Sujoy Ghosh’s extravagant venture, Aladin is set in the beautiful city of Khwaish. Aladin (Riteish Deshmukh) is a college-going orphan who is bullied by Kasim (Sahil Khan) because of his name. Ratna Pathak Shah plays Aladin’s foster mother, Marjina, a lousy cook and café owner.

He falls in love with Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez) who gifts him a lamp on his birthday. For a change, the lamp is real and out pops Genius the Genie (Big B) who grants Aladin three wishes. The Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) also wants the lamp so that he can achieve immortality. He has a troupe of circus freaks: a joker and a fire-breather among others. To become a Genie again, the Ringmaster has to ‘capture the shadow of a comet that is seen once in a million years.’ Thus he battles it out with Genius and Aladin.

Aladin scores on production values. The special effects, be it the multi-coloured frog, Genius’ entry or the scene where Genius convinces Aladin, are top-notch and at par with Hollywood films. The city of Khwaish is picturesque. Though it’s near the China border, it has an Indo-European look and vibe because of its lit-up, cobbled streets and domed structures. The production design is excellent; Riteish’s house is creatively cluttered and the Ancient Thing Store from where Jasmine buys the lamp is very charming and authentic.

Jacqueline Fernandez looks like a princess and her smile is dazzling. She looks particularly sexy in the black cat suit and you wonder how she managed to pull off a traditional dance sequence. It is surprising how all firang actresses sound the same on screen. Jacqueline doesn’t have much to do except smile, flutter her eyelids and laugh at Aladin’s jokes. The chemistry between Riteish and Jacqueline is ice-cold. Their love story is shallow and poorly established, even though it’s long drawn with three songs.

Amitabh Bachchan, as the flamboyant, white and red suit clad Genius, steals the show. His style, ebullience, enthusiasm and panache are par compare. He brightens up the proceedings with his wit and optimism. He even dances better than Jackie and Riteish. Sanjay Dutt oozes star appeal and is super wicked. Sanjay and Big B make the movie tolerable. He makes an impact in his small role making you wish he had more screen time.

Aladin has borrowed elements from several films. The Ringmaster’s troupe is straight out of X Men, one plays with knives, the other with fire while one’s shrill scream will make you deaf. The film is inundated with Amitabh’s famous dialogues and the rest of the dialogues are lackluster. The movie is also reminiscent of Drona and Harry Potter because of its ‘lonely loser orphan’ element. The Ringmaster telling Aladin the truth about his parents’ death as Genius walks in is straight out of Main Hoon Na. Remember Suniel Shetty telling Zayed Khan about his father and step brother when Shah Rukh Khan walks in?

You are least bothered about Aladin’s wishes as Mr. Confused wastes them on all on Jasmine. You hardly empathize with tired-looking Riteish’s portrayal of Aladin. He should stick to comedy. Ratna Pathak Shah is wasted. Sahil Khan is plain repulsive, making you wish he would magically disappear.

The romantic scene between the Ringmaster and his fire-breathing girlfriend makes no sense at all. Ditto for the scene where Genius reveals his identity to Marjina and Jasmine. The climax scene is pretty bizarre where Jasmine transforms into a Karate queen and Aladin rises to the occasion and proves his mettle. You couldn’t be less bothered.

The special effects are polished to perfection but all that does not make a film. You wish that the screenplay should have been more interesting and entertaining. The crucially important elements of joy, adventure and thrill are missing from the film which is why it fails. You aren’t excited about what will happen next. It doesn’t make you want to wish for anything except for the torture to end.

If he wanted to give the classic tale a contemporary twist, Sujoy Ghosh should have set it in Mumbai where the protagonist follows the Law of Attraction (what The Secret is all about) to transform his life. Then his movie could have been a hit.

Avoid this version and watch the delightful Disney version instead. That is what I am going to do - Don’t make this wish!

Janhvi Patel/Hill Road Media