Nawazuddin Siddiqui is capable of carrying a film on his own shoulders but the film drowns in its own silliness.

The film is like a sixer on a golf field, irrelevant and unnecessary. Even Siddiqui’s brave act can’t save this one.

Despite the cliches and melodrama, we found Freaky Ali worth the time and money. From the ‘talented actor’ for the intelligentsia to the common man’s entertainer, Siddiqui is one star we love.

Even though Nawaz performs well in ‘Freaky Ali’, the film is surely not worth the ticket price. Since Baar Baar Dekho also released this Friday, pick this only if you are an ardent Nawazuddin Siddiqui fan. The film holds no promise of entertaining you throughout.

It’s entirely on the writers and actors to make the proceedings seem crucial or comic. What shows up on screen is plain lazy on their part and it’s painfully dull to watch.

Overall, Freaky Ali inspired by the English film, Happy Gilmore, entertains with its simplicity and raw Indian appeal.

Director Sohail Khan, who shares writing credits too, takes a lot of cinematic liberties. Even in a Utopian state, it is hard to digest street children running amuck golf greens. Or having goondas, double up as caddies. Like they say, this happens only in our desi cinema.

Under the flimsy cover of a sports film, “Freaky Ali” is just another Bollywood ‘good guy versus bad guy’ movie. Every character is a caricature and every plot point already seen in a thousand other films. This one doesn’t quite “putt” it.

Freaky Ali has flashes of fun but could’ve been far funnier. Watch it for Nawaz’s endearing performance.

Freaky Ali misses to be an ace (golf lingo). In the garb of comedy, this is a boring dramedy.

Too bad, as is always with any film from the bhai stable, the film’s makers did not give two hoots about the film’s script, which is why Freaky Ali ended up being two hours of zzzZZZzzzz…

FREAKY ALI kick starts with rib-tickling moments but fails to retain the humorous momentum throughout as it falls prey to predictable plotline and a disappointing second half.

Freaky Ali is a sweet little comedy that’s sure to put a smile on your lips. Nawazuddin’s performance alone is worth the price of the ticket.

Maintaining the consistency of Sohail Khan as a filmmaker that started with the dud HELLO BROTHER in 1999,FREAKY ALI starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a mockery of a comedy in which nothing really comes to a head.

Seeds of discontent and disorientation are sown in uncomfortable alcoves all across the film. The narration moves roughly and restlessly from one episode to another. The editing is abysmally patchy. The performances, barringAsif Basra as Ali’s mentor and caddy, are uneven.

Though it’s called Freaky Ali, Siddiqui’s Ali is the least freaky of all the characters and his performance is the only reason this film is not a complete washout.

Freaky Ali is a dull fare as it lacks novelty. Furthermore, the audience will feel alienated from the drama as it deals with the sport of golf, which is not at all a popular sport among the Indian masses. It will flop at the ticket windows.

It’s a sports underdog movie where Nawazuddin Siddiqui gets to play a man from the wrong side of the tracks to win at a game meant for the idle rich. The story starts out to be great fun, but it becomes so repetitive in the middle that even the jokes are a drag and then dragged down by Bollywoodisation of the story: unsportsmanlike behavior, intervention by the gods, maa ka aashirvaad and big gangster with bigger heart…

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the dark horse of Bollywood. Every time you watch him on screen, he adds a new dimension to his role. From his facial expressiosn to his demeanor, his portrayal of all his roles in is on point. And with Freaky Ali he has proven that he can definitely play all kinds of comical and romantic roles. Amy Jackson and Nawazuddin’s pairing is unique, but it definitely suits the story. Arbaaz Khan was also brilliant and he has managed to make us laugh with his antics. In short, Sohail Khan has made a really good attempt to make his comeback count!

Freaky Ali is a half baked film, due to weak second half and stretched plot. It had all the potential to become a feel good entertainer, but fails to do so half way. More suitable for home viewing.

Though Nawaz is in his top game and there are a few chuckle-worthy moments, Freaky Ali struggles to reach the endpoint with the necessary flair.

To its credit, Freaky Ali never gets sentimental; whenever there’s a potentially heavy-handed situation, it’s defused with a pun. Sometimes one ends up laughing, even if isn’t clear that this is what the filmmaker intended.

The problem is that all the elements exist – romantic angle, the betrayal, the hardship, the setbacks – but they all seem rather perfunctory. None of them get your attention, let alone make it pique. Of course, it is all predictable – that is a given for any underdog story anyway, isn’t it?

There is only so much an ordinary story can stand on its actor’s shoulders. Even if they are as broad as that of Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Technically the film is below average. The direction is below par, and the film struggles to make a point clearly. Freaky Ali is essentially a badly-written film – golf isn’t cricket or boxing to begin with, and despite the director having three hours, he cannot get you connected with the sport.

Freaky Ali is predictable to the core replete with every cliché of a typical sports film that you can possibly think of and, is marked by old fashioned story-telling and over the top, slapstick humour. The added layer is also a done and dusted one, that of a poor man taking to a rich man’s game — golf — and succeeding at it at that.

It’s really not worth paying money to watch Freaky Ali in the theatre. Wait for the world television premiere. And then too, watch only if you are a big fan of Siddiqui’s.

Now this plot could have held a lot of potential, but Sadly the Arbaaz Khan production goes down the spiral and it doesn’t take long for the sense, sensibility and a shred of doubt to go out of the window!

Some of the one-liners land with the same force as Ali’s shots, but the cocktail of wacky humour, sentimental blather and tributes to God, Mom and the Neighbourhood has just too many elements to digest. Nawazuddin Siddiqui lives it up as the hero, churning out punchlines and playing the romantic lead in a creaky fantasy about bridging the gulf between the working class and a rich person’s game.

Watch this film if you want simple entertainment. It may have done-to-death elements (barring the new sport of golf for our cinema), but it is delivered with a lot of soul.