The flick revolves around the protagonist Arjun Kapoor (Arjun Rampal), the lawyer who fights for criminals. An incident in his life forces him to retrospect, making him take a breather from work. Luck has it and he chances upon a dead lawyer’s manuscript. He seizes the opportunity and publishes the manuscript in his name, in turn winning acclaim for someone else’s piece of work. But little does he know that the turn of events might turn the tide against him. The manuscript gives a clever cop Yash Deshmukh (Sunny Deol) a reason to dig further, where he discovers an ugly truth about the author that sets the plot simmering with intrigue. The chase begins with Sunny’s attempt to frame Arjun for murder, with Arjun gasping to prove his innocence. What does life behold for Arjun? How can he prove himself not guilty?

Though Fox starts on a high-note and you feel it could keep up the pulse, disappointment awaits. As the story continues, the plot struggles to keep pace. It has multiple layers, each in turn adding to the confusion. Though Deepak Tijori seemed to have had an honest take in mind, the film falls slightly flat, with its Plane-Jane treatment. The screenplay lacks punch, with a dull climax to add to it.

The cinematography at times is highly impressive, however, at other instances takes your attention away from the story. The background music is strictly ok, the fact being that a thriller requires much more absorbing tunes. Talking about music, the songs seem to interrupt the narrative, rather than take the film forward.

What keeps alive is Arjun, who has given a scintillating performance. The only limiting factor is the script that could have given his character more width. Sunny Deol seen after a long time, is as impressive as always. Sagarika Ghtage continues her magical spell, impressing the audience with her histrionics, while Udita Goswani is more ornamental than vocal.

To sum it all, Tijori makes a decent attempt, but the filmmaker in him is yet to arrive. Maybe a film away, or maybe a long wait is still ahead. Tijori has in the past made duds and he isn’t a much eagerly awaited filmmaker. This film was his chance to redeem himself of his previous turkeys but how can you even hope for audiences to turn into a cinema screen by naming your film Fox with Sunny paaji in it? The last time Sunny Deol tried to act fox-fresh in the titular titled The Man, we knew just which man to avoid; he in his weird get-up playing cat and mouse with cross-border intelligence networks.

I say, ‘Hey let’s go see the new Sunny paaji film,’ and you ask, ‘What’s the name?” I say ‘Fox’. Howl at the moon moment, wolfishly.

Though Fox is not totally avoidable, watch the flick at your own risk. What might work in favour of the Fox is that no other bigger film is up for a simultaneous release, which may be good news for Tijori!

Sameer Dagga