Agneepath
Director : Karan Malhotra
Cast : Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Om Puri, Zareena Wahab
Music : Ajay Atul
MY RATING : 6.7/10
REFLECTIONS
Filled with over the top expectations
and a promise to fulfil, had I set out on a sunny thursday afternoon
to watch the much awaited Karan Johar's Agneepath in the cultural
capital of Kerala- Thrissur. After walking around the the Temple
round, I finally reached Jose talkies where they were playing
Agneepath and damn them to hell... there was crowd just enough to
pull off a HOUSEFUL for the first day matinee, which is a big deal
for any Hindi movie in Kerala! Okay, let's talk about the film now,
since I haven't witnessed the original Agneepath, I won't be
comparing the two (which of course is the greatest justice I would be
doing to both the films). The typical story of son seeking out
revenge from his father's killer is the entire story in a nutshell,
but what makes it worth watching is the presentation. There is a very
marketish feel to the movie, however the scenes involving Sanjay Dutt
and his island Maalva have been given a very vikram-betaal kinda
look. Which was very difficult for me to adjust myself with, since in
one scene I would myself in a slumdog millionaire and in the very
next I would find myself in Hogwarts'... the transition is very out
of context and somehow didn't really blend at all.
The story starts off very pathetically
and not until the scene where Sanjay Dutt hangs Vijay's father does
it get interesting, after which movie picks up a sudden acceleration.
Rauf Lala's character played by Rishi Kapoor has been introduced very
spectacularly and Vijay uses Rauf Lala to reach the Raavan of the
movie, that is, Sanjay Dutt. Sadly, except for the emotional bursts
on Hrithik's face and his gorgeous looks are the only things that
seem genuine, while others are above average. Om Puri's character
once again is an immature one, could have been stronger. But yea, the
pace of the movie makes you over see all the flaws that I mentioned
and keeps you glued to the screen. It's not until that moments in the
penultimate scenes of the movie where Vijay introduces himself to
Sanjay Dutt's wingman as “Naam hai Vijay Chauhan... Vijay Dinanath
Chauhan... poora naam...” that you realize that this is a remake of
the classic. A very unique thing about the movie is the
characterization and the way some of the characters were left unripe,
eg. Shantaram, Rauf Lala's son Mazhar and above all Kali (Priyanka
Chopra). Even Vijay Chauhan's (Hrithik) character seemed to be unripe
until the interval, and it ripens astonishingly that further
aggravates the disappointment. Another point is that when someone
dies in the movie, no one's interested take the person to the
hospital, instead they decide that the person will die and they chalk
out some cheesy dialogues... and damn! I am such a terrible critic...
coz I liked the movie, yet I am criticizing it!
Technically, the movie is very raw and
makes it look action packed, keeping its promise but yea only problem
was the transition. Cinematography is brilliant, especially the
hanging sequences and fight sequences. Music by Ajay-Atul once again
is raunchingly addictive. My favorite was Abhi Mujh mei Kahi, rest
were nice (audience loved Chikni Chameli as expected!) The background
score has been brilliant, however at times got too loud! Performance
has been excellent with Om Puri and Sanjay Dutt standing out along
with Hrithik Roshan. Priyanka Chopra was cute but useless, could have
done without her, while Zareena Wahab is under-utilized. Karan Malhotra has directed a sluggishly angrezi style desi movie and has succeeded somewhat... not more than that...
Overall, this movie is worth watching,
at least for the 40 bucks I paid here. Watch it... and you might like
it... more or less than the original. But be fair and don't compare! It is a good movie, worth watching.
MY RATING – 6.7/10
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