Garv

Director: Puneet Issar
Starring: Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Amrish Puri
Music: Sajid-Wajid and Anu Malik

Casanova of Bollywood is back and back with vengeance. Salman Khan, the heartthrob of millions, is the messiah of law and order in this movie.

While he has been shown on small screen as a culprit for his rash driving, his fan following is least bothered about his off-screen image.

Salman Khan reigned victorious in his last two releases of 2003, namely 'Tere Naam' and 'Baghbaan'. Now, his latest film 'Garv - Pride and Honor' sees light of the day. The film also marks debut of the noted character artiste of Bollywood, Puneet Issar, as a film director.


The film is right combination of machismo and beauty. If Salman Khan is the main crowd puller of this yet another voyage of Cinevista, there are likes of Shilpa Shetty and Akanksha to entertain the masses.

The film has a full band of senior character artistes and Salman donning the Khaki after many years makes it a good opener at the box office.

Last time he wore police uniform in 'Auzaar' and before that there were films like 'Patthar Ke Phool' where he played a cop. 'Garv' also has feels of Salman Khan's real jail experiences.

'Garv' has all that what makes a film catch the curiosity of film goers and seeing the excellent start that the film has taken at the box office, producers Prem Kishan and Sunil Mehta feel happy as their first two films did not make much noise at the box office.

'Garv-Pride and Honor' is the latest film in the trend that Bollywood has seen in plenty this year. Right from 'Khakee' to 'Aan', 'Police Force', 'Dev' and 'Ab Tak Chhappan' the trend has come a full circle with 'Garv'.

Puneet Issar directed 'Garv' too deals with the lives of police officer that have put their family on the sidelines while performing their duties round the clock.

Salman Khan plays Arjun Ranawat who is part of the core team of Mumbai Police, which also has Samar Singh (Amrish Puri) and Haider Ali (Arbaaz Khan).

The trio forms a team that is death to all the bad elements in city and especially the dons from underworld. As is usual, they face a problem.

Arjun and Haider respect Samar like their idol and it is the leadership of tough cop Samar Singh, that these two have become the real backbone of Special Police Team.

The team goes on elimination drive and this causes twisters in the system. Many crowns shake and many heavyweights come under pressure from the dark forces.

The modern days kauravas try to make a chakravyuh for Arjun and this time target is his mother (Farida Jalal) and sweet sister (Akanksha). Arjun can bear anything but anything done to his family is a sin for him and he would do anything to make the life hell for those who have committed this, even if it means crossing the limit of Khaki.

The story progresses with a lot of drama. The action packed foray comes to an end where things gather momentum and happenings look like bursting of a volcano. Shilpa Shetty in between works as a relief for the viewers as she does a better skin show this time than she did with Salman in 'Auzaar'.

'Garv' is truly a baby of its director Puneet Issar. Last time he made headlines was at the shooting of Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Coolie'. It was a blow from him that made Big B almost dead.

Later, he was seen as the baddie in epic 'Mahabharat' where he played Duryodhan. Puneet has emphasized on the action image of Salman Khan that has not been explored fully post-'Baaghi'. In 'Garv', Puneet presents him as a crusader.

A fighter himself, the director in Puneet has presented Salman in some of the best action sequences seen on silver screen in recent times. But he falters in the script.

There is no uniqueness about the story line. Had it been with some unexpected twists and new thoughts, 'Garv' could have been a big grosser of the season.

Puneet Isssar's technique is flawless though the supporting crew has failed in its work. The cinematography in song sequences is below average and even costume selection is not proper.

Songs by Jalees Sherwani impress in pieces. Though two songs composed by Anu Malik try to save the grace, others let down the music part. Marhaba, Marhaba is good.

Among actors, it's truly a Salman film. He is there right from the beginning to the end. The film has flashes of 'Tere Naam' in it.

The scenes where Salman is arrested and what follows after that are the best scenes Salman has given in his recent career. He makes people feel sad about him. Arbaaz and Amrish Puri support him like pillars throughout the film.

But, Shilpa is a major let down. Seniors like Anupam Kher, Mukesh Rishi, Govind Namdeo, and Mohan Joshi save the film a lot. Their presence and chemistry with each other balance very aptly.

Hemant Birje makes a good comeback with this film. On the whole, the film belongs to Salman and it is almost sure that it will make decent business at the box office,

thus making a hat trick of successful films for him 'Tere Naam' and 'Baghbaan' being the other two which were released last year. And, this has happened for the first time in Salman's career of nearly a decade and a half.