Director: Karan Malhotra
Writers: Ila Bedi Dutta (screenplay), Karan Malhotra (screenplay), 1 more credit »
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt | See full cast and crew »
Storyline
Agneepath is a story of revenge of Vijay Chauhan against an evil and sadistic Kaancha, who hangs Vijay's father to death. Vijay grows up with a single aim of avenging his father's death. The story revolves around Vijay Chauhan, his relationships with his family and above all, his Revenge.
Movie Reviews
Karan Malhotra's Agneepath—starring Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt— is not a remake of Mukul Anand's cult 1990 movie of the same name. It is more of a reconstruction of the original. A reconstruction which is dark, loud, intense, action-studded and has REVENGE written all over it.
After having fished out a story from the dusty archives of Bollywood—a story which never received its due credit at the time—at the insistence of producer Karan Johar, Malhotra's Agneepath could have gone either of two ways. It could have gone drastically wrong with the execution by an over-exaggeration of the drama; or have breathed new life into the tried-and-tested formula of the father-getting-murdered-son-seeking- revenge story—which was omnipresent in the cinema of yore.
Thankfully for the audiences and for Bollywood, it was the latter.
The story begins in a dusty village-islet of Maharashtra—named Mandwa— just off the coast of Mumbai. Dinanath Chauhan (played by Chetan Pandit) is a school master who swears by morals of honesty, integrity and non- violence. He is survived by his wife Suhasini (played by Zarina Wahab) and 12-year-old son Vijay (played by Arish Bhiwandiwala).
Master Chauhan is the white knight of Mandwa—a person who the entire village revere, even more than its zamindar(landlord). The zamindar soon gets insecure of Chauhan's command over the village and summons his son— Kancha (played by Sanjay Dutt)—to the village to get rid of the Master.
Kancha is a man troubled by an unhappy childhood and adolescence, which had his peers mocking him due to his unappealing looks. Today, Kancha is big, bald and the epitome of evil—a desi rendition of Lord Voldemort if you may. A huge silver ring pinned to his ear adds to his intimidating appeal.
Kancha comes to Mandwa and frames the Master for the rape and murder of a girl and hangs him on the spooky bargad ka ped (banyan tree) in front of an incensed mob and the powerless Suhasini and Vijay.
The mother-and-son duo, aghast with the brutality of Chauhan's murder, ferry off to Mumbai to start a new life. Almost immediately after reaching Mumbai, Suhasini delivers a baby girl to add to the overflowing emotions. Young Vijay—now with the added responsibility of looking after a younger sister along with a distraught mother—steps up as the bread- winner of the family and does small chores in and around Mumbai's underbelly of Dongri. However, Vijay does not subscribe to his mother's forgive-and-forget ideology and vows to avenge his father's death.
Cut to 15 years later. Vijay grows up into a light-eyed and much- chiseled Hrithik Roshan who is extremely grounded even though he has become one of Mumbai's drug lord's, Rauf Lala's (played by Rishi Kapoor), most trusted subordinates. His actions ultimately claim the recognition of Kancha, who summons him to Mandwa to strike a deal.
As Vijay realizes that the end to this agonizingly long tale is near, an array of emotions ooze out Roshan's eyes, who puts in one of his best performances to date. If you were ever skeptical of his ability to pull of such an intense, action-and-drama-packed role, you are sure to be proved wrong. Roshan steals the show as the new angry young man, and does it without trying to emulate even an ounce of Amitabh Bachchan's Vijay in the original.
The other standout performance is of course Dutt, who glides effortlessly into the role of the wicked Kancha. If Harry Potter's nemesis ever came up against Dutt's Kancha, he is sure to soil himself twice over. Everything about him, right from his wicked laughter to his overwhelming presence, is sure to send a chill or two down your spine. Such is the magnitude of the intimidating aura that Dutt builds around his character, that Kancha could well become the next Mogambo of Bollywood.
Rishi Kapoor is the surprise package in the movie as the despicable human and drug trafficker, Rauf Lala. Kapoor plays the negative role with ease—something you wouldn't expect of him. Lala's character was an addition to this remake, nay reconstruction, while Mithun Chakraborty's character in the original—which gained a lot of critical acclaim—was done away with. Another character that could have been done away with is Priyanka Chopra's Kali (Vijay's muse). If eye-candy was the reason for her addition, Katrina Kaif's Chikni Chameli more than makes up for it.
Speaking of which, the music by Ajay-Atul is loud and earthy—perfect for a film set in Mumbai's underbelly, especially with the dhol-tashas surrounding the Ganpati and Janmashtami festival songs. The background score by the Maharashtrian duo is gripping and blends in perfectly with the scenes. You could sense an inspiration from Hans Zimmer in a couple of scenes, but well-crafted nonetheless.
Debutant director Karan Malhotra excels in his first venture. The movie has some intense and moving scenes such as Vijay's reunion with his sister after 15 years and his return to Mandwa. The director scores in actually making you feel the angst, the emotion, the pain and, most importantly, the desire. The climax fight sequence between Roshan and Dutt is well choreographed by Abbas Ali Moghul—thunderous and high in octane.
The story, one hears, is not an exact replication of Mukul Anand's cult film. No complaints there as the new Agneepath is riveting and full of Bollywood's classic revenge masala. I went for the movie without having watched the original, and am sure glad I did! You would be wise to do so too, that is if you've not already watched the original.
A couple of points can be deducted for a few needless songs, which add to the length of the film (two hours and 52 minutes). There were a few minor goofs which I noticed, but nothing substantial.
All in all, Agneepath is definitely worth the watch. Go watch this movie for the classic battle between good and evil—the battle between Hrithik Roshan's white and Sanjay Dutt's black.
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