Movie Review Analysis of The Xpose.

{tabs Himesh – The actor}

Himesh looks fit as a fiddle with the weight loss to enact the part of Ravi Kumar who is an ex cop turned superstar with a no nonsense no mess attitude. His impressive entry sets the tone and gets the film rolling. His one liner dialogues are the ones to watch out for, which are well capable of evoking ceetis [something that is synonymous with Salman starrers]. He delivers a stellar self assured bravura performance. If he beefs his body to make it a bit muscular, he could be apt for action starrers with this kind of attitude and dialoguebaazi.

Going with Ravi Kumar’s personality, it suits him to be reserved type and not to be expressive and propose blatantly. When Ravi Kumar falls in love with Chandni at first sight when he saves her from the fire, and Chandni writes a letter to him saying how to thank, he says ‘kuch cheezein insaniyaat ke naate ki jaati hain…tum mujhe apna dost keh sakti ho’. He gives her some indirect feelers, but loves her unconditionally in his heart. This goes well with his portrayed character.

Ravi Kumar ka istyle anokha hai...bachpan mein jab cigarette pee thi, toh pitaji ne maara tha...lekin unhone cigarette peeni chor di, lekin cigarette ka saath nahi chora...he holds a cigarette in his hand, but never lights it up...whatte style.

Himesh has delivered his one liners better than any other actor [the others that come to mind are Salman in Dabangg n Akshay in Rowdy Rathore]...i mean, one liners never sounded that great from any other actor, except these 3...n Himesh is right up there in this aspect, n credit goes to him in the way n manner he has delivered them i.e. the tone n the authoritative voice is where the impact is generated from. Himesh has already worked his way to a 'fit as a fiddle' lean look, it is a feeling that if Himesh works to slightly build his physique n stars in an Action Thriller oriented film n delivers such massy one liners with a punch in a role of a no nonsense cop...it could suit n work wonders.

{tabs Zoya and Sonali}

They look glamorous and do a fine job, especially their intro scenes of their respective films in their sassy avatars with oomph factor i.e. the beach scene and Ujjwal Nirmal scene, that does justice to the theme and title of the film i.e. The Xpose. They are confident and enact the cat fight scene with believability. Zoya wears lovely gorgeous dresses.

{tabs Support Star Cast}

All do a competent job.

> Bobby Chadda looks the part and provides some hilarious moments with the riffs with Ravi Kumar.

> The police inspector looks natural, authoritative and convincing.

> Honey Singh is adorable with his antics.

> Ananth Mahadevan gives himself good screen time, and is standout in few scenes especially when he has cough attacks due to stress related issue during stressful situations.

{tabs Narration}

Irfan Khan appears in a cameo and he is the anchor of the film. Unki thehraav bhari narration film mein chaar chand laga deti hai and opens, holds up, binds and wraps up the film well. His styling and attire is great.

{tabs Comedy / Humor Scenes}

There are more hilarious situations and instances than expected, that provide a laugh.

> Ravi Kumar’s entry scene when the neta urges him to come and lick his foot, and all the instigation by him.

> The shot scene when Ravi Kumar and another actor says ‘mujh mein akal hai aur tujh mein taaqat’ and Ravi Kumar changes the dialogue.

> The dialogue when Ravi Kumar tells Bobby Chadda that ‘fan se latka ke latu bana dunga’ and ‘tere shareer mein itna khoon nahi hai jitna Ravi Kumar ek baar mein moot deta hai’ after which Bobby Chadda keeps the phone down. When Ravi Kumar throws Bobby Chadda down the stairs.

> When Honey Singh (KD) sings the same tune with different lyrics to different producers, and when he is with Sonali, he is two timing his wife and says ‘us budiya koh pata bhi nahi chalega’.

{tab Songs}

Songs are a plus point and well placed.
 
{tab Conclusion}

Given the budget constraint, it is a well made and well shot film as far as aesthetic s and overall look is concerned. It is made with earnsty, sincerety and dedication. The DOP captures the ambience of the 60’s era well. The first part is the intro of characters and their relationships, interactions and associations with each other and the episodes build up the doubts in terms of who the suspects could be, whereas the second part focuses on the murder mystery and suspects.

While watching the first part, the viewer gets absorbed and taken into that aura and zone. The viewer becomes more of a witness and finds himself/herself engaged in the dramatic proceedings. The screenplay is a bit scattered and unpredictable in first part, which actually is a plus point as viewer is unsure what to expect next and has to keep vigilant to remain hooked with the going-ons. The screenplay and murder mystery plot in the second half could have been more tight to make the suspense greater but still the swiftness and unpredictability of proceedings keep the viewer curious enough and glued on until the culmination.

The film’s compact run time duration is perfect. Dialogues are the high point, with some witty ones and great one liners. Also, the scattered and haphazard nature of screenplay that has flash backs, works to the film’s advantage, because it forces the viewer to interpret n catch up with what is going on back n forth. One of the objective of a suspense thriller is to create a sense of abstract situations that gives viewer less time to think and more wit to interpret, which the film succeeds in doing.

Overall, it is more of a suspense drama than a mystery thriller, and is an engaging and absorbing watch with more humor than expected. It is not a typical masala entertainer [like Salman starrers, with all the fights between hero n villain], or comic entertainer [like Rohit Shetty films, with array of funny cooked up gags], but it surely is a ‘vintage entertainer’ in the old school larger than life way.

Himesh showcases his multitasking skills and abilities once again, by penning the story and being a package of composer, singer n actor. He also shows his prowress as a producer as the film boasts of great production values within limited budget constrains. After the lavish Khiladi 786, he has adapted quickly in his second outing and become a smart n well informed producer in terms of planning n managing resources to their full efficiency and elimination of wastage n redundancy. It is not an endeavour to oppose why grand films should not be made lavishly, but an example that how a quality product can be made within a given budget. Ananth Madadevan showcases yet again why he is an ace in the 'thriller suspense mystery' genre, and this film only adds weightage n more credibility to his past testimony [re films in this genre]. It is a good association between the two, as they share rapport from way back in 2004 with Himesh being the composer for Dil Mange More, and giving a superhit score for Aksar in 2006.