Old fox Dev Anand is at war again and this time it's the battleground of politics. The film looks like a tussle between "real politics" and "reel politics" by veteran actor- director who craves to be different. The film discusses coalition government, hung Parliament, Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and British PM Tony Blair in the context of the story. The concept entices, but the poor and insipid screenplay fails to meet the audience's expectations. It ends up as boring and talkative crank that is overstretched for two hour plus.
If 'Censor' focused on double standards of "Film Censor Committee", this film has nosedived into the evil dungeons of nefarious political happening. Lust of power, kidnapping, horse trading, and misuse of power forms the crux of the story; and every aspect gets visualized as the story unfolds. The egalitarian actor and filmmaker Dev Anand might have enjoyed "living legend" status but his last two decades as actor and filmmaker have been completely disappointing. The directorial journey of Dev Anand from 'Prem Pujari' (1970) to 'Love at Times Square' (2003) speaks of his never-ending passion for filmmaking. Unfortunately, his desires have not met with the audience's love and response. It may be his unconventional vision or changing trends of society but none of his projects has attracted the audience's acceptance and adulation.
This film brings out dreamy journey of an enthusiast rising from the rubbles of earthquake to be the coveted crown of Indian democracy. Ironically, both Dev Anand and present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh share the same date of birth (26TH September), and it is the positive relevance that the actor-director shares with the film title. The multidimensional actor has coordinated natural calamity (earthquake) with the evil tentacles of corrupt political system. The age old concept of loss of memory, mistaken identities, and jingoistic attitude camouflaged with characterizations and script paves way for the film. The director has tried to be satirical but ends up as an idealist of imbibing his unimaginable dreamy concept into celluloid. The despicable and bewitching game of power in the arena of democratic country like India can never be a cake walk as it looks in this film. It's innovative but not practical or entertaining, and the audiences will find it "difficult to digest".
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The backdrop of the film happens to be quake-hit Barucha in Gujarat where the plot originates from. It brings back the memories of 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' where the majority of the scenes were shot in rustic locations of Kathmandu, Nepal. Its story about Johnny Master (Dev Anand), middle aged enthusiast who has fought for his life from the debris of earthquake - stricken town of the Kutch region of Gujarat. The poor impoverished Johnny makes living by selling newspapers. The intellect and honesty of Johnny Master attracts his fellow villagers around him. In year 2004, the government of India declares Parliamentary elections. In the village Johnny comes across Roshanara (Tara Sharma), poor girl who repairs old shoes. This poor girl runs a terrorist racket of an international group named Al-Qaeda along with his lover Bismillah Khan (Dev Gill). Roshanara gets exposed during the police shoot-out and she pleads for mercy from Johnny. Bismillah gets arrested but Roshanara is made free.
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Village Sarpanch (Anjan Srivastav) refers different political candidates (Mohan Joshi, Prem Chopra and Anant Jog) to the villagers, but none of them attracts any positive response. The head of the village (Sarpanch) and villagers decide to form their own political party and contest elections with their elected candidate. Johnny Master is chosen as a candidate, and with the overwhelming support of the villagers he wins the election. His victory upsets his rivals and they kidnap him and torture him. In the cruel act of torture, Johnny regains his lost memory and discovers himself as Prem Batra. He recollects that he hails from an affluent background and has monumental business empire. It was his first day at Gujarat when the destiny made him victim of earthquake. He narrates these events to kidnappers and buys them and flees to England. Johnny Master is now Prem Batra and he uses his wealth and political influence to dominate Indian politics. Bhimani Prasad (Boman Irani) advises him for indulging in horse-trading of members of the Lok Sabha. The deal is settled and Prem Batra agrees to pay each member Rs 50 million. In a meeting arranged by Bhimani, Prem Batra calls it a national shame and advises every MP to abide by their duties. The film ends on an idealistic note and makes the audiences aware about horse trading among Lok Sabha members.
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Are audiences ready to shell out Rs 150 for 'Mr. Prime Minister'? The film lacks face value, attractive script and melodious soundtracks. The film falters at every ground and the age-old style of filmmaking is to blame for this. The poor Johnny Master who cannot afford to buy a pair of shoes carries sleek mobile phone. The "rags to riches" man begins with his torn clothes and moves to designer wear clothes as the film progresses. The dreaded international terrorist (Tara Sharma) is pardoned without interrogation and behaves like a village belle in the next scene. It seems terrorists have turned filmi! Ridiculous!
Dev Anand has adapted his 60's formula where the camera focuses him throughout the show. The veteran actor is so obsessed by his charisma that he has cast a foreign actress of her grand daughter age. This is not nice. The problem does not end here and the exaggerated storyline jeopardizes other characterizations too. Tara Sharma's character is semi-baked and unexplained. Milind Gunaji is completely wasted. Tara grins unnecessarily and hams throughout the film. The shoddy script makes her a laughing stock but the poor girl is not to blame for it. Dev Gill's selection for the role is incompetent and unprofessional as he lacks screen presence of an actor. Dev Anand's choice of foreign actress (Sophia Chikara) is uninspiring. The foreign actress is teakwood and fails to deliver with her Italian accent even. Her lip-locking with Dev Anand is the only factor to bring her in the news.
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Boman Irani is the only actor who deserves accolades for delivering his role. He lives up to expectation in this poorly hatched melodrama. Bappi Lahiri's music is completely avoidable and irritating. "Main Khoya", the autobiographical soundtrack is the only relevant soundtrack. Besides this, all songs in the film are irritating, boring and time consuming. The film will be news for Dev Anand's lip-locking scenes and nothing else. The film stands out significant only because the 80 plus actor has delivered author-backed role. It disappoints on all fronts and even much publicized rap song is invisible in the film. It's the actor Dev Anand himself in the end that delivers rap song. But at this stage the viewers are exhausted and irritated from this indigestible film. This may be termed below average and disappointing!
