Apne makes for painful, melodramatic watch

THUMBS DOWN: Apne disguises itself as a sports film though it abuses the very spirit of sportsmanship.

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The worst thing about Apne is that it disguises itself as a sports film when actually the film abuses the very spirit of sportsmanship.

I'd have no problems if they'd projected boxing as a highly competitive sport. What they do, instead, is project the sport as some sort of a bloody battleground where rules are constantly flouted and all one fights for is the opponent's blood.

I was also disgusted by the sickening pleasure that's taken in making you uncomfortable watching those boxing scenes.

Every time a punch is thrown, you can hear the bones crunch, you can hear the ribs crack.

This is highly exploitative and it's done with the sole intention of making you turn away your face in disgust like you do when you're watching a gruesome horror film.

Like most recent films by Anil Sharma, Apne too is embarrassingly soppy. The director does everything he can to tug at your heartstrings and make you weep like his actors do.

But the only reason you're reduced to tears is because you can no longer handle the absurdity of the plot.

How Bobby Deol goes from a pop-star with a limp arm to a world boxing champ in just a few months is one of the marvels of modern medicine that doctors the world over may not have been able to solve, but director Anil Sharma seems to have got all figured out.

Some three hours later when the film finally ends, you feel like you've come out of battle. There's very little you can say about the performance of the three Deols, and that's a pity because they've been let down by such a terrible script.

I'm going to go with one out of five and a thumbs down for director Anil Sharma's Apne, it reeks of over-sentimentality and unnecessary rona-dhona.

Round one, the Deols defeat Luca Gracia. Coming up is round two -- the Deols versus Anil Sharma.

Rating: 1 / 5 (Poor)