CAST: Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao

DIRECTOR: Neeraj Vora

Jobless, hopeless actor Raju steals a superb script from sincere, hardworking writer Shekhar. A film is made. Raju turns into a superstar, Shekhar, a whingeing loser.

Shortkut suffers from director Neeraj Vora’s customary inability to infuse any newness or subtlety into a plot that could easily have gone the other way. It covers roughly the same ground as Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance, minus its craft and skill. Everything is loud and plastic, and the actors all chant their lines at the top of their voices. Akshaye inhabits the same grid as he always has. Love interest Amrita Rao matches him, her unlimited cleavage not making up for limited range. And Arshad is the biggest disappointment, the highlight of his act being a crotch joke, when a champagne cork hits him in the nuts.

He’s been doing a string of low-budget horrors in which he’s been the best thing. Here he has no excuse — this is a big-budget, big banner film, with a fully-fleshed out role. Arshad Warsi, fine actor, RIP?