Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Sagarika Ghatge, Neha Dhupia, Aditya Pancholi
Director: Shamin Desai
Not many news editors would sing and dance in a bar after getting drunk like Samar Grover (Emraan Hashmi) of ‘Rush’, but then what’s the point of casting Emraan Hashmi as a failed crime reporter turned editor-in-chief.
Director Shamin Desai’s ‘Rush’ starts with the suspicious death of the dynamic editor-in-chief of ‘Crime 24’, Subrato Mukherjee. Now, the channel is seeking a new editor-in-chief and their search stops at Samar, who happens to be a morally upright crime reporter of a rival news channel.
The problem with Samar is that he believes in presenting news in its crude form as he wishes to show the people what they ‘want’. Things take an unexpected turn when he manages to interview a hitman (Murali Sharma) in connection of a high profile murder. The ‘not so emotional’ world of media declares Samar misfit but Lisa (Neha Dhupia) offers him a ‘responsible’ job at ‘Crime 24’ just at the right time.
Samar meets Roger Khanna (Aditya Pancholi), the owner of ‘Crime 24’, and his life changes forever. He decides to do away with a part of his ethical and moral baggage but little does he know that it’s just the beginning of another quicksand.
The basic storyline revolves around a hot-shot crime reporter who is not ready to be a part of the endorsement game. Emraan Hashmi has got the right body language and his use of media terminology is also fine. However, the story in which his character is placed has some flaws. The narrative strategy is simple and the director proceeds with a linear structure.
The basic premise gets set quite easily but poor characterisation starts to hamper the story from the beginning. Aahana (Sagarika Ghatge) is Samar’s possessive girlfriend who is not happy with his obsession with crime related news. She comes across as an irritated woman who wants to sing-dance at the first possible moment. She doesn’t look comfortable with Emraan’s touchy-feely romance either.
On the contrary, Lisa (Neha Dhupia) emerges as the film’s heroine. She is a Wharton educated, sophisticated professional who doesn’t have any moral issues in getting cosy with her boss. Neha’s attempt to showcase things in grey shades go in waste due to too much focus on pace. The style of storytelling in ‘Rush’ can remind you of some Bhatt camp films.
The formula is pretty simple. Take a hero with a cynical image, put some raunchy scenes, concentrate on speed, and give a false notion of relevancy.
The script has flaws, and biggest of them is the conspicuous absence of police while an over ambitious channel owner is doing all sorts of wrong things for TRP. His philosophy behind running a 24 hour news channel dedicated to crime is not convincing, leave aside the way he does it. One can understand his lust for money but running a criminal racquet side by side is a bit exaggerated. Further, the crimes done by Emraan in order to save himself go unquestioned.
‘Rush’ is entirely dependent on Emraan Hashmi, and he doesn’t disappoint. Slowly and steadily he is emerging as an actor who can make his presence felt without being loud. He is the saving grace of the ‘Rush’, which seems to be a mish-mash of ‘Jannat’, ‘Jannat 2’ and ‘Blood Money’.
Contemporariness and relevancy are the two things which can justify the over the top imagination in ‘Rush’. The recent controversies about media and its ethics find a reflection in ‘Rush’ but Shamin Desai’s fascination towards the glamour side of the TV media affects the film’s chances.
The film’s cinematography, especially in the song ‘Mumkin nahi’, is something noticeable. It shows some promise on part of the camera crew. ‘Fukrey’ song is also trendy but not many would approve of an editor-in-chief’s intimate lap dancing with his subordinate.
Though Shamin Desai can be criticised for not granting enough time for emotional moments to unfold but the tempo is the thing which keeps the spectators interested in the film. ‘Rush’ would have been lacklustre in absence of this much pace.
One can watch ‘Rush’ for Emraan Hashmi and cinematography, but then it also depends on your mood at a particular time.
Rating: 2 out of 5.
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