Khel Khel Mein Movie Review: When the trailer for Mudassar Aziz's Khel Khel Mein was released, I had a discussion with a friend who, like me, had seen its original, the 2016 Italian film Perfect Strangers. We tried to predict how the Bollywood remake would turn out. After much deliberation, we agreed on five points: 1. There would be an unwanted focus on Akshay Kumar's roguish, playboy nature. 2. Khel Khel Mein would assume the audience is dumb and spoon-feeds everything to them through flashbacks and an extended prologue. 3. In trying to amp up the comedy, Khel Khel Mein would struggle to attain a tonal balance. 4. It would aim for a 'compromised' happy ending, unlike the thoughtful, unconventional finale of the original. 5. Akshay Kumar would deliver a 'heartfelt' speech about the importance of love and marriage. Guess what? Now that I have seen the movie, we were spot on - five out of five! ‘Stree 2′, ’Khel Khel Mein’, ‘Vedaa’ Advance Booking: Shraddha Kapoor’s Horror Comedy Leads, Akshay Kumar and John Abraham’s Films Sells 6,700 Tickets Combined.

Khel Khel Mein revolves around three couples and their single friend who arrive in Jaipur to attend the ultra-rich wedding of an acquaintance. One of the couples is Rishabh (Akshay Kumar), a flirty plastic surgeon with a teenage daughter, and Vartika (Vaani Kapoor), his younger second wife, who is also an author (it is Vartika's brother's wedding they are attending). The second couple is Harpreet (Ammy Virk), a controlling, perpetually frustrated car dealer, and Happy (Taapsee Pannu), a reels-obsessed housewife whose marriage is on the rocks because they are childless. The third couple is Samar (Aditya Seal) and Naina (Pragya Jaiswal), a rich heiress. The single friend is Kabir (Fardeen Khan), who was supposed to bring his girlfriend but didn't.

Watch the Trailer of 'Khel Khel Mein':

While the friends are relaxing in the hotel suite of Kabir and Vartika, they discuss the separation of another couple due to the husband's affair. When the debate turns to how nearly every person keeps secrets from their partners, Vartika proposes a game: everyone present should keep their phones on the table unlocked. Any call would be answered on speaker, and every message and email received during the night would be read aloud without exception. Although not everyone agrees to the plan, especially the men, they eventually have to play the game, as refusing would suggest they have something to hide. Unfortunately, they all do have secrets to hide, and over the course of that night, these are revealed to the shock of everyone present.

Frankly, I was more shocked that not a single person received a spam message or call. Are they not living in India?

'Khel Khel Mein' Movie Review - A Remake That Loses The Sting

I loved the original Italian film and have watched its Korean remake (Intimate Strangers) and its two Malayalam adaptations (12th Man—partly—and 1001 Nunakal). It is unrealistic to expect an exact remake in Khel Khel Mein and that's also not right; though, as always, this remake works best when it sticks to the original. Unfortunately, it is the numerous padding and cosmetic changes that bring Khel Khel Mein down. As I always say about remakes, if you cannot improve upon the original despite having a blueprint, at least don't let it down. ‘Khel Khel Mein’: Know All About ‘Perfect Strangers’, Guinness Record-Holding Italian Movie That Inspired Akshay Kumar’s Comedy and How To Watch It Online.

A Still From Khel Khel Mein

From the beginning itself, Khel Khel Mein had difficulty keeping itself steady. The first half is all about setting up the main characters and their marital troubles in a light-hearted manner. The comedy, however, is quite lowbrow, forced, and stretched, with sexist jokes thrown all over the place. Khel Khel Mein improves when the 'game' begins, and the voice cameos (Ananya Panday, Bhumi Pednekar, Jimmy Sheirgill, etc.) add a small podium of interest to the proceedings. If you haven't watched the original or any of the other remakes, you might be surprised by some of the revelations. If you have, look somewhere else but here.

'Khel Khel Mein' Movie Review - The Changes That Don't Work

While Khel Khel Mein borrows heavily from Perfect Strangers, there are plenty of plot changes. For example, Akshay's character in the original was perhaps the only decent bloke in the ensemble, but here, he is portrayed as a flirt who has his own secret (though it amounts to nothing much when revealed). The mother-in-law troubles of a couple are turned into infertility issues, which wasn't a bad change and allowed Taapsee Pannu to get a good emotional scene to perform. However, there are places where Khel Khel Mein feels too safe when it comes to the 'secrets' and how they affect the characters as if it doesn't want to anger its Indian audience, even if the sting of the original screenplay is lost in the process.

A Still From Khel Khel Mein

Mudassar Aziz's film falters the most in setting the tone. The original was a comedy, just not a laugh-out-loud one. Yet it did make me chuckle hard when it wanted me to, like the scene where a philandering character switches phones with his friend and has to deal with the unexpected repercussions of the switch-up. The remake borrows the same scene, which was funny at first until it became loud and insensitive.

'Khel Khel Mein' Movie Review - The Uneven Tonality and Performances

Coming back, Khel Khel Mein struggles to find the balance between comedy and drama and then gives up on it completely. When Happy breaks down over her emotional frailties in a well-performed scene, what follows is a comic misunderstanding that undermines the effect of the previous moment. Some of the humour goes way beyond the belt - it felt tasteless, like the scene where Akshay compares female body parts with vegetables. The climax even takes a small 'Priyadarshan' turn that isn't as amusing as intended. In the end, you have no affinity for these characters; you feel the same about them as you did at the beginning—no growth, no connection, and no care for their forced 'happy' endings.

A Still From Khel Khel Mein

As for the performances, Akshay Kumar seems more in his comfort zone here with the comedy, delivering the one-liners well, but there are scenes where I felt I had seen him repeat this act before, like the scene where he had to explain a scandalous email. Vaani Kapoor, Pragya Jaiswal, and Aditya Seal do their parts as much justice as the poor writing around their characters allows them to. Taapsee Pannu is effective in her emotional outburst scene. Ammy Virk raises some hilarity with his expressions during the 'misunderstanding' scene. Fardeen Khan, in his big-screen comeback, is effectively subdued, but his dialogue delivery still feels stilted in some places.

'Khel Khel Mein' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

Khel Khel Mein is a prime example of a film that misses the mark by a mile despite having a successful template to draw from. While it manages to entertain sporadically with its borrowed plot and the performances, the movie stumbles with unnecessary embellishments, forced humour, and a lack of emotional depth. If you're unfamiliar with Perfect Strangers, you might find some merit in the remake's twists and turns. However, for those who have seen the original, Khel Khel Mein serves as a reminder that not all dinner-table games are worth remaking, especially when the end result involves a soulless comedy with no acquired smartness.

Rating:1.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 15, 2024 10:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).