Directed by: Karan Malhotra
Produced by: Karan Johar
Screenplay by: Ila Dutta Bedi, Karan Malhotra
Rating: ***1/2
When a film has an original to fall back on, it becomes a tough job for the follow-up to stand tall and when the original was a classic, stakes rise much higher. Same is the case with the Republic Day release of this year Agneepath starring Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt and directed by Karan Malhotra. This Karan Johar presentation is his tribute to his father Yash Johar who directed the original with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. Vijay Dinanath Chauhan is back in a new avatar but with the same emotion - Revenge. So, let’s find out if the remake has enough ‘Agnee’ to light up its ‘Path’ to success!
Image: Agneepath Theatrical Release Poster
The Story
Vijay sees the cruel murder of his father Master Dinanath Chauhan, after getting falsely implicated, by the menacing Kancha (Sanjay Dutt). He quits the village with his pregnant mom and silently takes a vow to conquer Mandwa and take the revenge of his father’s death. Thus starts a journey of an innocent 12 year old who grows up to become Vijay Dinanath Chauhan (Hrithik Roshan) sans the innocence but with ample amount of hatred in his eyes and only one motive – Kancha’s death!
The Goods
Agneepath is more of an adaptation than a remake as apart from the main premise, the script has undergone many changes and all for good. The new Vijay is not a swash-buckling rich gang lord but a brooding chawl-resident and an accomplice of gangster Rauf Lala (Rishi Kapoor). This gives the film an earthy and rustic feel which works tremendously in its favour. From the setting to the action sequences, everything simply binds you. The film makes you stay with it from the word go. The sequence where Dinanath Chauhan is hanged till death has been superbly executed in hues of black and blue which instantly makes you cringe with pathos. The screenplay has good number of highs and lows which keep you with the flow.
Even though the film has equal amount of highlights, the sequences of Hrithik with his 15-year-old sister simply stand out. Also, whatever may be the screen time, Hrithik and Priyanka’s chemistry is absolutely scintillating. But we sourly missed the beautiful romantic number Saiyaan which is mercilessly chucked from the film, perhaps to cut the length of the film.
The Bads
The second half could have been easily shortened to keep the interest in the plot intact. Also, there are a few continuity jerks that were overlooked when the final draft was made.
The Performances
Everyone in the film dazzles and shines. Nobody could have done Kancha better than Sanjay and maybe that’s why he had all the good dialogues to mouth. Priyanka Chopra, in her bit role, is simply stunning. She reprised her Sweety character from Kaminey but added the Indian flavour to the hilt. She can make any girl envious of her beauty and of course that fantastic figure. Rishi Kapoor stuns you with his fantabulous heinous performance, the brutality that he brings to his character is award winning.
Now coming to the man of the moment - Hrithik Roshan, the actor is no Amitabh Bachchan but in his own way he gave his best to this role. The scenes where he wails up when subjected to emotions that he had bottled up for 15 years stir something inside you. But unfortunately for Hrithik, somewhere he loses his spark amidst such brilliant supporting cast. Blame it on Karan Johar for assembling a support group of such repute! Hrithik lacks the power and conviction in many of the scenes. You can actually feel that the man is trying hard to be lethal but is unfortunately failing. This takes away the merit of the film. Though we don’t say Hrithik is a miscast, we think someone else could have brought that fire in the character that Hrithik missed.
To Be Or Not To Be?
To sum up, cutting Hrithik some slack for he was pitted against Amitabh Bachchan, Agneepath is a must-watch this Republic Day as it is amply stuffed with love, action, pathos, brutality and revenge in their raw form. Don’t miss it!
Rating: ***1/2
