IBTimes India Rating: 2.5

Sidharth Malhotra very rightly said "Brothers" was "Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham" with mixed martial arts, but what he forgot to add was it's a more dramatised and painful version of it.

David (Akshay Kumar) and Monty Fernandes (Sidharth) are up against each other in the boxing ring, and they prepare themselves for some bone-crunching punches as operatic music wafts in slowly. While one must win to keep his family together, the other has a point to prove.

This is post-intermission.

Honestly, the story leading up to a dank mid-point doesn't deserve any mention as it's only a haphazard montage of how the film's central characters spent their formative years.

What's worth one's time and money is the hard work the actors have put in to achieve the needed physique. Both Akshay and Sidharth are in great shape, but unfortunately the poorly-written script restricts them from exploring the artistry and techniques of an actor.

Director Karan Malhotra isn't out of his "Agneepath" hangover yet and may have thought it was wise to blow an understated story out of proportion. Right from the dialogues (Mandira Shukla) to the overpowering background score, the cogs never settle comfortably into the narrative making it a too-much-to-take kind of an experience.

Sidharth's has done the brooder routine before, and he's quite good at it. So, there wasn't a major drift. Akshay appeared intense but he's better off doing feel-good roles. Jacqueline's just there to shed a few drops of tears, swirl maxi skirts and keep her glossy hair in place while it swishes dramatically in the wind.

In a nutshell, 'Brothers' (2015) isn't as gripping as it was marketed to be. The rivalry between the estranged brothers never takes you anywhere. 

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