Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

Story of ALADIN is legendary and the characters of Genie and Jasmine known worldwide. This is why it requires courage for a film maker to set the film in contemporary times and come up with his own take on their relationship. Film maker Sujoy Ghosh does exactly that as he gets his imagination go wild and spins a tale that ends up relating the past, present and future of these characters. No wonder, Amitabh Bachchan turns out to be a true rock star in this VFX filled entertainer which is just the right recipe if one is looking for a family entertainer.

VFX and special effects are in full force with quite some fun in store for the 'bachcha log'. A donkey's head replaces that of Riteish's, his guitar turns into a frog and he is thrown in air either after being turned into a balloon or due to electrocution. The funny antics that follow may not have grown ups rolling with laughter but would surely manage to keep the smiles on.

The real fun begins though in the second half of the film with the kick start of battle between good v/s evil. Sanjay Dutt becomes more prominent on screen, past is unearthed, action and thrills take centre stage and the best of VFX is unveiled. The visuals belong to never-seen-before kinds, especially the ones where Big B is shown repenting about his misdeed followed by lightning taking away his powers. The flashback sequence is extremely well done too while reminding of 'fall in the deep' as evidenced in Hollywood flick JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF EARTH.

Most of the film is shot against a green wall which makes ALADIN quite heavy on VFX and special effects. Sujoy does well in bringing up an imaginary world of 'Khwaish' that gives a visual appeal to the film.