Movie Review-Acid Factory

Long before Vishal Bhardwaj paid his tribute to Quentin Tarantino with Kaminey, Sanjay Gupta had displayed his fascination for the action autuer 

Still from Acid Factory More Pics Infact Kaante was a tryst with Reservoir Dogs for the desi film buff. Acid Factory, his latest production, may be inspired by the lesser known Unknown, but in terms of style, characterisation and presentation, there is lots that can be traced back to the hep & happening Tarantino school of edgy violence that shoots straight from the hip. There is a similar gritty feel to the drama that threatens to explode at every twist and turn. Sadly, it never does, specially in the first half. And herein lies the problem with Acid Factory which scores so much in style but falls somewhat short on drama. The film opens impressively, once again demanding the viewer to stay abreast with the proceedings that keep flashing back and forth in jagged speed. Fardeen Khan plays an undercover cop who loves living life on the edge. On the behest of his senior (Gulshan Grover, minus all mannerisms), he infiltrates a gang headed by Irrfan Khan after successfully completing his first task. And the task? Stealing a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster aboard a racing truck with edgy co-gangster, Manoj Bajpai. Next shot: he finds himself locked in an acid factory with a bunch of unknown people suffering partial amnesia after inhaling the fumes in the factory. The only link with the outside world is the faceless man barking orders on the telephone, demanding that the two hostages be held safely until he arrives. So who are the kidnappers and who are the hostages? Before the unknown boss arrives, the odd assortment of good and bad guys must find out their identities. But only if they can protect themselves from each other, for there's the desi Lara Croft (Dia Mirza) who threatens to shoot for no reason at all, apart from the unpredictable Danny, Manoj Bajpai, Aftab Shivdasani and Dino Morea. You only know the ethical moorings of Fardeen Khan, which makes you play the guessing game, until the flashbacks reveal the antecedents of the sundry players. The film opens on a promising note but loses much of its momentum through a sluggish first half which tends to get repetitive. The adrenalin pumps up in the second half, with Irrfan Khan adding the razor's edge to the proceedings with his silken smooth crookedness. Of course, we can hardly forget Dia Mirza with her black-leathered, high-heeled dominatrix debut -- a complete makeover -- but we do wish the bad girl had more do. Almost as much as we wish Fardeen Khan's savoir faire was given more screen time. Ultimately, what remains are Tinnu Verma's fast-paced stunts, a stylised look and a sufficiently engaging film that could have broken new ground.

with his brand of stark, hard-hitting cinema.

Film: Acid Factory (Thriller) 
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Fardeen Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Dino Morea, Dia Mirza
Direction: Suparn Verma
Duration: 1 hour 35 minutes

Critic's Rating: