Director: Mudassar Aziz Cast: Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Ammy Virk, Vaani Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu, Aditya Seal, Pragya Jaiswal Where to watch: In theatres Rating: 4 stars A group of friends reunite to attend a wedding and decide to play a game where their phone would no longer be their private property. It would be accessible to everyone present in the room. What follows is a series of revelations and confrontations that make Khel Khel Mein a brilliant example of how to balance a comedy with tearjerking emotional drama.
Khel Khel Mein marks the much-needed return of Akshay Kumar in the comedy genre. Writer-director Mudassar Aziz deserves a lot of appreciation for remaking one of the most remade films, the Italian comedy-drama Perfect Strangers, and yet managing to give it a fresh feel. He also perfectly balances drama and comedy throughout the movie, utilising the ensemble star cast, and not making it an Akki show all the way.
From the first scene, we are taken back to the good old days when Akshay would bring the house down with his witty charm and impressive one-liners. The writing is crisp here, wasting no time in the setup. Rishabh Malik (Akshay Kumar), a plastic surgeon and an expert liar is on the verge of losing his wife Vartika Malik (Vaani Kapoor).
Harpreet Singh (Ammy Virk) plays an entrepreneur, frustrated with his marital life and timid Punjabi wife Harpreet Kaur (Taapsee Pannu). Kabir (Fardeen Khan), the only bachelor from the pack, also deals with an identity cri.