A Gentleman review: An unconventional double role flick with a shocking twist

One glance at the filmography of filmmakers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, jointly known as Raj-DK, will tell you of their inclination towards the unconventional. Their out-of-the-box and witty stamp is also seen in their latest offering, A Gentleman. It might seem like a typical double role film, but it is certainly the most unconventional take on the genre.

A Gentleman directors Raj-DK: We don't have a special interest in double role films

How much goodness does this add to the Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez-starrer? Let's see.

A Gentleman tells two parallel stories. Gaurav (Sidharth Malhotra) works in a tech company in Miami, United States. He lives alone ever since his parents passed away when he was a child. He is the nicest guy you would come across. Gaurav buys a big apartment through sheer hard work. He wants to get married and settle down with his colleague Kavya (Jacqueline Fernandez). She likes him but feels he is too simple and nice.

On the other hand, Gaurav’s lookalike Rishi is a secret agent of the Indian government's special task force. Rishi travels the world. He reports to Colonel (Suniel Shetty), who has taken care of him since he was a child. Rishi is their best agent. But of late, a few incidents have made him think of quitting his job. It is not as easy as he thinks. There comes a moment when Gaurav and Rishi are required to come face-to-face.

After an abrupt and unusual start (the reason for which is revealed later), the film narrates two parallel stories about Gaurav and Rishi. Despite their stories being poles apart, they are joined by the quirkiness of Raj-DK. But the fact remains that it is the story of two identical looking individuals. So, you expect them to become victims of mistaken identities or get involved in some other issue, as we've seen in countless films with double roles before.

But this is where the narrative not only gives you a surprise, but also some shock. The film has the most exciting interval suspense you will see in a long time. You then realise that you were taken for a ride all this while and you don’t mind that at all.

The twist, however, comes with a baggage of logical flaws. But you tend to ignore this for the sake of an exciting plot twist it provided. So, this isn’t a big problem with A Gentleman.

The major issue is that they haven’t managed to exploit this twist in the second half. The post-interval portion is certainly entertaining and some good humour. It then jumps into the tried-and-tested territory, only to become a typical action flick. For a film that was highly unconventional till the first half, this turns out to be quite disappointing.

A Gentleman is quite gentlemanly on the technical front. The camerawork, editing and background score go well for such a quirky, action flick. The visuals of Miami are a treat to the eyes. The tracks ‘Chandralekha’ and ‘Bandook Meri Laila’ go with the nature of the film. ‘Bandook Meri Laila’ could have been used effectively in the background for action scenes.

Malhotra has the right attitude, physique and flexibility needed for such an action flick. When it comes to acting sober as Gaurav, he is not bad. Fernandez isn’t known for her acting skills. Thankfully, she isn’t as bad as she was in some of her recent flicks like A Flying Jatt (2016) and Dishoom (2016).

Darshan Kumar succeeds in getting into the skin of a bad guy. Shetty has limited screen time and he is strictly average. Hussain Dal and Amit Mistry are simply hilarious in their supporting acts. Rajit Kapoor and Supriya Pilgaonkar leave behind an impact despite playing cameos.

Overall, A Gentleman has a terrific first half, but the film doesn’t retain the same goodness in the remaining portion.