Movie: Agneepath
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra
There is a question that lingers in people's mind when it comes to a remake of a cult film: can it really create ripples among today's audience? Can a director weave the original story around contemporary shades and present a package which is appealing to the audience?
The answer lies with Karan Malhotra, the director of “Agneepath”. This powerful film with action-packed performances is certainly entertaining but has raised a few eyebrows with regard to its restructuring.
Karan Johar's “Agneepath” is a remake of the 1990s hit which starred Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. Comparison and expectation of the audience starts right here as a super star like Amitabh who won a National Award set a certain level of unmatchable powerful performance.
Storyline
The director's addition to the script to keep the present-day audiences virtually at the edge of their seats is certainly commendable. The manner in which he has brought in a negative character like Rouf Lala (Rishi Kapoor) into the script proves the skill of the director who incorporates novelty into original story.
The story takes place in a tiny village called Mandwa where Dinanath Chauhan (Chetan Pandit) runs a school. A highly principled man with great virtues teaches his son Vijay (Hrithik Roshan) to be honest and non-violent. Kancha (Sanjay Dutt), an autocratic leader, ruins the life of this happy family by murdering Vijay's father in order to become the most powerful man of Mandwa; hence the rise of a dictator.
Vijay and his preganant mother Suhasini Chuhan (Zarina Wahab) move to Bombay where Vijay comes in contact with a drug peddler named Rouf Lala. The little boy's journey of retaliation towards Kancha begins right here with the help of Rouf Lala. Kali (Priyanka Chopra), Vijay's lover, helps him in every way. Finally, after fifteen years he goes back to Mandwa to seek revenge on Kancha.
Performances
“Agneepath” as an independent film does have a potent formula. With Rishi Kapoor's splendid negative performance to Hrithik's action sequences, the film does offer the audience a taste of originality. Ajay-Atul's music is fantastic with Chikni Chameli making it to the top. Katrina Kaif does justice to this song and is a relief to the audience; a break away from the action packed film. Sanjay Dutt looks fierce. Hrithik has not imbibed any of Amitabh's style and does justice with his acting. On the whole, Karan Malhotra has done justice to the script but the editing does seem a little distorted.
Bottomline: “Agneepath”, as many feel, lacks the charisma of Amitabh but as an independent film brings out many elements and presents to the audience a holistic Hindi masala flick.
