Sukanya Verma

Love story?
Not quite.
Thriller?
Not really.
Action?
Hardly.
Comedy?
Good lord, NO!

What is it, then?

This, readers, is Officer, the latest Friday fare, which doesn't fall in any genre.

Let me explain.

At his friend Gopal Pandey's (Shehzad Khan) insistence, police officer for special protection division, Sagar Chauhan (Sunil Shetty), reluctantly agrees to protect business tycoon Pratap Rai's (Danny Denzongpa) ever-depressed wife Meenal (Raveena Tandon).

The reasons for Meenal needing a bodyguard in the first place are not known.

Officer-turned-agony uncle Sagar gradually brings Meenal out of her gloom. Friendship blooms into love, but the moralistic Sagar chickens out at the last moment, leaving a dejected Meenal to commit suicide.

Crushed with her death and a demotion at work later, Sagar accompanies his caretaker Uncle Lobo (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) to Goa.

Who does he chance to meet?

Meenal?

Incorrect.

Hello! Remember, this is a Hindi film, where the script has ample room for lookalikes.

Exit Meenal.

Enter Pari (Raveena Tandon).

Caught in the midst of the two lookalikes is the utterly confused Sagar.

After a lot of bungling up and unwanted murders, the film finally comes to...

The End. And not a minute too soon.

Officer starts off with promise, but stumbles so badly after interval that not even the stars can salvage it.

Director Naaem Shah, former assistant of ace director Rajiv Rai, seems to be stuck in the 'to be or not to be' mould. What could be a poignant love story between a married woman and a close friend becomes a Scream-style slasher.

Officer was launched after the super success of Mohra, which explains the continuity glitches. Every frame shows Sunil Shetty sporting a different length of hair. Technically, the film has nothing to boast of.

Musically, besides Rajesh Roshan's melodious Na jaane kyoon, no ditty is worth a mention

What is worth talking about, perhaps, are its actors. Sunil Shetty is sincerity personified and Raveena Tandon comes up with a spontaneous performance, besides lighting up the screen with her lively presence.

Sadashiv Amrapurkar, seen after a long gap, manages to raise a few laughs.

As for Danny, he goes through this regime in film after film. This film is no different.

All in all, not paisa vasool.

CREDITS:
Cast: Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Danny Denzongpa, Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Shehzad Khan
Director: Naeem Shah
Producer: F A Films
Music: Rajesh Roshan, Deepak Chaudhary