Rating 2.5/5 (5/10)
By Shevaal Singh
Ouch, the TV channels won’t be flattered. Rush, like Ram Gopal Varma’s Rann three years ago, rushes into the cut-throat world of TRP-driven competition among news channels where news, if not discovered is created in the newsroom. So Varma told us in Rann. late director Shamin Desai’s Rush takes us into the supposedly murky chat room politics of news channels where news baron Roger Khanna (Aditya Pancholi ) gets reporters, civilians, politicians and criminals bumped off to make news. Just like that.
But Rush has its adrenaline rushing flashes in the second half when the story picks up energy and moves steadily towards a climax that is not entirely edge-of-the-seat. But certainly the popcorn on your lap is likely to be ignored for a bit, as ambitious crime reporter Sam Grover (Emraan Hashmi) gets sucked into a web of crime created by his over-reaching dangerously-connected boss.
Rush is not the first film about a young ambitious professional losing moral and ethical equilibrium to attain success. Recently, we had Kunal Khemu in Blood Money and Paoli Dam in Hate Story reaping the bitter fruits of their savage harvest. More closely, Rush resembles Goldie Behl’s Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai where Abhishek Bachchan got trapped into a glamorous web of grime by media baron Jackie Shroff.
. In Rush, it’s Neha Dhupia, every bit as suave and chic as Sushmita, playing the media baron’s right-hand woman who gets too close to Emraan for comfort. And yes, they even share a furtive kiss in a long-shot to ensure Emraan’s hardcore following doesn’t commit suicide.
Rush does have its sluggish chunks in the storytelling. But the narrative gathers strength from the basic plot structure where a television journalist is shown to be on the run. Some of the chase sequences are expertly done. And the whole theme of the newsmaker’s descent into compromised journalism makes for some riveting moments.
While many of the characters are sketchy, some like the sharp-shooter (played by Murli Sharma) who befriends our journalist-hero provide the plot with a spicy if not completely pungent propulsion. The entire episode after the murder of Emraan’s journalist-friend Rikin (played by TV actor Alekh) makes for absorbing viewing.
Emraan as the backbone of plot performs decently. He has more speaking lines and less kissing to do here than in all his recent films. Whether the verbosity actually translates into something substantial or not is debatable.
Rush has the bone though not enough meat to make for a juicy fare on the excesses of television journalism. It leaves you wondering what director Shamin Desai would have done with his filmmaking career had he lived.