On the auspicious occasion of our Independence Day, I would like to remind all my fellow Indians that we should strive to keep our freedom intact & not vile it away over petty issues like politics, communal violence etc. It might seem ironic but this week we have Karan Malhotra's "Brothers" hitting the screens which has a pair of brothers baying for each other's blood almost similar as to how some anti-social elements are trying to entice violence against our brothers & sisters. So will the movie cater to the tastes of the Indian audience???

Gary Fernandes (Jackie Shroff), an ex-fighter was released from jail after having served a jail sentence for the accidental murder of his wife. He was filled with remorse as he choked with guilt over the mishap that had happened primarily due to his addiction to alcohol. But it had virtually wrecked the life of everyone in his life as his two sons faced the brunt of it. His elder son, David (Akshay Kumar) who never forgave his father & cut off ties with his half brother after the demise of his mother was leading a contended life as a teacher with his wife & daughter. But a life threatening cardiac problem for his daughter meant he was squeezed for money & was forced to make some extra bucks through street fights. Monty (Sidharth Malhotra) was Gary's younger son who also made a living through fights & like his father was reliant on booze. It was around this time that Peter Bregenza (Kiran Kumar), a multi millionaire sports enthusiast arranges a MMA competition in the country & as one would expect both brothers enroll in it. But who will emerge victorious & at what cost???

Karan Malhotra is familiar to all of us as the one who had remade "Agneepath" which was quite a decent effort to be frank, Over here, he has taken the plot from the Hollywood movie "Warrior" & added heavy doses of melodrama to the point that it gets nauseating in certain sequences. The first half is interspersed with flash backs to showcase the equation between the father & his sons, while in the second half it had nothing apart from fights. So was it an absolute bore??? Well not exactly, as some sequences like the training sessions & fights were well choreographed. But unless you have a decent story to explain, it gets taxing after a certain time which is what happens here, None of the technical aspects deserves special mention as it was average at best.

Though Karan might have faltered in the script, I felt he has done a credible job with the cast that he has chosen. Akki was an apt choice as a brother who excels in martial arts & he has enacted his role with restraint making sure he didnt go over the top. Sidharth also has done a fine job as Monty & excelled in the fight sequences, though he needs to work on the emotional scenes. Jackie hams it big time in many of the scenes while Shefali Shah rocked in her brief role.

Verdict: It might sound surprising but I actually liked it more than the original but is it worth the time??? Hmm...well I have to say no...coz the script is as predictable as the conduct of our opposition party in Parliament. In all probability, it isn't going to make much of a tremor at the box office & you may as well spent this weekend watching Saina Nehwal's finals!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

2015 has been a terrible year for Hindi cinema. The official remake of the hit Gavin O'Connor film Warrior (2011), Brothers is a solid example to prove that the previous statement is, in fact, true.

An alcoholic martial arts trainer (Shroff) accidentally commits a crime that sees his whole family fall apart, giving rise to a rivalry between his two sons, which is irreverently taken inside a wrestling ring. The revelation that one of the two sons was born out of wedlock was the cause of the crime, and continues as a driving cause of the whole story. Now all grown up, David (Kumar), the elder son, is battling for a better pay as a high school teacher, moonlighting as a fighter, to fend for his daughter's critical disease while Monty (Malhotra), alcoholic junior and chip off the old block, is still not over his decades-long familial issues and does specifically nothing for a living. In an international mixed martial arts championship that blooms out of nowhere, David and Monty fight it out through the tough line- up to end up in a one-on-one finale.

I can disclose anything and everything about the film and no one can accuse me of being a spoilsport, because the title itself blurts it out loud what and how the film's climax is going to roll out. There is a lot of melodrama before things actually start to make sense, and by the time it culminates with a predictable ending, one wonders what the film was really about. Was it about the rivalry? Was it about the blood relation? Was it about fooling the audience? The happenings inside the ring are literally unbelievable and while most films in this genre try to wrap it up sooner, this one here has the whole second act dedicated to it. Although the production design is greatly supportive, the fights happen back-to-back, where these so-called supermen flex few muscles and show like they toil harder than Chilean miners by eventually winning. And they want us to believe that. Arr, not happening.

Shroff acts fine, but is too loud for his dull character. Malhotra looks confused and seems to be thinking about why he chose the project. Kumar looks hungover from playing the notorious vigilante in his previous Bollywood potboiler Gabbar is Back (2015).

BOTTOM LINE: Brothers is a faintly engaging family drama attached with a random sport. Avoid.

VERDICT: 4 stars out of 10. Another remake bites the dust.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Hello All,

Yesterday i watched this movie. Story was predictable and somehow weak.

Jackie shroff comebacks with a super act. The end was also not that great and movie was enjoyable for only 1 hour.

regards,