Laal kaptan

*ing: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Zoya Hussain, Deepak Dobriyal, Simone Singh, Sonakshi Sinha

Rated: 6/10

There are a few problems that Laal Kaptaan has. First, the look that Saif Ali Khan supports. While the make-up artist who painstakingly worked on giving this look to the actor, there is need to understand that there is no need to copy. Some elements are familiar — inspired from Captain Jack Sparrow. We fell in love with that look but it doesn’t mean we want it replicated.

Second, from the opening scene we understood that the film is about revenge and that the victim needs to meet his Maker in the manner that was avowed. What follows in the next 155 minutes leads to sheer boredom.

Third, the storyline is weak and is stretched out. Some slick editing could have taken Laal Kaptaan on a fastrack.

Fourth, a big disappointment is Manav Vij who spends the entire time grunting and nothing much even though he has so much screen presence.

Director Navdeep Singh may not have been to tell a compelling story of revenge by keeping it on a fasttrack with a backdrop in 18th Century but he does manage to redeem himself by keeping the audience guessing how a boy who was strung up on a tree and assumed dead managed to survive just to spend the next 25 years hunting for the man who betrayed the entire nation against a war with firangis.

Then there is the fact that there are no songs. While the story has been told a thousand times and we know that the hero will win, yet one is glued to the seat due to some great performance by Saif Ali who dons a new look and plays a Naga sadhu helms and powers this film.

Another person who needs a special mention here is Deepak Dobriyal who plays the mad-hatter tracker is absolutely brilliant.