of humour with his riddling but indicative words. For sometimes it is confusing whether RD is a negative or positive character, but it becomes clear only at the final ending part.

For the three glamor queens Sonia, Sophia and Mini (Bipasha, Katrina and Sameera), they have no much ability to handle the story since it is mainly controlled by the male leads, and focus goes on and on waiting to reveal the hidden truths. Ooops!!! after a long break from director duo, Johny Lever again appears in front of the camera for five minute, but with nothing special. Same is to Dilip Tahil who is the closest rival of Ranvir in horse racing business.

If we judge Race with proper sense there are bound to arise numerous goofs and faults in the whole set of the movie, anyway it's just made for entertainment. One most important goof I noticed is when Ranvir and Sophia goes to Capetown for some official purposes, but Rajiv also moves there and secretly attends an appointment in the marriage bureau along with Sophia (Katrina). But question is - does not Sonia (Bipasha) notice when Rajiv is not around her?

For Akshaya and Katrina's fans Race might be flop, while for Saif and Bipasha's fans it might be a super-hit. This is generally how a movie is rated by audiences. They don't like their favourite actors/actresses to get defeated in the climax, but if it happens so they will consider it worthless or super-flop. In truth a movie is considered successful mostly through the process of business profit --> large audiences = large earning. If you check weekly in the websites on the movie which is doing good businesses, it will be finally declared as hit, sometimes super-hit (or blockbuster) if the businesses run better than expected.

Finally, I like the movie only just due to Saif's new revival role of serious Ranvir Singh, and Akshaya Khanna's negative but interesting role as step brother Rajiv Singh.

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5 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Wastage of Time Money & Lots of Energy, 5 April 2008
5/10
Author: alankar-jnu from India

The movie is full of twists and turns....true! But, every such 'twist & turn' proves out to be very stressful as a viewer. Now thats what we want the last thing while watching a thriller. 10 minutes into this movie and one starts to feel heavily bored. The acting was horrible by everyone. In fact, it was so hard to believe that its the same Saif and Akshay whom many of us have seen so good in few other such movies.....e.g. Saif in Ek Haseena thi was excellent...and Akshay was too good in Humraaz (surprisingly from the same director duo). But, this movie lacks in every way...overall very bad music barring a couple of really good songs, terribly bad story, awfully bad length of the movie too came in its way of providing satisfying entertainment. The stars/actors were used less for acting and more as dumb fashion models. Women had absolutely nothing to offer as actors...in fact had demeaning roles, especially pitiable was Sameera Reddy's cop's assistant character. Anil Kapoor, one of the surviving versatile actors of Hindi film industry (remember Eeshwar & Virasat) was also used just as wastefully as by many other directors now a days. The outward appearance for the movie had South Africa, as it was shot there...but in a very distasteful manner you find everyone...from doctor to police officers to estate agents to even marriage registrar(!!!) as Indians. The movie actually made it seem that South Africa is some other Indian federal state! Cummon directors Abbas-Mustan...another viewing of your Baazigar, Humraaz...even Soldier will make us feel better....this 'Race' proved out to be nauseating! Just one plus point....the three ladies in the movie really LOOKED stunning and smashingly good all through. All in all, missing out on this 'RACE' in life will be a good victory for all fortunate non-viewers!

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6 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Hotch Potch, 24 March 2008
Author: natasha_00792000 from India

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Let me baldly state - this is a movie which only people will find watchable if they leave their brains behind at home for three hours.

I went to watch because i am not in the mood to watch intense emotional films and thought I'd enjoy an out and out entertainer, but unfortunately my IQ was still functioning at a minimal level and this movie was an insult to it.

The innumerable plots and twists lost their tang because of the frequency with which they hit the viewer; one said, "okay i can expect another twist to this case, and yes, here it would come...and yet another and yet another...." until you simply didn't care any more.

I don't know about others, i found the ending predictable or lets say, the outcome. Even there, Abbas Mastan tried to confuse the poor bewildered befuddled viewer with some more twists and turns.

In an entertainer songs are normally the draw; here - no such luck, they were mediocre and the song sequences even more so. And I must say, i don't know what the director was doing with the placements of the songs in the movie, a kinda serious situation, and viola, a raunchy song right in the middle, huh? Anil Kapoor and Katrina were terrible for different reasons, see the movie yourself if you want to to know. Hint - AK for vulgarity and crassness Sameera was given terrible stuff to do, but you cant blame her for that, she did what she was told to do.

Good Points in the movie South Africa - you get a nice tour guide via the cinematographer Acting - Saif and Akshay - you cant choose between them, they're brilliant

Glamour quotient - in the form of Bipasha who also acts well and is very restrained in her acting which was refreshing and Katrina who looks good but lets not talk about her dialogue delivery and acting.

Best things about movie?

1) Johnny Lever - his three minutes of being in the movie

2) The song - the romantic ballad Jab se shot with Akshaye and Bipasha

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Race is a good thriller, 19 December 2009
6/10
Author: sumanbarthakursmailbox from India

I don't know about you but it's been weeks since I last saw a good commercial Hindi movie — the kind that requires you to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride. Thankfully, Abbas-Mastan's Race is exactly that kind of film, it's a pretty far-fetched thriller much in the tradition of their previous hits Khiladi and Baazigar, and yet it's exciting enough for you to stop looking for holes in the plot and to go with the flow instead.Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna play Ranvir and Rajiv Singh, brothers who've inherited a stud farm in Durban. While the older one Ranvir is focused on saving the business from bankruptcy and an avid derby enthusiast, Rajiv is the aimless, alcoholic spoilt-little-rich-kid. What both men have in common, however is an evil streak which becomes more than apparent as the reels unspool.Sacrificing his love, Ranvir hooks up his younger brother with his sweetheart Sonia (played by Bipasha Basu), hoping marriage will cure his chhota bhai of his drinking habit. Sadly, that never happens. In a moment of weakness, Ranvir and Sonia slip between the sheets, and that incident sets off a series of betrayals, double-crosses and murders.Add to this mayhem, Ranvir's doting secretary Sophia (played by Katrina Kaif) who's nursing a secret crush on her boss, who in turn mistakes her affection for job efficiency. Then there's the fruit-chomping detective RD (Anil Kapoor), and his dim-witted assistant Mini (Sameera Reddy) who jump into the scene to investigate a mysterious death. You learn soon enough, that nothing is what it seems, and nobody can be trusted. With enough plot twists to confuse a GPS navigation system, Race keeps you on the edge of your seat for the most part.Like any good thriller film, Race never reveals all its cards at once. The layers come off one by one, and each time you think you've got it all figured out, another shocker hits you out of the blue. That's not to say you haven't guessed some of the surprises in advance. If you've watched enough Bollywood films — let me rephrase that — if you've watched enough Abbas-Mastan films, then surely you can predict at least a few of the twists yourself. After all, brothers back-stabbing each other and wives double-crossing their husbands are staple ingredients of their every film.Nevertheless Race keeps you engrossed because it's fast-paced and slick, and because it doesn't allow you much time to consider its flaws.The dialogue is clunky and full of labored lines, and instead of the clever one-liners you'd expect in a smart thriller, you get cheesy quips that make you cringe with embarrassment. Yeh toh bahut hansta hai, Akshaye Khanna tells Saif about a rival who's just walked off after rubbing their noses in defeat. You see, Abbas-Mastan aren't famous for their smart lines or their original screenplays, but they're usually at the top of their game when they're dealing with themes that center around sex, lies and murder. And Race is a return to that formula.The perfect antidote for a lazy weekend, Race is not a great film but delivers what it promises to deliver. It's slickly photographed and has some exciting action scenes, but it's got too many unnecessary songs that only add to the film's length.About twenty minutes shorter and you'd probably enjoy it much more, but in its present form it's not such a bad deal. Of the cast, Saif Ali Khan stands out as the chap with the least dialogue but the one who makes the best impression, whereas the usually dependable Akshaye Khanna delivers an amateurish performance by hamming through his scenes. Of the ladies, only Bipasha Basu scores with an understated performance. As for Anil Kapoor, what does one say about a fine actor who's resorted to taking on such tacky roles? Surely you deserve better than those double-meaning dialogues and suggestive scenes!In the end, Race has fast cars and fast babes, and it's better than anything else its directors have made recently. Because there's barely anything else at the movies currently, I'm going to say – go watch it, you won't be disappointed. And don't miss that one scene with Johnny Lever. He's back after so long and he's so good.

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Cut Out The Songs, and You'll Have a Better Remake Than its Original !, 10 August 2009
Author: ahmed elshikh (ahmed_abd_elreheem@yahoo.com) from Egypt

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Yes, the Indian cinema is in a silly stalemate whereas they produce now 1000 movies per year (try to believe it!). And in general they're commercial, largely plagiarist, fares where you'll find at best nothing but hot colors, good action, rampant dances, scent of sexuality and fast songs (mostly copied too!). But sometimes that manages to entertain highly; just like this time.

First of all I'm amazed, because it's rare time (let's be honest; it's the only time yet) which I found an Indian remake that surpassed its original. Here (Race), if only you disentangled it from its unnecessary 123 songs and numbers, you'd have a better movie than the American source (Goodbye Lover) 10 years earlier, which was fine movie but not that fine to tell you the truth, in particular when you watch the remake first.

(Race) deserves the status it achieved as super hit. However the truly wicked directing wasn't enough to make this movie what it is, because the main power is in the script which proved itself thoroughly this time to a dazzling extent even for the Americans. It was too creative while dealing with the material of (Goodbye Lover) ; doing - in noticeable talent - nothing any easy lazy remake would do, remaking its original in more original way!

Starting with the title: (Race) isn't absolutely for granted. It's a complete race over money, sex, and your attention so your amusement as well. Moreover, the job of the 2 brothers in the first movie was at the field of propaganda and burnishing the public figures (namely the art of burying the truths as that movie's winners themselves would do lastly). But here they simply own a stud farm 'Stallions' local biggies at the turf club in Durban; which materialized cleverly the meaning of racing dramatically before visually.

It's clear that the 2000s is the golden age of the "twists" on the screen (big or small). Watch (Basic) or "Alias" to catch on that plainly. And how this Indian movie understood that uniquely. It took the twists this time to the next level, making it from a Noir, cornering avidity and the death of love in the world of today, to a colorful comedy - not even that black by the way - about money as the only ruler and the master target, striking so smartly the right note of living mistrust as the ultimate fate.

Regard also the coup de maitre of transforming the character of the melancholically cynical deeply materialistic investigator (my personal worst liked Ellen DeGeneres from the American movie) into more liberal, indifferent and appealing (Anil Kapoor) remaking him as vicious "Magnum". Not to mention of course the changing of the idiot partner/policeman into a sexy young girl too; to be both kind of dirty version of The Big Easy's couple!

Actually that harmonized with the fact of the whole thing as an exposed varicolored show to ridicule and to entertain, with all mean, vile and excellently swindler characters, using obvious jesting ; the non-stop twists and the lovely musical finale which was close to a theatrical end to expose the game of acting, delivering eventually pure entertainment with never passing satire about the modern-day human and their endless crazy greed.

Saving the best for the last, look how the Indian movie makers finish their movie with a car chase (memorably brilliant to say the least). It's a lesson was learned by Hollywood however Bollywood here is relearning its masters indeed.

The Alas goes to : The Indians don't give the original makers (of movies AND songs they remake) any due credits. The many many strangely put songs, the hyped dances, and seeing the male leads suddenly shirtless in explicit MTV video clips ! Although (Saif Ali Khan) and (Akshaye Khanna) are supposedly the leads but they both looked clueless, stray and didn't stand comparison with (Anil Kapoor) with the great job he did. And the fact that (Mallika Sherawat) was first offered the role of (Mini) but she didn't do it (Just DAMN !).

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Not Bad, 9 June 2008
Author: vinayb111 from Bahrain

I quite enjoyed the film. It had some fun moments some slick treatment and some great locales. Look it wasn't the kind of film where one was expecting anything ground breaking. It was an abbas Mustan kind of film and we know they are no Almodovar. So they delivered what they promised and that is all..Finally it did not make sense? why the enmity between the two brothers to such an extent.. Akshay had a reason even if by a long shot but was saifs reason? None.

The cinematography was good, Saif looked good he has turned into quite a performer. Akshay was okay.. the script was tacky but the twists were good.. scenes were shoddily written/

Time pass flick..nothing more nothing less..

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Movie with lots of twists and finally Director lost in his own plot, 30 March 2008
5/10
Author: thisistrinath from NY, United States

I am just from the movie. May be they had spent a lot on the movie, but the movie was just OK, nothing special about it. So many twists that your head keeps turning. Elderly people will not like such twists. Finally I think that the Director's head got twisted in his own plot and at the end he makes a big mistake. In the end, they speak of $200 million for two brothers' combined insurance payment, but the insurance payment for the death of elder brother was already made to smaller brother and of that, 25% is eaten by the COP, so where comes the question of a second time payment for the elder. This time they would only get $100 Million. Next time you make such twisty movie make sure everything is in tune with it.

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