Cast: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Randeep
Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mithun Chakraborty,
Saurabh Shukla
Direction: Sajid Nadiadwala
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2 hours 26 minutes

Story: Shaina loves Devi who loves anything that gives him a kick – what happens when Devi discovers the highs of low crime?

Review: Straight on, Kick is Bollywood biryani, a masala movie spiced with the superstardom of Salman Khan, garnished by charming Jacqueline, smouldered over the wry talent of Randeep Hooda. Kick is not for lovers of fine filmi foie gras, but for those who want a hearty Eid banquet to enjoy. Shy Shaina (Jacqueline) meets eccentric Devi Lal (Salman) who will do anything – including beat up eveteasing “micro-terrorists ki gang” – for a kick.

The couple’s love blossoms in a blaze of golden confetti but withers as Devi is unwilling to hold down boring jobs despite Shaina – who is a “magaz ki doctor” or psychiatrist – pleading. As Devi walks away, even hot Inspector Himanshu (Randeep), who visits Shaina and her diplomat dad (Saurabh Shukla) in Poland, is unable to charm the broken-hearted girl. What happens when an amnesiastruck Devi shows up? And when he mysteriously appears in the super-robbery case Himanshu’s determined to crack? Kick is vintage Salman Khan, the star flipping from fun-loving Devi to dead-serious Devil with goofy, yet deadly grace.

Salman’s clearly having fun here – he drawls, “Meri cat, mujhi pe attack” with creamy cattiness, while in the stiltedly sexy Marjawan featuring Nargis Fakhri, where he’s togged up as a devil, Salman grins sideways, as if he knows just how ridiculous this is.

But if Salman’s getting his kicks, so are the others. Randeep Hooda matches Salman with his restrained, velveteen performance as Inspector Himanshu whose coat, he explains, “isn’t Armani but sarkaari”, while Jacqueline is best-in-lipsticks so far this year, carrying off librarian-hot with grace, her Shaina beautifully elegant – until she throws off her jacket and burns the screen in Jumme ki Raat.

As Shiv Gajra, criminal head of a charitable trust, Nawazuddin tries too hard to be bad. His Faster Fenaylike ‘tock’ and hammy laugh get on your nerves but his role’s sharp and small, restricted to “Pollen-d” and a bank sequence with, well, a shocking end. But shocks aside, Kick has laughs too. A jail sequence involving Devi’s pitaji (Mithun) is LOL-hilarious while there’s unintended comedy too, including animation featuring Salman with a body suspiciously like Hrithik’s and a Polish chase sequence involving a London Kings Cross bus. At times, the plot resembles the bus itself, wobbling madly until the next killer line.