‘Race 3’ Screen-time Not Story Is The Focus

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If meme makers had a field day with Daisy Shah’s “our business is our business” line, they should know this was merely the tip of the iceberg. Remo D’Souza’s “Race 3” is a minefield of meme-worthy moments, replete with hilarious dialogue, a plot ripe for parody and abysmal acting.

With no connection to the first two films of the “Race” franchise, helmed by director duo Abbas-Mustan, “Race 3” borrows only the title and a penchant for improbable plot twists from its previous namesakes. For all their faults, at least you could credit Abbas-Mustan with keeping things interesting.

D’Souza and writer Shiraz Ahmed, on the other hand, put the audience in danger of falling into a deep stupor, thanks to the singularly uninteresting plot.

The film starts with arms dealer Shamsher (Anil Kapoor) and his extensive empire, which he runs with help from his nephew Sikander (Salman Khan) and henchman Yash (Bobby Deol). Shamsher’s children – Suraj (Saqib Saleem) and Sanjana (Daisy Shah) – mostly party their lives away, only snappingto attention when they hear their mother has left a chunk of their inheritance to cousin Sikander.

There is a simultaneous plot about a sex scandal involving India’s top politicians and a mysterious hard disk that contains all the evidence. Not that it matters, because the story is hardly the focus here. D’Souza’s sole aim seems to be to make sure everyone has enough screen time and that his hero comes off looking good.

Salman Khan, for his part, is around just for effect. Forget acting, he doesn’t even seem to have his heart in the action scenes, which are tepid at best. Perhaps he’s put all the effort in writing lyrics for his film, which has gems like “lee hai booze humne slight. Sab kuch lag raha hai bright” (I’ve had some alcohol. And everything seems bright).

The brilliance of the lyrics is eclipsed only by the dialogue, and the acting talent on display. When put together, the results are hilarious. At one point, Daisy Shah’s character says, in all seriousness “isse dil nahi, Dell khol ke dikhao” (Don’t open your heart, open the Dell (laptop) and show him).

In the face of such creativity, there really is nothing more you can say. Or at least that’s what you think, when the end credits are about to roll and a “Race 4” is suggested, you feel obliged to voice a word of protest. This race has reached its finish line with this film.