Any one seen the Deol Family portrait 'Apne'?

I was really bored on Sunday afternoon and when I saw Apne in the TV listings I thought why not? The movie had got some favorable reviews in the media and I thought why not watch the Deol Parivaar all muscle their way through several dozen goonda's. I has also wanted to watch it on the big screen but was not able to catch it at all. That's why the fact that it was being screened on a Sunday (I don't get off my ass on a Sunday) was apt for me.

Though I was expecting a really well made movie (it was a moderate success after all) I was not all that excited by it eventually. The movie is in fact your typical Deol smash-pound-crush bones movie after all. There were a bit realistic parts like a disgraced boxer father (tainted by a doping scandal), his rough relations with the elder sibling who takes off to try his hand at business and his partly injured/crippled younger son. Though there was a lot of promise in the plot, a disgraced boxer - Dharmendra, trying to redeem his honour and pride by coaching a young tyro (Aryan Vaid) and counting on him to wipe the blot on his career. The young boxer takes off (for a foreign coach) and this shatters Dharmendra. His younger son Bobby, cannot bear this fathers anguish and he takes up boxing while at the same time doing hand strengthening his weak left arm. Here it could have been a simple rise to glory and fame movie and would have worked well. But how can we give more prominence to the elder Deol, Sunny who is also the acknowledged action star? This dilemna caused the writers (director/ producers???) to create a twist. As expected Bobby beats the defector, Aryan and heads for the World Boxing championship in the US, and there as expected makes great progress. He reaches the final - and the right to challenge the defending champ - a Garcia dude. Here instead of teh gyts and glory ending they make Garcia cheat and beat Bobby (when he was on is way to victory) and this causes Bade Bhaiyaa Sunny to snort and bristle as only he can (it is getting a bit tedious...sigh). He then challenges Garcia to a bout to prove that he cheated and beat his brother. And you can guess the ending. The brothers unite, so does the dad and the family is all one unit, and Sunny beats the crap out of the World Champion Garcia. yeah, with a circular swing of the arm which is patented by Suneil Shetty. Yeah, less punches, jabs, uppercuts, rigt hooks - more of amassive swing that resembles a drunk gorilla trying to swat at flies.

Anyway, Sunny Bhaiyya wins and all is hunky dory again. The Choudhary family comes back to motherland with their heads held high - AND all the Deols getting ample screen space. Isn't that the objective of the movie. Yeah, and since this movie was/is considered a hit, it means a hit for Sunny and Bobby after ages. Better cinema guys, better cinema. Stars? I would say 2/5 for Apne. That because three of them are in a movie for the first time.

Biggies coming up next are Krazzy 4, Bhoothnath and Race. They are have big stars or are from big banners. Will be an interesting slugfest.