"Amar Akbar & Tony" (Guardian 17/04/15)

Amar Akbar & Tony **

Dir: Atul Malhotra. With: Rez Kempton, Sam Vincenti, Martin Delaney, Karen David. 96 mins. Cert: 15

Atul Malhotra’s slapdash ladcom opportunistically piggybacks on 1978’s much-loved Amitabh Bachchan masala Amar Akbar Anthony. While elements of that film’s characterisation persist into this tale of three Hounslow chancers doing up a restaurant, it hasn’t comparable charm, and suffers from disastrous tonal shifts: in one nightclub loo sequence, we veer from a sniggering Goldie Lookin Chain cameo into a heads-against-porcelain bloodbath. Sunny location work helps West London’s dual carriageways appear more appealing; elsewhere, the relentless bants and tail-chasing suggest Malhotra’s none too ambitiously pursuing the post-pub Dapper Laughs crowd. Sample dialogue: “What about your dinky? Is it feeling kinky?” 

Amar Akbar & Tony opens in selected cinemas from today.