Another remake of an old classic hit, unfortunately the new remake is not able to make much of a mark as it lacks the zest and punch of the old. The script of Victoria No 203 is inspired from the old classic version, but the screenplay in the remake is disappointing. The execution too by director Anant Mahadevan is below average. The film does not have much of star power which makes the performances lackluster. The comedy works only in a few scenes, the romantic track does not catch the audiences’ attention at all and finally the thriller parts are ineffective as it does not make the audience sit on the edge of their seat.
Victoria No 203 has been directed by Anant Mahadevan and the screenplay has been done by Sunjiv and Manoj. The film stars Om Puri as Rana, Anupam Kher as Raja, Jimmy Shergill as Jimmy, Sonia Mehra as Sara, Preeti Jhangiani as Devvyani, Kamal Sadanah as Ranjit, Javed Jaffrey as Bobby, Tora as Tora and Rajesh Khera as Karan. The music of the film has been composed by Viju Shah. The film belongs to the comedy/thriller genre of films.
Bobby is a rich business tycoon and he along with his girl Devvyani come across beautiful diamonds worth Rs.300 crores at a party. They immediately want to acquire the beautiful diamonds, but the owner refuses to part with his treasure. So the two decide that the only way to get the diamonds is to steal them. They get in touch with a con artist Ranjit who knows the perfect person to carry out this dangerous heist. Tora is the one for the job and she manages to get it done. But she has her own plans after she gets the precious diamonds. She and her brother plan a double cross, but Ranjit who has hired her learns of the double cross that she is planning. So after she steals the diamonds, he tries to kill her.
But an injured Tora escapes and en route she comes across Victoria No 203, she decides to hide the diamonds in this Victoria. The driver of the Victoria tries to help Tora and takes her to the hospital. But unfortunately he becomes a suspect in Tora’s attempted murder. The driver goes to jail and now his daughter Sara decides to ride the Victoria to make some money so that she can pay her father’s legal court fees to get him out of trouble. Sara rides the Victoria with the precious Rs. 300 crores diamonds in it. One day her passenger, a diamond expert Jimmy comes for a ride and it is love at first sight for him. Two other con artists Raja and Rana who have just come out of jail also get involved in the chase to find the diamonds. Everyone is looking for the diamonds, but nobody knows where they are.
The one event that clearly stands out in the remake version is the actual heist that Tora executes. It looks classy and has been executed with flair. The story and script no doubt still have the punch, but the screenplay is lacking as the comedy is just about average in a few scenes between Anupam and Om Puri , the romantic track between Sonia and Jimmy is a complete bore, and even the thriller parts are not absorbing. The pace of a thriller should also be fast, but the screenplay often drags at a slow pace.
Anant Mahadevan’s execution is plain and uninspiring. None of the sub tracks appeal much. The climax too looks jarred and artificial.
The music is forgetful except for the tracks retained from the old version. The cinematography is also not up to the mark at all times as often the sets look loud and over the top as well as artificial. The dialogues are just fare. Performances are dull, Jimmy Shergill does not get ample scope to perform and his performance does not stand out. Newcomer Sonia turns out to be a disappointment as her performance is not spirited enough. Om Puri does a fine job and Anupam Kher too is average. Javed Jaffrey is average and Preeti gives quite a decent performance. Kamal Sadanah and Tora are again fare.
Overall the film has a readymade masala script, but the screenplay and execution were weak and performances were not up to the mark and hence Victoria No 203 turns out be a below average fare. The publicity for the film too has not been much in the past few weeks and the star power is also not present in the film. At the box-office it may not find much of a mark.
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| Reviewed By: Rachel Fernandes |
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