The Killer Review

A Killer is on the prowl. He is heartless, shameless, fearless, and has a wicked sense of humour. "You drive taxi for living similarly I kill people for a living. A Job is a Job," he says like an astute executive in a high profile firm. This professional rocks! Bhatt Camp is back again in the thick of things after their critically acclaimed and commercially lucrative `Gangster'. This time it is `The Killer' that will establish Irfan Khan as The Most Wanted. Serial Kisser Emraan Hashmi breaks away from the Usual to deliver a surprisingly able foil to the magic of Irfan. This blatant copy of Tom Cruise starrer `Collateral' has a good chance of scoring at the Box Office. The two hour something length and fast paced narrative keeps you engaged. For good.

Nikhil Joshi (Emraan Hashmi) is a cool cab driver in Dubai who falls into the trap of a killer Vikram (Irfan Khan) who hires him for the night (Of course Joshi Ji doesn't know what `job' Vikram has set out to do at night). An ambitious Nikhil impresses `Sir ji' with his expert driving and precision in reaching the chosen destinations. But the moment he comes to know that his passenger is out to kill the witnesses of an underworld don Jabbar (Zakir Hussain) who is implicated in several cases in India, he finds himself in a helpless situation where he doesn't have any option other than complying with the wishes of The Killer.

Now, it's not as if Nikhil doesn't have a life other than ferrying a killer around the night life of Dubai. Prior to his untimely hitch with Vikram, he sang songs in the desert dunes with his fantasy-come-true Ria (Nisha Kothari), a lonely bar dancer with a heart of gold. Some day he wanted to open his own travel agency and also nursed a childish ambition of becoming an Underworld Bhai, maybe someone like Jabbar. Destiny takes him to Jabbar in the most unsavoury circumstances. And he realizes that an underworld don may be a dreaded figure in the eyes of people, but in reality he is devoid of any peace of mind. It's a Hindi film after all so the film takes its own logical course thereafter.

Camaraderie (Or maybe the lack of it) between the two main leads is the highlight of `The Killer'. The Tom and Jerry situations are a plenty. In a game of one-up-manship, both are trying to outdo each other. The one-liners and the counter attacks make for interesting watching.  Irfan Khan as the killer fascinates with his absolute control over the art of acting. The bloody eyes of guilt after the first murder are washed away with an intense speed. With a deft ease he manipulates the weaknesses of the cab driver and keeps a close watch on his emotions.  

Emraan Hashmi as the cab driver Nikhil starts off like a wimp as he belts out `Sir Ji' or `Correct Bola' after every few words. But gradually his eyes show the immense pain he is experiencing after the death of his friend at the petrol pump. The maniacal driving to teach a lesson to the killer is pent-up frustration of a fine actor who hasn't got a dramatic role like this before. Even, the transition from fear to self belief while sitting with Don Jabbar is praiseworthy. Hashmi shines as an actor. Nisha Kothari as the love interest has a miniscule role of displaying ample skin-n-oomph. She looks picturesque in the songs. Her voice is dubbed and as an actress she has limited appeal. Zakir Hussain as Jabbar has a cameo of a role. And his loud mouthed tomfoolery attempting a Gabbar Singh for a split second