Critics rating: 2 stars

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Manoj Bajpayee, Raj Babbar

Direction: Amit Ravindernath Sharma

Produced: Boney Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor, Sunil Lulla, Naresh Agarwal, Sunil Manchanda

Written: Shantanu Srivastava

Genre: Action-Drama

Duration: 157 Mins

The year kick-starts with Tevar and not on the most original premise, since it is a remake of the Telugu film Okkadu. Set in small town Uttar Pradesh,it is a parade grimy gangsters, a damsel in distress, the invincible hero and Manoj Bajpayee’sGajender Singh to anchor the story, giving it some of its best moments.
The action shifts constantly between Mathura and Agra. Radhika (Sonakshi Sinha), the generic heroine resides in Mathura, minding her own business until Gajender spots her in a cycle rickshaw (with Kishore Kumar’s Kora KaagazThaa Mann Mera wafting as a background score).

He tries to convince her to marry him. Gajender, with his own brand of eloquence, taps his heart and says, “Yahaanpeetalkagodam hi nahi, rose garden bhihai.” Unimpressed, Radhika refuses. That begins a game of cat-and-mouse between the lecherous goon and the hapless lead.

Meanwhile, in Tajganj, Agra, Ghanshyam ‘Pintoo’ Shukla (Arjun Kapoor) is the ruffian with a heart of gold. There is a scenewhichgives a nod to him being more than adept at kabaddi, but that is of no consequence eventually. He is a do-gooder who is a nightmare for the neighbourhood hooligans and a boon for the harassed women.Pintooalso claims to be a combination of Rambo, Terminator and Salman Khan, the bombast making you want to roll your eyes.

 

When it comes to putting his money where his mouth is, Pintoo more than delivers. When he sees Gajender dragging Radhikainto his jeep for a forced marriage, Pintoo knocks him out and gets pursued by his henchmen. Embroiled in more trouble than he had intended, it is up to our invulnerable hero to usher the simpering heroine to safety. One does not need to see too many films to know where this is headed.

Tevar begins on a decent note with the free-running hero and some light moments with his family. It is a relief to see the absence of self-referential humour and toilet jokes to move the story along. The exaggerated action and chase sequences work better than in most films for the first half. Some shots make for good visuals, especially the bit where Pintoo and Radhika hide from villainous lackeys in a downpour, under the light of a swinging lamp. There is also funny running gag about Gajender’s pants and a track shot that follows them later.

 

Tevar cruises along nicely till the unnecessary visual extravaganzas we call songs mar the pace and draw the film away from its earthiness. None are particularly memorable, which adds to the monotony. The second half collapses under the weight of clichés and unoriginality.The climactic resolution is long drawn, contributing to the boredom.

Tevar would have been entertaining with a shorter running time and less masala elements thrown in to typecast it. The film does have its moments but will be a fun watch for hardcore fans of either the genre or the actors.