Film Review: Watch 'The Shaukeens' for Akshay Kumar's stellar, rib-tickling performance

Film: The Shaukeens

Cast: Anupam Kher, Piyush Mishra, Annu Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Lisa Haydon

Director: Abhishek Sharma

Rating : ***1/2 

What's it about: The Shaukeens is the story of three lecherous old men Pinky (Piyush Mishra) Lali (Anupam Kher) and KD (Annu Kapoor) wanting to revisit their youth and figure out a way to get laid without being labelled as tharki buddhas. Of course the deed isn’t that easy and when getting access to a girl in India becomes tough they take their hunt to the exotic shores of Mauritius where they meet Ahana (Lisa Haydon).

Ahana is heartbroken over her boyfriend leaving her for another woman and is on the verge of committing suicide until she happens to accidentally witness movie star Akshay Kumar shooting a song in a local mall.  From there the story takes a funny turn and we watch how these three old men in an attempt to impress Ahana try to use the Akshay Kumar card to promise her photo and dinner ops with him.

What's hot: Performances don’t seem forced with Anupam Kher and Annu Kapoor leading the way and making their characters stand out. Lisa looks pretty and provides the glamor quotient. Her scene towards the end credits where she’s trying to be a typical Indian actress is quite funny. But the highlight of the film is Akshay Kumar who does a fantastic job of playing to the gallery and letting the audience laugh at his expense.The best portions are the ones that have industry inside jokes about a director celebrating the tanking of another actor's film or an art house Bengali director wanting to make a film with Akshay. These are the moments that make the film likeable. The soundtracks Manali Trance and Alcoholic are addictive.

What's not: We wish the first half was as entertaining as the second. Also among the three old men Piyush Mishra's character seemed the weakest. His mannerism and dialogue delivery falls flat in many scenes. So does the scene where a fat lady is made to dance to the tune of a Bhojpuri track.

What to do: Watch The Shaukeens if you want to see a different side of Akshay Kumar and enjoy a few chuckles along the way. Also watch out for funny cameos by Suniel Shetty, Dimple Kapadia, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor.