By Subhash K. Jha
Film: “Prince: It’s Showtime”; Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Nandana Sen, Aruna Shields, Neeru Singh, Sanjay Kapoor and Dalip Tahil ; Directed by: Kookie Gulati; Rating: **

Look what the cool cat dragged in! It’s not a bird (though he does fly across the sky). It’s not a plane (though many of those in many shapes and sizes are seen hovering in the film’s spectrally-shot skyline). And it’s definitely not Superman. Though Mr Oberoi wouldn’t mind being one.

Hey guys, it’s our own Vivek Oberoi, playing hard-ball with various girls, gadgets gizmos and gimmicks.

Vivek plays Prince, a James Bond on a mission not quite impossible travelling at a speed faster than sound. Prince has no choice. He has lost all his memory which has been sucked out of him like juice gone through a sugarcane grinder.

To his credit, Oberoi carries off the ceaseless stint with the stunt with arresting aplomb. Most often because of his memory loss we see him wearing a look like he just smelt something foul in the kitchen and isn’t sure if it’s the milk got burnt or his mom’s favourite recipe simmering in a pot.

Oh, there are no weeping moms in the potty plot. Only screeching wheels, high-octane stunts and high-octave songs shot mostly like music videos rather than as integral parts of the story. And then there are the 3 Mayas, each trying to outdo the other in the stunts and the clothes, or lack of them. They all seem to love our hero to death, an entity which lurks in every slick corner of this emotion-less but attractive package of oomph and wallops.

Where, you are not allowed to wonder, is the plot leading to? Why is Prince so hyper about his memory-loss? It will come back to him, like a blast from the past. Quite like the bolt that finally hits the film’s arch villain Sarang (played by someone called Isaiah).

Oberoi’s Prince goes into convulsions of self-doubt.

Be warned. Prince is more the Bourne territory than “Ghajini”. The expertly-executed stunts (Allan Amin, you are the man!) frequently see our hero jumping down high-rise buildings in breathtaking leaps of fate, with the camera (Vishnu Rao) pulling back in respectful awe. Of course our Prince is essentially shock-proof and crease-free. Don’t mind the bruises, scratches, bandages and, yes I forgot, the memory lapse. Prince is invincible!!!

So when was the last time you viewed a film where the heist-happy hero undertakes fifty adventures in museums and banks stealing diamonds and merchandise worth trillions?

John Abraham in “Dhoom”, Hrithik Roshan in “Dhoom 2″, Ajay Devgn in “Cash”?

You get the drift. Just float away in the stylish mumbo-jumbo that debutant director Kookie Gulati serves up with the swaggering flamboyance of an arms-merchant who loves his guns.

“Prince It’s Showtime” wears its super-cool shirt with the slogan ‘Come Watch Me’ with a little bit too much aggression. But if you love popcorn crunching adventure stories watch Vivek Oberoi play the hero.

Oberoi pulls it off. Effectively.