Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami: Homage to honesty

October 10, 2014 05:48 pm | Updated May 23, 2016 07:39 pm IST

A scene from the movie.

A scene from the movie.

Genre : Satire

Director : Ravindra Gautam

Cast : Anupam Kher, Divyendu Sharma, Mukesh Rishi, Rajesh Sharma, Neha Dhupia, Aditi Sharma

An honest, principled man caught in the corrupt world. Of and on we get to see this imagery on screen and in many of them Anupam Kher plays the central character. This week he is again called to fill life in the satire mounted by Ravindra Gautam and he doesn’t disappoint.

As Joshi, the municipality worker who takes pride in making his city clean and disease free he is the lifeline of the film which celebrates those who don’t barter their scruples when adversity knocks at the doors. Projected as corrupt on the last day of his service, Joshi doesn’t give up but his sons, who don’t believe in the road taken by their father, are keen to compromise. Their father gives up but not before eking out a promise from his youngest son (Divyendu Sharma) to get him a 21 gun salute. The idea seems far-fetched but Gautam takes the audience into confidence about the enormity of the task before taking them on a ride. It gets a little preachy and inconsistent in the second half but in the first when he sets the corrupt atmosphere the punches are potent and the comments on the politicians and the media are acerbic. He has got a bunch of talented artists (Mukesh Rishi underplays as the dishonest elder son and Aditi Sharma once again impresses with her expressive face) to convey the message. Rajesh Sharma breathes life into the CM caught in a scam which amounts to only 12 crores. The media, very well represented by Aasif Sheikh, sees more masala in it for it has a heroine (Neha Dhupia suits the part) at the centre of it. Seasoned actress Uttra Baokar lends more layers to the proceedings as the self-seeking mother of the Chief Minister.

A set of sharper scissors, a little less indulgence and verbosity would have done the trick for Gautam but still if you keep the expectations in check it is not a bad bet in a lean week.

Bottomline : A thought provoking satire whose punches are inconsistent but the intentions are unswerving.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.