Rating: 2/5
Banners: UTV Motion Pictures, Prakash Jha Productions
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Indraneil Sengupta and others
Music: Salim-Sulaiman
Cinematographer: Sachin Krishan
Editor: Santosh Mandal
Director: Prakash Jha
Producers: Prakash Jha, Ronnie Screwvala, Siddarth Roy Kapur
Release date: 30/08/2013
Story
A honest teacher (Amitabh) with Gandhian philosophy lives in a small town and his son Akhilesh also grows with the same values. But his son’s friend Manav (Ajay) is more practical and believes in money and success. He grows big.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh ends in problem when the flyover project he is handling collapses. To make things worse, he gets killed in an accident. Manav comes to help the family and discovers the corrupt system. This pits him against the corrupt minister Balram Singh (Manoj Bajpai).
Leaving his business, Manav decides to take up a just cause and what happens from there forms the rest of the story.
Performances
Amitabh Bachchan has carried out his father figure role in a good way and did his job. Of course, he didn’t have anything powerful to project so his role was somewhat sober.
Ajay Devgn shined at few places but yet again his character was not etched strong enough to generate that motivation and inspiration through his performance.
Arjun Rampal must be appreciated for taking up a rather side role. Still, he made his presence felt wherever required and fitted well as the youth leader.
Kareena Kapoor was too bright for a hardcore journalist’s role but she ensured it didn’t affect her performance and carried it out effectively.
Manoj Bajpayee is the best among the lot and steals the show. His calm demeanor mixed with his wily political thinking gives the required impact and entertainment. This was something for the audience.
Amrita Rao was alright, Indraneil Sengupta was brief, Vipin Sharma was good. Others did their bit as required.
Highlights:
Star cast
Subject
First half
Drawbacks:
- Weak screenplay
- Poor emotional quotient
- Lack of intensity
- Extra preaching
- Cliched drama
Analysis
Prakash Jha is one of those rare blend of filmmakers who believes in giving something to the society and his focus is constantly on the corrupt system, the politicians and the agony of the common man. Throughout his career, he came up with some impact creating flicks like ‘Gangajal’ ‘Apaharan’ ‘Raajneeti’ etc but this time it appears he could not generate the required juice.
Primarily the plot is very good and given the current condition that our country and society is in, this is a much needed one. However, bringing in a good concept requires good execution and balanced approach so that the audience is able to connect to the emotion. This was missing.
The good side of the film was the heavy star cast who managed to infuse life but without a strong conflict point and trying to highlight only a tepid issue hampered the energy. The film takes off on a good note and looks promising but as it progresses the steam comes down. The second half had few bumps and was not convincing. Still, appreciation goes to Prakash for his attempt though it may not create an effect. On a whole, over dos eof cliched drama marred the seriousness in narration.
Bottomline: Failed to deliver as anticipated
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
