No Need to Rush

Late director Shamin Desai’s four-year-old ready and waiting Rush finally hits screens this weekend. The director never quite got to see his finished product and I am not sure how he, the talented creative head and founder of channel [V] in its original avatar, would’ve reacted to this compromised result.

   Rush, the story of an ambitious news reporter Samar Grover (Emraan Hashmi) caught up in a web of deceit of crime and politics ens up a targeted man. His rocky relationsip with his artist girlfriend (Sagarika Ghatge) often comes in th way of his aspirations.

     The screenplay is compelling on paper but by first cut, the drama fizzles out and the film is all over the place. What should’ve been a tight noir, with fluid introspective images and minimal dialogue turns up missing  certain darkness, a glossy nearly typical Emraan Hashmi film without the sex, and unnecessary dialogue that floods the space.

     Even though it starts with promise- as  Samar gets a chance to interview an assassin whose roster includes high-profile targets, the idea descends into familiar themes. If you’ve seen The World is Not Enough, you’ve seen Rush. Thea ddition of songs – an obvious afterthought given the continuity of Hashmi’s beard and Ghatge’s weight – is redundant and a major drawback. Just when you’re getting into the thick of the action (helped with some wellchosen background music), cutting to the lip-sync nonsense resets everything.

     Neha Dhupia looks like a million bucks in her short, neat hair and stylish clothes, never starying from her well-defined femme fatale zone. Emraan Hashmi looks the part of a reporter with bad luck and brings honesty to his character. A cameo by Alekh Sangal, whose character  catalyzezs events in the movie, is notable. Gary Shaw, DoP of the marvelous and moody Moon, has shot Rush. You may want to see the effect Bollywood can have on the uber- talented. In the end, the movie is too neat, lacks punch, and has too many explanations. Maybe it’d have worked four years ago but even the big resolution is old hat. Unless you’re a die-hard Hashmi fan (how many millions again?), there’s no rush to see this.