Kooky treat from Kukunoor stable

8x10 Tasveer
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Ayesha Takia, Jaaved Jaaferi, Sharmila Tagore
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Rating: **

In a scene, Akshay Kumar’s character Jai, says, “I have a secret.”But every character in 8x10 Tasveer seems to have one, making it hard to keep a tally by the end. The problem is that the biggest secret of all is handled dismissively.

Jai, a forest ranger in Canada, has the unique ability of entering a photograph and looking at the past from the subject’s point of view. He has to use this skill to solve the mystery of his father’s death even while his own life is in danger.

The narrative takes its time establishing characters and relationships and therefore fails to build intrigue. The second hour is more engaging, until the final long-drawn-out climax. When you learn ‘whodunit’, you clearly see the flaws in the script. The killer’s motive and back story are so weak that you lose interest and connection with the plot. It all becomes clichéd and derivative. The narrative also chooses to spell out everything to the audience, but overlooks the fact that intelligent viewers can see each twist coming before turning the bend.

Writer-director Nagesh Kukunoor makes another attempt to move away from meaningful, small-scale films, and step into the big league. Here, he experiments with the thriller genre and works with an A-list star (Akshay Kumar). It is likely that with 8x10 Tasveer, he will regain some of the audience he lost between Bombay and Bangkok, but not many. Unfortunately his script is too perforated, the ensemble cast inconsistent and the pacing required for a thriller comes only in short bursts.

On the upside, Kumar shares a sweet screen rapport with Ayesha Takia Azmi, who plays his girlfriend Sheela. Ayesha is spot on within the confines of the role written for her while Kumar starts slow but warms up in the nick of time, though his usual energy is lacking. Jaaved Jaaferi plays Happi, with an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), paranoid, delusional detective with his individual style. If only his diction had been better. Sharmila Tagore (as mother Savitri), Benjamin Gilani (as father Jatin), Girish Karnad and Anant Mahadevan play tired stereotypes with equal feebleness.

Salim-Sulaiman’s background score and Vikas Sivaraman’s cinematography enhance the mood substantially. Surprisingly, the three songs and the dialogues are of the quality of previous Kukunoor films. This picture is far from perfect. It falters as a thriller largely on tempo and because of a hard-to-swallow conclusion.

Personally, I’m waiting to see Kukunoor’s Aashayein and Yeh Hausla.