Naksha

Director: Sachin Bajaj

Cast: Sunny Deol, Viveik Oberoi and Sameera Reddy

2.5* / 5*

Take a bit of mythology, add a dash of adventure, breathe a feel of Indiana Jones in the movie and you can have a sample of doom. At a juncture when Indian cinema is undergoing a paradigm shift, here comes a film Naksha, dipped in mythology and laced with the spirit of adventure.

An archeologist gets a treasure map and prefers to jump into the sea with it rather than let it fall in the hands of another archeologist villain (Jackie Shroff). The archeologist’s death excavates some truths about his own self as his wife and ex-wife both have kids one of who Vicky (Viveik Oberoi) comes to the jungle to research what his father was searching for. When he gets caught by the villains his half brother Veer (Sunny) comes in search for him.

A sexy journo Riya (Sameera Reddy) is added to the circus and the trio try to unravel the mystery. Thankfully the adventure film that wafts through jungles and ravines does not have overweight junior artistes with their faces blackened pretending to be adivasis.

Sexy Sam manages to add only glamour value. The presence of the market-less Viveik Oberoi could be a dampener to the film’s future at the box office, but the pyrotechnics of Sunny Deol could send the stalls cheering all the way.

The jump that the trio had taken from a cliff at Panchgani is breathtaking. Allan Amin as the fight and action coordinator stands out in this escapade. Some of the special effects are encouraging… well almost!

The debutant director Sachin Bajaj needed a better screenplay to hold the film together. The ‘shraadh’ period could be a dampener in the film’s collections also adding to the fact that Lage Raho Munnabhai has managed to get the multiplexes rolling with laughter. If anything can salvage this film, it can only be Sunny’s star power.