Movie Review: Agneepath

Does a film like this have its relevance in today's time? I have my serious doubts

By Jyotsna Kumar

First up a light hearted moment from the film: Just when hot babe Katrina is about to jalaao chillum from her jigar and you are about to drool for her there's a ticker on screen which says: cigarette smoking is injurious to health. As if the statutory warning wasn't enough towards the beginning of the film. Kudos to the censor board for the timing of this moral caution in a 'not-so decent' song. That's Agneepath for you! And unfortunately, that's the only light hearted moment in the film.

Yep! Agneepath is more of a stress booster rather than a buster. But that's how it's meant to be. However, this one is more of a tribute than a remake. Possibly the only one where the entire ensemble star cast is alive except the creators- Mukul S. Anand and Yash Johar.

Agneepath only has the subtext of its predecessor. This is why the journey of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan in both the films is different.

Bad news: Hrithik machismo didn't match up to the heavy baritone of Mr. Bachchan. Right from the very beginning he couldn't do justice to the eclectic effect of Harivansh Rai's masterpiece – Kar Shapath Shapath  Agneepath, Agneepath! Half of the time it didn't came out from his heart neither through that child artist unlike Swamy of Malgudi Days. Moreover, his turpitude was more like a street smart teenager than a grown up gangster.

Two performances that truly stood out: Rishi Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt. Rishi's performance as drug lord Rauf Lala was bitter. Alone he managed Terelin, Usmaan and Shetty characters – the assassins/ dons from the predecessor.

Sanjay as Kancha was more of a psycho than a drug mafia don. He clearly had more muscle power than mind games. Otherwise how else would you justify his rise as the ultimate drug mafia don? His look however was bordering on the lines of Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter series. It's not right to say that this Agneepath belongs to Kancha Cheena more than Vijay Dinanath.

As Gaitonde Mr. Puri was totally wasted in the film. Only if he could manage more screen space like Vikram Gokhale in the 90's version.

The mother and son bonding and their countless encounters were compromised badly in this one. And unnecessary footage was granted to the mindless encounters of Vijay with the disgruntled Lala and his gang.

Mud fight sequences were over-powered by bullets and swords and were not that impressive. The endearing and charming Mr. Krishnan Iyer- the naariyal paani waala was badly missed. One can only say that no body in the industry today can match up to the fun antics of Mithun Da. Also what Alok Nath delivered as masterji was difficult to match up. One can relate to his morals, principles and his earnestness came right through from his Gandhi Cap look.

And now the big question:  Does a film like this have its relevance in today's time? I have my serious doubts. Where I'm coming from is this: hero's sister is born only to get molested. Hero's mother will confine to vulnerability for life. The heroine (unfortunately that's the so called status assigned to a popular female actor opposite the main lead) is only there to perform dance sequences and adds to the melodrama? And revenge is the only motive in life.

If you have no such reservations, then go ahead and make your choice!

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