'Bullett Raja' - Masala Fest Of Guns, Grime, Glory

The soundrack is remarkably authentic, and I don't mean the awful songs. Our cinema, even the most mature variety, still adheres to the radio-play style of dialogue delivery where only one character speaks at one time. Tigmanshu Dhulia allows the words to spill out of his characters as and how they appear natural.

Saif's in full command of the spoken and unspoken language. Here's an actor who can bring gravitas to his character without weighing it down in self-importance. Saif has great support from the ever-reliable Jimmy Shergill. Their bonding is remarkable, and sometimes wickedly over-the-top.

Dhulia's treatment of violence in the hinterland is sharp and constantly tongue-in-cheek. Midway through the mayhem he brings in Vidyut Jammwal (described picturesquely as "Chambal Ka Chowkidar") to bring our scummy hero Raja Misra under control.

Do Jammwal's dexterous kicks succeed in stemming the mayhem? Boy, oh boy, do they! "Bullett Raja" is a subverted comic book adventure. Dhulia goes masala with a bang. And what a bang-bang!

Guns, girls (yes, even an item song by Mahie Gill where she insists she doesn't want to be touched when all her movements suggest quite the opposite), grime and glory come together in a layered tale of corruption, politics and kinetic camaraderie.

The songs brakes the pace. But then you really can't have a formula film without the song breaks.

It takes a politically savvy storyteller of Dhulia's skills to convert the lowest ebb of our politics into an occasion of high drama.

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