Novel take on the Robin Hood tale
MOVIE REVIEW: Crew
CAST: Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon, Diljit Dosanjh and Kapil Sharma DIRECTOR: Rajesh A Krishnan RATING: 7/10
IF YOU look at the poster of the movie Crew with Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon in their designer airline hostess outfits, you know immediately that this is the crew of the title.
The three, playing struggling middleclass workers who have not been paid their salaries for six months because they work for an embattled private airline, are cast as Geeta Sethi, Jasmine Kohli and Divya Rana respectively.
Crew is a novel take on the classic Robin Hood tale of someone stealing from the rich to aid the poor, and in the case of this trio to help themselves as well.
Geeta and her jobless husband (Kapil Sharma) dream of starting up a restaurant in Goa. Jasmine has been raised by her aged maternal grandfather (Kulbhushan Kharbhanda), and has ambitions of launching her own cosmetics company.
Divya, despite being a trained pilot, has to settle for a job as an air hostess because others with better contacts and wallets get the top flying job in a difficult environment. But each time Divya returns home, she walks in wearing a pilot’s uniform, conning her proud parents for a long time.
In their desperation, the trio get involved with the gold smuggling activities of their boss and start making a fortune on the side. However, their sudden extravagant splurges on fashion, clubs, drinking bouts and cars catch the eye of someone who tips off the authorities about their activities.
Customs officer Jaiveer Singh (Diljit Dosanjh), who is tasked with nabbing the three smugglers, is Divya’s old flame and is sidelined in his investigations by this, even unwittingly aiding in their release because of a lack of evidence.
The girls, though, don’t want to end it there. Using their skills and experience as air hostesses, they hatch a plan to catch the bigwig in an Arab state where he has all the gold stashed as his spoilt brat daughter’s wedding is under way.
That is when the plot takes a downhill turn in the second half of the film as the trio’s attempts keep getting thwarted, though they are entertaining. Director Rajesh A Krishnan gets a bit sidetracked by some of these improbable scenes, although they do lend themselves to some comedy bordering on slapstick.
Do they succeed? You’ll have to watch Crew to see if the crew can pull it off. Look out also for a delightful performance as unrelenting customs officer Mala by Trupti Khamkar.