Race Reviews

To all appearances, half brothers Ranvir and Rajiv Singh (Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna) are equal partners in Stallions Inc., a world-class horse farm in Durban, South Africa. But in reality, elder brother Ranvir actually runs the business with the help of loyal secretary Sophia (Katrina Kaif) -- who's clearly nursing an unrequited passion for her boss -- while alcoholic wastrel Rajiv just lives the high life. The Singhs both breed thoroughbreds and make book on races; their chief rival is Kabir Anuja (Dilip Tahil), whose theatrical sneering, dirty dealings and extravagant mustache would do Snidely Whiplash proud. But while Ranvir cultivates a suave, law-abiding persona, he's every bit as ruthless as Kabir: After learning that a longtime Stallions employee threw a race at Kabir's behest, Ranvir kills him with a car bomb. And though Stallions Inc. seems like a gold mine, it's in major financial trouble: The ranch property is mortgaged to the hilt, and the company needs a major infusion of cash -- the sooner the better. Meanwhile, Rajiv falls hard for Ranvir's girlfriend, up-and-coming model Sonia (Bipasha Basu): Can fratricide be far behind? In the first of many twists, brotherly devotion trumps romance. When Rajiv declares that he'd stop drinking for Sonia, Ranvir doesn't hesitate to sacrifice his own happiness for Rajiv's well-being: He cunningly alienates Sonia's affections while maneuvering her into Rajiv's arms. But all is not as it seems, and RACE is packed with reversals, revelations, plots and counterplots even before eccentric sleuth Robert D'Costa (Anil Kapoor) and his sidekick, Mini (Sameera Reddy) -- who may or may not be as dumb as she appears -- arrive to further complicate the question of who's zooming who. The film opens with a terrific action sequence that culminates in a stunning car crash, then squanders the next 20 minutes on a series of flashbacks introducing the four leads, complete with a horribly mispitched voice-over better suited to a light caper film than a complex tale of greed, deceit, jealousy, betrayal and revenge. But once the head games commence in earnest, RACE settles into its sun-splashed neo-noir groove. It's sleek, glossy, utterly preposterous and surprisingly steamy for a mainstream Indian film: Ranvir and Sonia's roll in the hay (literally -- they're in a stable) would be racy without Rajiv watching via closed-circuit camera, and Sophia's big musical number, "Zara Zara Touch Me" lives up to its insinuations. (In subtitled Hindi and English)