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.

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.

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.