Review : Movie - Agneepath

Almost every third post on my Facebook wall is talking about this movie. There is lot of nostalgia, lot of memories since the first one has such a cult status. So needless to say that there was a lot of hype and I went in with a lot of expectations and came out with a mixed bag of feelings.

Plot:
Being a remake it borrows the basic idea from the original so a lot of things are the same there is Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, Mandwa, Kancha, Baap ka badla, the poem et all. But not everything is the same, there is no Krishnan Iyer MA but there is Rauf Lala. The basic plot is the same but you cannot say so about the full storyline. It won’t matter if you’ve seen the first one or not. This reinterpretation of the movie works in its own right.


Screenplay/Dialogs:
The movie has been made on a grand scale and beautifully shot. But some times you feel the makers have become too indulgent as it starts getting too long... too winding... too slow. There are some impressive moments in the film but they are separated with long durations of dull proceedings which take the impact out of the film and spoil the fun.

Cast/Performances:
The movie has some strong performances. Hrithik looks, moves like Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. He is one actor who has raised the level of acting in Hindi films. Look out for the moment when he dances on the ‘Gun Guna’ song. We all know how good a dancer he is but checkout how he remains in his character, controls and dances like a drunken man. A very minute thing but it’s a pleasure watching him on screen. Also, be prepared to be surprised by another fine actor who took 40 years to blossom. Rishi Kapoor in his evil avatar is menacing and I wish he had an even bigger role. The biggest disappointment for me is Sanjay Dutt as Kancha. He had the look and the opportunity but I felt he let it down. He had a great chance to be another Gabbar or a Mogambo. The dialogs come out of his mouth but never look real. He looks the part and tries not to sleepwalk on this one but the effort is just not good enough – there is body but no soul. Om Puri playing Gaitonde in the film is just reduced to a narrator who appears to either give sermons or to cover gaping holes in the narrative left by lazy writers.

Music/Songs:
The background music is good. It haunts you for hours after you’ve walked out of the cinema. The best song would have to be ‘Gun Guna’. Not only is the music good it has been penned beautifully by Amitabh Bhattacharya. ‘Deva Sri Ganesha’ and ‘Chikni Chameli’ are other good songs. All the songs have been shot with grandeur and aplomb but my only grouse is that they slow the pace of the movie and most could have been easily left out or at least shortened a bit.

Verdict:
It’s good but would have been much better with some trimming. 3/5 - Not because it's not a good movie but because it had the potential to be a classic, something that didn't materialize.