Review: 'Knock Out' is a senseless film

Knock Out (U/A)
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Kangna Ranaut, Irrfan Khan, Gulshan Grover
Director: Mani Shankar
Rating: *1/2

What do you think a film will be remembered for when it has a screeching reporter who wears a tube dress and 5-inch stilettos on field duty; an unknown deshbhakt who will do anything to get the black money stashed away in Swiss bank accounts by crooked politicians, and a shameless investment banker and womaniser who lends a helping hand to these politicians?

Nothing. Sound entirely uninteresting, right? That’s what Knock Out does — knocks out your intelligence. Wish the filmmakers had just knocked out the idea of making the film in the first place.

Even so powerful a personality as Dutt cannot salvage the poor execution of the script. Obviously preachy, the film takes a dig at the upper middle class and comments on the corruption in India but fails miserably to make an impact.

A certain self-sufficient tech-savvy enemy wants to target Tony Khosla aka Bachu (Khan) to publicly confess all his sins, from being a playboy to facilitating the smooth transfer of taxpayer money into the ever dependable, super secretive Swiss bank accounts. Bachu never quite understands why him. We are told, in flashback, that he deals in many many shunyas (zeroes).

Mr Enemy makes him sing and dance to the tune of Zara zara touch me, a performance that could give Katrina Kaif, on whom the song was picturised in Race, a run for her money, and yes, public atonement, lest we forget. Bachu becomes a national spectacle, thanks to the live reporting of India TV as journo (really, now) Nidhi (Ranaut) yelps her way to “breaking news” of a live ‘counter-heist’.

The level of ridiculousness rises as the film progresses. The first half is still tolerable, because you think you have the second half to look forward to. But the nonsense only intensifies after the interval as the filmmaker prepares you for an ‘action-packed climax’. Revenue officials making public announcements on a Bandra-Kurla Complex street of how much money got credited to the Indian treasury is the final test of your patience. You thank your stars it’s over.

Credit cannot be taken away from Khan for holding the film together. Being the only entertaining element, the intense actor is seen in a largely lighthearted role, complete with his trademark dialogue delivery.

Senior BJP leader LK Advani was apparently ‘moved to tears’ after watching Knock Out. Probably it was the pain of having to sit through the film.