Infusing humor into tense scenes, he gives us a delicious thriller that you don’t want to miss.

Because Hindi cinema doesn’t usually do well with intelligent hide-and-seek games, I didn’t have too much hopes from ‘Special 26’, but the film surprised me. Its flaws are minor; on the “whole, ‘Special 26’ is a gripping, well-made heist film.

Whatever the entertainment value of writer-director Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Special 26’ may be, it glorifies crime to an intolerable extent. Although based loosely on the daring, unsolved heist at Mumbai’s Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri jewellery shop in 1987, the screenplay has far too many loose ends, besides encouraging the thought that crime pays.

Special 26 demands the viewer to suspend disbelief greatly, especially towards the end, but it does so without ever taking him for granted. Pandey ensures the expectation we pinned on him after A Wednesday isn’t misplaced with a simple mantra: Asli power script main hoti hai.

SPECIAL 26 is an intelligently woven, slick and smart period thriller with its subject matter as its USP. It’s sure to get listed as one of the most gripping heist dramas based on real life occurrences. A film that’s sure to win accolades, acclaim and awards. Also, box-office rewards!

Oh yes, Special Chabbis is my second favourite film of 2013 so far.

Special 26 truly special. Not be missed.

Interestingly, this con-job story is not superbly-stylish or stealthily serious. It doesn’t stun you with a social message like Pandey’s ‘A Wednesday’, but it grips, excites and ahh…climaxes too! And no … you can’t fake this one! Catch it for pure cinematic orgasm.

The director has got most of the details right and therefore, despite the incredulous way the gang gets away with their 49 raids, the movie wears a realistic air. It is quite impressive that all the lead actors got their body language right at all times. The cockiness of Wasim Khan contrasts perfectly with the wobbliness of Sharmaji. In that, we must say Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee and Jimmy Sheirgill score above Akshay Kumar.

Though he makes a good thriller, Neeraj Pandey’s direction leaves a few gaps to be filled. He does well with the chor-police story, managing to keep it away from the Hollywood style sleek ones and keeping this much more grounded. But the first half is a long wait and much of the action and chasing happens after the interval. The badly handled and interjected romance and songs are another stain.

In his new film, Pandey is out tormenting the high and mighty who thrive on black money. A nation with growing doubts over its judicial system would lap this up, and Pandey’s Special 26 plays to the galleries while forwarding what he feels should be the right treatment for such enemies of the state.

On the whole, SPECIAL 26 is an intelligently woven, slick and smart period thriller with its subject matter as its USP. It’s sure to get listed as one of the most gripping heist dramas based on real life occurrences. A film that’s sure to win accolades, acclaim and awards. Also, box-office rewards!

Inspired by real-life events. That statement creates a certain blanket effect for a film. Saving it from its own loop holes, because the viewers’ mind keeps harking back to the thought that ‘this really happened’. Special 26 benefits from that statement immensely. On the strength of its actors’ performances and filmmaking technique this film rises above its many narrative loop holes to give you a fairly entertaining experience.

Nevertheless, get set for a delightful ride in SPECIAL 26. The music pounding in the background transcends you to the 80s.

Another share of the film’s success goes to its fabulous performances. Anupam Kher is such a delight to watch when he is not playing ‘daddy’ roles. Jimmy Sheirgill is always in control. Akshay Kumar surprises with his restraint; his mellow over-confidence is the perfect foil to Manoj Bajpai’s mocking belligerence.

With Special 26, Neeraj Pandey has proved his potential to emerge as the voice of the common man. The main highlight of the movie is the common man’s frustration with those who have bent the system to accumulate wealth for themselves, and hence they try to settle the score with them by becoming con men representing authority.

After flexing his muscles in over-the-top action dramas, thrashing countless baddies in single menacing blows and flaunting his super-cop powers, Akshay Kumar shifts gears and opts for a subtle, more intelligent make-over, instead.
And, it works. Stupendously.

Special Chabbis is a perfectly enjoyable film about somewhat remarkable events. The fake-CBI heists of the 1980s could have been a key to a world in which it’s increasingly hard to tell the real from the fake, the original from the copy. This could have been a film about how everyone’s faking it, faking it until it’s real.

There is no doubt this movie is based on a true story. It’s too crafty for a screenwriter’s invention. So are the folks before us on the screen. While you know the basic story, you’re always aware there could be a fine twist at the end. And that is a surprise. Besides that this super-smart movie stars Akshay Kumar.

‘Special 26’ has all the required ingredients to keep a viewer’s attention intact till the very end and trust me this is one film that you won’t regret watching, if you truly liked ‘A Wednesday’. Here’s a pat on Neeraj’s back for exploring a territory of thriller movie making that demands an eye for detail whilst keeping the entertainment values in place.

There are times when, instead of following the film’s narrative, you end up playing ‘spot the mistake’. I did think that making all the kids of Anupam Kher’s family wear clothes off the same yarn was excessive. That happened in the ’50s and ’60s, not so much in the ’80s.

Neeraj Pandey knows his craft. He knows to keep the pace going. He knows to keep you on your toes and surprise you through misdirection. Which is why it’s also a little disconcerting that he compromised by putting the songs in, just to give the film mainstream appeal.