THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN LIVES ON
This reviewer must be among the few to have missed Amitabh Bachchan's National Award-winning performance in Mukul Anand's Agneepath two decades ago. They called it iconic, but it was difficult to watch a childhood idol looking haggard, kohl-eyed desperate, camouflaging his naturally imposing voice with a rasp to portray Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, the school master's son who becomes a dreaded don and avenges his father's death. Karan Malhotra's homage to it then, is a new film altogether with no comparison to make. Yet, it bears the stamp of archetype more than any other in recent cinema as it picks up salient aspects of the 'angry young man' persona and mythical tropes to fashion a familiar tale in a glossy package.
It's the epic Ramayana battle played out in Mumbai and Mandwa. Sanjay Dutt's Kancha Cheena quotes from the Bhagvad Gita though as he philosophises—"tu kya leke aaya hai, aur kya leke jayega" etc in Sanskritised Hindi. It takes a while to adjust to Dutt speaking like that but after the initial guffaws you begin to enjoy his act. In fact, the language used in Agneepath is one of the important reason's for the film's connect—Piyush Mishra's dialogues really are a throwback to a lost era.
In many places the film nods to Yash Chopra's Deewaar, the ultimate realisation of the 'angry young man' figure. Like in Deewaar Vijay has a strong sense of justice. He carries his father's humiliation by the community like a stone around his heart (although he never doubts his integrity), he arrives in Mumbai and first works in the docks. He aligns with one don and destroys another. He can never enjoy marital bliss or his mother's love as he purposefully walks the path of violence. And finally, he finds peace having restored the cosmic balance (at least momentarily) by dying in his mother's arms.
The vital element that Agneepath lacks, which makes it a lesser film than Deewaar, is a social context. Unlike in the classic where Mumbai is a character in the film and the persona of the angry youth embodies the lament of unfulfilled promises and loss of faith in the system, this film uses Mumbai merely as a backdrop and unfolds strictly as a fable. Which takes something away from its emotional import.
And yet, because of its earnestness, clever use of dramatic exposition (yes, we like declamatory speech if deployed intelligently), grand production values and superb acting all around (Hrithik Roshan, take a bow; Rishi Kapoor, you're always the best), Agneepath is enjoyable despite its length. In fact, this is perhaps the finest film Karan Johar has produced or directed and hence a fitting tribute to his father.
Bogus movie and a real nonsense acting by the characters... previous Agneepath is far better (Amitabh, Mithun starrer) than this idiotic remake..
Hrithik is no way near to Amitabh, so is Sanjay Dutt far away than Danny... luckily this idiot director didn't include a Mithun's duplicate...
Don’t waste your time... stay away from this crap.
Posted by: Manoj | Jan 29, 2012 at 03:51
Deepa, completely agree! A line in my head as I watched the film was - the angry young man returns! And enjoyed a dramatic bollywood film after long! Agree too about Rishi K!
Posted by: Minari | Jan 28, 2012 at 02:16