Entertainment

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah, Sonu Sood, Krushna,
Prakash Raj and Junior – the wonder dog
Direction: Sajid-Farhad
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes

Story: Akhil Lokhande, the illegitimate son of a Bangkok billionaire, finds out that his inheritance has been willed to a dog, Entertainment. And there are also other baddies playing dogs-in-the-manger.

Review: Entertainment tells you the story of how one Daddy’s Najayaz Aulad (illegitimate child), abbreviated in the film as DNA, stumbles upon the fact that he is actually a poor Mumbai boy born to a billionaire from Bangkok. His father, Pannalal Johri (Dalip Tahil in a garlanded photo-frame on the wall), has bequeathed his wealth to his pet dog Entertainment (Junior), because he could not in his life-time locate his real son, Akhil Lokhande (Akshay Kumar).

After a romantic interlude with his girlfriend Saakshi (Tamannaah) in Mumbai, Akhil flies to Bangkok. His best friend Jugnu (Krushna, good comic-tuning) and he make grand plans to get rid of the dog, who stands between him and his billions.

But the canine is nobody’s fool. Man and beast find ways to outsmart each other and when they can’t kill each other, they join forces. Here, a fresh set of villains, Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood, named Karan-Arjun (there are many stereotypes), are introduced. They, too, are eyeing the same pile of wealth.

So now, Akhil and Entertainment have to get the better of the baddies. Debutant-directors Sajid-Farhad, who have the dubious distinction of having written very successful Bollywood no-brainers like the Golmaal series, Dhamaal, and Housefull 2, and who have salvaged themselves to a degree by writing the Singham films, could have salvaged their first directorial venture by keeping it tight, despite the stereotypes. However, because the jokes are repetitive by nature, the LOL (laugh-out-loud) moments are few and far between.

The dialogue, which uses Bollywood actordirector names like, “I so Rajani-can’t”, does get guffaws. But for the most part, the humor is for the child in you. Akshay Kumar is in top form. Having done a multitude of masala movies, he’s become a khiladi. His bonding with the dog (especially in comic scenes) has those ‘oh-so-cute’ moments. The golden retriever is not a wonderful actor; but his eyes can melt your heart.

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