Agent Vinod: Movie Review: What comes to your mind when you see a handsome brooding man looking dapper and suave in a slim black suit, next fighting with gun-toting Taliban and Russian mafia, and then zipping across one country to another before you can even say “Rasputin” in a bid to save the world? Of course, there is only one name that one can think of. Bond. Yes, this is no other than our desi Bond, Raw Agent, Vinod (sans the cool gadgets and Q).

Actor turned producer, Saif Ali Khan, has left no stones unturned to make this slick spy thriller a commercial success. Shot in beautiful international locales; girls (even a blonde) in skimpy outfits, décolletés and (OMG!) a bikini no less; terrorists and; songs and dance (even a mujra number from Kareena) to woo the public. Movie is very gripping till the interval (I didn’t even take a ‘washroom’ break), but post-interval, the movie loses its agenda and becomes mediocre with the same terrorist formula done to death. Overcrowded with a medley of actors, the film drags after a certain point. Looks like the scriptwriter was underpaid and the editor dozed off on the chopping board. Saif looks athletic and rugged (as a spy should be) and does justice to the role. For Kareena, less said the better.

Still, thumbs up for a nice attempt, Chhote Nawab!