Sohail Khan directed ‘Freaky Ali’ is a disappointment on many levels. The film had a lot of excitement around it since it was Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s first outing as a commercial hero. We must say that he excels in all the expectations. He performs brilliantly and his supporting cast members are good too. It is the story itself that fails. Sohail Khan as a director cannot offer anything new. His direction and comedy is very ‘Hello Brother’ type. We suggest that you give this movie a try only for the amazing performance of Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, before making the final strike in Freaky Ali, says he will make the final strike with a sixer. And that is exactly what he does—both in and for the film. Sohail Khan’s latest directorial venture brings out an unseen side of the actor we would love to see more. Thankfully, Siddiqui, the actor, soon overcomes the banal storyline and right from the moment he starts his training to become a golfer, we start enjoying his presence. Co-writers Khan and Raj Shaandilya have come up with a modern, fun-filled screenplay that makes the cliched plot not just bearable but enjoyable. As for the performance, Siddiqui proves once again that he is the star when it comes to acting. Seema Biswas, who plays his foster mom, is good but only in parts because she has her own share of over-the-top melodrama. Despite the cliches and melodrama, we found Freaky Ali worth the time and money. From the ‘talented actor’ for the intelligentsia to the common man’s entertainer, Siddiqui is one star we love.

To cast Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead role of a film so out-and-out flashy and illogical (respectably called 'masala' in India) is a novel experiment. Hell, what do critics know, the coup might even work at the box office, but going by the stunned silence in the early morning first show, probably not. Nawaz, who is, frankly, at home playing similar characters in much grounded films with a different cinematic language, does everything possible to add juice to Ali, but Sohail Khan's Freaky Ali, in itself, is so empty within, that it needed a star of much bigger, grander, and freakier charisma to elevate such sub-par material to enjoyable goofiness. In fact, Freaky Ali would have been perfect material for a young Govinda when he was delivering No.1s after No.1s in the '90s. He has played such characters before; where a street-smart bum suddenly becomes rich and famous, all because of his wit.