Bollywood has developed a very bad habit of remakes and the trend of remakes continues with Khel Khel Mein. Akshay Kumar is back again with another remake within a month (Sarfira in July and Khel Khel Mein in August). The only benefit which Khel Khel Mein enjoys is that it is a remake of an Italian film called Perfect Strangers, which is hardly watched by anyone. Khel Khel Mein turns out to be an average affair. The film is copied more than 85% and the remaining commercial changes are made according to the Indian audience.
Khel Khel Mein can be called as Akshay’s most commercialized film after Sooryavanshi, but that’s not enough. Khel Khel Mein has many flaws and is enjoyable only in parts. Akshay is going through a very bad phase and seems like his phase is going to continue with Khel Khel Mein. His poor selection of films after Sooryavanshi continues. Khel Khel Mein won’t stand a chance against mighty Stree 2. Akshay will have to wait till the next year for a Hit at the Box Office until Jolly LLB 3 arrives.
Khel Khel Mein has an interesting plot where a group of 7 friends (including 3 couples) decide to play a unique game. The game is all about calls and messages one receives on the phone. If a call comes, one has to keep the phone on speaker and if a message comes, one has to read it out loud in front of everyone. This crazy game reveals a lot of secrets about each other which leads to a series of events.
Akshay Kumar is back in the comedy genre and nails his role like a boss. This was a tailor made role for him and he shows everyone that he is unbeatable when it comes to comedy. Taapsee Pannu does a decent job and shines in a couple of scenes, but also does overacting in some. Vaani Kapoor performs her part well and is good in emotional scenes. Ammy Virk is a surprise package and gives a solid performance. It was great to see Fardeen Khan’s comeback, but his performance lacks the punch. Aditya Seal is natural. Pragya Jaiswal is promising in her Bollywood debut. Chitrangada Singh appear in a cameo, and wish that she would have got a little more screen presence.
Mudassar Aziz has made good films like Happy Bhaag Jayegi and Pati Patni Aur Woh which were enjoyed by the audience, but he disappoints a little with Khel Khel Mein. His direction is loose in some parts. He has tried to rush things in the end which do not provide a proper conclusion.
The writers have copy pasted the majority of scenes from the original. Some of the adult jokes are also not replaced. The back stories of all the characters is something additional done by the writers. The last 30 minutes are different from the original, and offer nothing but unnecessary melodrama.
The original movie has been remade 26 times and Khel Khel Mein is its 27th remake. The original itself was an average and pointless film. The best thing about the original was its realistic treatment and metaphor used in climax. Khel Khel Mein goes over the top in some parts and follows the same typical Bollywood formula to complicate things.
In the original film, all the 7 characters are shown bad and are full of flaws. In Khel Khel Mein, only the male characters are presented in a bad manner. It would have been interesting if female characters would have also been shown in the same manner, and this would have made things more interesting. The makers tried to played safe, but failed.
The comedy portion is fine in some parts. The hilarious one liners and punchlines will make the audience laugh. The dialogues are philosophical as well as comical. The film also tries to showcase the emotional side of the characters, but it doesn’t feel convincing enough.
The screenplay is fast paced, but still a trimming of 10 to 12 minutes would have made a difference. The first half of the film is better than the second half. The film has certain melodramatic segments in the second half which don’t fit well in the narrative.
The music of film is nothing sort of great. Hauli Hauli is a foot tapping party number which can be enjoyed. ‘Lag Gaye, Lag Gaye’ in the background deserves a full track. The use of this BGM (background music) is perfectly done and sets up the atmosphere of the film. The remaining tracks are passable.
The film is mainly meant for a multiplex and urban audience. The film may appeal to the youth, but family audiences may stay away from it.
Khel Khel Mein can please those who haven’t seen the original. Those who have seen the original can watch Mohanlal’s thriller Malayalam film 12th Man which is based on the same theme (phone call on speaker, messages to be read out loud). 12th Man is a very good film with an engaging and suspenseful screenplay.
Khel Khel Mein is a must watch only for Akshay fans. This doesn’t require a big screen experience and can be explored once it comes on OTT. A strictly average affair.
Rating – 2.5/5*
