If you were to judge ‘Blue’ on its production values, it would rank right up there with any international film. Despite having a less than gripping screenplay, it does manage to hold your interest as a viewer right up to the end.
The plot revolves around a sunken vessel called ‘Lady in Blue’ which was laden with wealth that was to be returned to India post her independence. The vessel sinks off the coast of the Bahamas and takes down with it the treasure and the reputation of its captain who manages to escape alive. This vessel becomes the only ray of hope for a fisherman Sagar who needs to save his brother Sameer from the mob who expects him to cough up 50 million dollars in exchange for his life. He is however reluctant to do it as the vessel had claimed the life of his father, a master-diver with whom he had attempted this earlier. He is persuaded to go ahead with this nonetheless by his rich boss Aarav. Will he be able to exorcise the ghosts of his past and undertake this mission to save his brother is what the plot tries to uncover.
The story is quite simple but the screenplay strangely loses out on depicting the deep as a dangerous place. There are sharks shown for effect, but nothing is done to build up the tension of diving into them. In fact the passage to the vessel is shown to be rather easy. Anthony D’Souza gives the film a racy feel with top notch over and under water cinematography and slick action work. He could have taken the film several notches higher if he had built on the predatory dangers more. The music and background score are racy with the song ‘Chiggy Wiggy’ and ‘Fiqraana’ leading the way.
No one particularly scores in the acting department. The only character worth noticing is that of the boss Aarav played by Akshay Kumar. He manages showcase a passion for risk taking with a love for the good things in life. Sanjay Dutt as Sagar is out of shape and the effort to conceal his bulging waistline can be seen from camera angles to his wardrobe. Zayed Khan, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif all turn in performances that leave you with nothing much to write home about.
‘Blue’ could have been a better and more gripping film, but can be watched for its technical finesse and passable storyline.