At times it can feel as if you are being bludgeoned. But Kashyap’s thriller will keep you glued to your seat in spite of an expected end.

Both Kaushal and Dhulipala come up with brilliant performances, but it is truly Siddiqui who steals the show.

Simply leave your brains at home – definitely don’t try understanding the climax – and go have a few laughs this weekend.

Even though the protagonists fall in love, the good thing about the film is that it avoids degenerating into a romance with unnecessary displays of love and meaningless songs — though Arijit Singh’s Saware at the end of the film is a good listen. Even the one wedding song was made an essential part of the mission. The action and thrills stay right through to the end.

It has superstar Salman Khan. It has melodrama. It has song and dance. It has a pretty lead actress. It features two topics of discussion that are favourites with the Indian audience: religion and cross-border tension. And it has a cute little thing that, without saying a single word, will make you laugh and cry.

The dialogues are punchy and do raise laughter most of the time. But as far as the story goes, the dysfunctional Mehras sail up to a predictable conclusion. It was slightly disappointing that Akhtar would succumb to a typical Bollywood dramatic climax. And even though it does not drag, the film could have picked up pace overall.

Kick maybe Sajid Nadiadwala’s directorial debut and the remake of a Telugu film, but like all Khan movies, this is set to break box office records as trade pundits are predicting going beyond the Rs300 million mark.

The film is refreshing and delivers a message of harmony and friendship through laughter and films instead of drawn-out preachy or melodramatic dialogues, proving that we do have some really talented newcomers in the industry. All we need to do is bring them forth.

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