How will you react if best of on-screen buddies are locking horns in a comical thriller? It may sound dramatic at once but it promises to be another fun ride with doses of romance, action and whodunit. The unforgettable pair of "Munnabhai" (Sanjay Dutt) and "Circuit" (Arshad Warsi) makes second big appearance after the colossal success of 'Munnabhai M.B.B.S'. In this second outing, it's Arshad Warsi who plays lead role of the protagonist whereas Bollywood's bad boy Sanjay Dutt is out there in guest appearance. It may disappoint Sanjay Dutt fans as promos of the film promise him to be the lead player.

Arshad Warsi may have tough time as lead actor with string of flops but has succeeded as co-artiste and with recent success of 'Golmaal'. He seems to be hot property in the business. 'Anthony Kaun Hai?' is not a sequel to 'Munnabhai M.B.B.S' but a stylish comical action adventure of mistaken identities. As they say bad habits die-hard, once again you will view an inspirational lift from Hollywood that has been mixed and matched to "desi" style and taste. In terms of comical quotient the film scores lower than the successful slapstick entertainers of this year ('Maalamal Weekly', 'Phir Hera Pheri', 'Golmaal'). So, if you have an eager anticipation of mindless comical coaster ride then you would be disappointed.

Raj Kaushal directed 'Anthony Kaun Hai?' is highly inspired from Hollywood comical thriller 'Who is Cletis Tout?' (2001). Hollywood's 'Who is Cletis Tout?' is about an escaped convict (Michael Slater) who assumes the identity of deceased man named Cletis Tout. He soon discovers that someone has ordered Cletis to be killed so he runs away from the police and underworld hit-man (Tim Allen). Arshad Warsi dons the lead character of escaped convict "Champ" alias "Anthony" whereas Sanjay Dutt plays "Master Madan", the dreaded hit-man.

It's not only the storyline but also the title that seems to be highly inspired from the original work. This film was earlier titled 'One night in Bangkok' but finally 'Anthony Kaun Hai?' was coined. Ironically, the film releases a week before the sequel of 'Munnabhai M.B.B.S' ('Lage Rao Munnabhai') and rates higher in terms of face value than its arch rivals 'Shaadi Karke Phus Gaya Yaar' and 'Darwaza Bandh Rakho'.

The story of the film is unfolded through the conversation of Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi. The film unravels through many plots and sub-plots with one big question - "Anthony Kaun Hai?" (Who is Anthony?). 'Anthony Kaun Hai' opens up in the crowded boxing ring of Bangkok where the dangerous hit-man Master Madan (Sanjay Dutt) confronts a bunch of gangsters.

He gets the job to physically eliminate "Anthony Gonsalves" residing in "Omni" hotel. He dashes into the hotel and bashes up Anthony mercilessly. The game of mistaken identities builds up as Anthony alias Champ (Arshad Warsi) pleads for mercy and narrates his story. Master Madan is hardcore Bollywood fan and relies on the Champ story. The story flashbacks and travels through the misfortune of Raghu (Raghubhir Yadav), magician-turned-conman. It was during this story that the mystery of the priceless diamonds is disclosed. At first it irritates Madan but as story gets linked up with Champ's life it gets spicier.

Champ has blasphemous past of famous conman and has been linked up with all types of forgery acts. He has love interest Rosa (Anushka Dandekar) but misfortune separates them. Champ befriends all the imprisoned persons in the jail and it was during this time that he befriends Raghu. Champ bribes jailor and helps Raghu to be free from the prison. In order to terminate Anthony, Raghu gets killed and is survived by his beautiful daughter Jiya (Minisha Lamba). She is the only person who has the correct information about the place where diamonds are hidden. Unfortunately, the place where they are buried is now a garden in the prison. Champ plots a plan to dig out the diamonds and Jiya helps him in this mission. Doctor Ashwani (Ravi Baswani) helps Champ to have fake identity. Inspector Suraj Singh (Gulshan Grover), a disciplined police officer, inquires about Champ. It was during this investigation that the truth is revealed about Anthony. The film works on different tracks where the identity of Anthony is unveiled. Anthony (face hidden throughout the film) is resourceful journalist who blackmails wealthy rich brat Lucky Sharma (Chetan Hansraj) for killing bar dancer (Naina Dhariwal). The film ends in the contemporary Bollywood style where everything ends well.

'Anthony Kaun Hai' works well but in bits and parts. Arshad Warsi impresses in a big way as the film is shouldered on his performance. The first half has him with long hair and French beard romancing beach babe (Anushka Dandekar). The perfect comical timing makes him perfect choice for the film but his lack of good screen presence slackens the prospects of the film. An average movie buff expects it to be Sanjay Dutt starrer but will be disappointed to find him in guest appearance. After the surprise success of 'Yahaan' and the recent success of 'Corporate', svelte and tender Minisha Lamba impresses in a big way. The actress has control over her emotions and works mechanically with the proceedings of the film. The final airport sequence is worth watching and shows promise in song like 'Because I love you" and "Tune Mera Chain". Sanjay Dutt lives up to his status of being a reliable actor and entertainer throughout the film. He entertains by punching witty one-liners that add up to the comical quotient of the film. Anusha Dandekar reveals her physical assets and fits into the character well. Ravi Baswani who returns to the commercial mainstream after almost a decade has been impressive. Gulshan Grover and Chetan Hansraj short-lived characters are tailor made for the situations.

Director Raj Kaushal who has earlier directed films like 'Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi' and 'Shadi Ka Laddoo' has taken a giant leap with this film. After having tasted average success in teenage love story ('Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi') and comical melodrama ('Shaadi Ka Laddoo') he changes gear and shifts into a different genre. 'Anthony Kaun Hai' is contemporary multiplex entertainer with all ingredients to attract urban audiences. Soumik Sen's different style of story narration is "innovative" but irritating at many places.

The autobiographical story is depicted as flashback and flash-forwards at many places to confuse viewers. Hemant Chaturvedi's cinematography has been brilliant in capturing sensuous beach locations of Thailand. The soundtrack "Tune Mera Chain" and "Bhangra Paa Lee" shows the natural richness of Krabi (Thailand). Pony Verma and Remo's choreography is apt for the situations. Himesh Reshammiya, wonder man with a lucky cap, delivers couple of foot-tapping numbers. The low promotion and low media hype has definitely decimated the musical strengths of the film. The wrong placing of numbers ("No way" and "Jabse Tumko Dekha") and forced numbers ("Lets Rock" and "Bhangra Paale") retard the pace of the film.

The film will open to above average collections in the multiplexes but won't last long at the box-office. The film can be termed as "average entertainer" and has no ground breaking formula to create history or success at the box ffice. The film enjoys the status of being the biggest release this week but will face heavy competition next week with the release of eagerly awaited 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' and 'Lage Raho Munnabhai'.