The After Hrs review: 'Agneepath'

Film: Agneepath
Directed by Karan Malhotra
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor
Rating: ***1/2

When you attempt to ‘restructure’ a film as iconic as Mukul Anand’s 1990 revenge drama Agneepath, you automatically set it up for comparisons.

So, either the filmmakers have to be utterly foolish or overtly courageous to even think of touching this classic. In this case, it’s the latter, and their attempt seems to have been well worth the risk as both the Karans (director Malhotra and producer Johar) certainly pass in this trial by fire. So, yes you can’t help but recall Amitabh Bachchan’s rich baritone booming Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath… somewhere in the back of your mind, as soon as you mention Master Dinanath Chauhan, Mandwa and Vijay in the same breath. But as the film progresses, you are compelled to allow your mind to put aside AB’s Vijay back on the pedestal, and give Hrithik’s Vijay a fair chance.

The story remains more or less the same. Kancha Cheena falsely implicates Master Dinanath Chauhan and eventually bumps him off. Vijay leaves Mandwa with his mother and comes to Bombay, where he grows up to be an important player among the underworld, waiting to avenge his father’s death. The director has introduced new twists and replaced some old characters with new ones.

To compensate for Mithun’s Krishnan Iyer MA missing, there’s Rishi Kapoor’s super-menacing Rauf Lala. And there’s also inspiration from Angaar and Dayavan as one of the Lala’s sons is shown to be mentally challenged. While Sanjay’s Kancha Cheena – who looks more like Lord Voldemort meets Kamal Haasan’s Abhay instead of the suave Danny from the original – relies on the at-times irrelevant dialoguebaazi, his physical attributes and camera angles, Rishi evokes the emotions a true-blue villain should, with the bare minimum and you can’t help, but remind yourself that after all this is where the talented Ranbir Kapoor (son) gets his genes from.

The raw anger and the cold hatred that Amitabh held in his gaze, is replaced by pain and angst that doesn’t leave Hrithik’s eyes even once. It’s heart over head for this Vijay and he exudes that vulnerability with enough strength, not afraid to let it overwhelm him, especially in the scene when he returns to Mandwa. It is not Hrithik, the star, but clearly Bollywood’s new Vijay Dinanath Chauhan who is at work here. The showdown with Lala, his emotional scenes with his sister and the ultimate dialogue of the film that comes towards the later half… Naam… Baap ka naam… Gaon… Hrithik shines in all of the above. He finds a worthy adversary in Sanjay’s Kancha, which is one of the best performances that we’ve seen in a long time from Sanjay. Arish Bhiwandiwala as the young Vijay is very impressive too.

But despite the strong performances, superb action sequences and brilliant cinematography, the film is not without its flaws – like a crucial stab wound disappearing in the immediate next scene, and there are several more if you are not a sucker for the 90s melodrama. The sets that look exactly what they should not look like – film sets – especially in Mandwa, are a put off in some places.

Towards the climax, the film goes from being illogical to the unbelievable and completing the picture is the return of the quintessential maa and her rona dhona dramabaazi, not that Zarina Wahab doesn’t do a good job. But what could have been a far better film, with superb performances being strung together like expensive gems in a beautiful necklace, is instead spoilt by the addition of glassy beads that’ve been inserted in between. There are many moments when the story is interrupted by too many unnecessary distractions, when you are in fact hoping to see more of Hrithik in action. Unfortunately Priyanka is one of the glassy beads, and it’s only in her final scenes that she manages to do a decent job. The songs seem forceful and could have been completely done away with, except for the Ganpati track. Of course, this does not also include Kat’s Chikni Chameli that fades away as quickly as it starts, but manages to make an impact in that much time. The dialogues do justice though they are not outstanding.

Overall, however, the film’s a complete masala entertainer in a typical Bollywood ishtyle of the 90s. So if melodrama is your diet, then this is the fare for you. Is it Agneepath? No, it is not. But as an ode to the original, it is definitely befitting.