Film Review - Zanjeer

Zanjeer-Saw Massacre

Film: Zanjeer

Cast: Ramcharan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt

Directed by: Apoorva Lakhia

Duration: 2 hrs 10 mins

Rating: *

I can understand Fermat's last theorem but why on earth was this film remade, remains a mystery. But then when remakes of films like Agneepath can cross Rs.100 crores, I guess the temptation for producers is too hard to resist, creativity be damned.

There are few films that hit the bottom of the barrel on just about every count and Apoorva Lakhia’s Zanjeer is one of them. For cine fans, Prakash Mehra’s film holds a special place and this remake is nothing but sacrilegious. Lakhia tries to do a Rohit Shetty but fails.

It opens with the James Bond like credits and we are introduced to Vijay (Ramcharan) who has been transferred umpteen times, his new posting is in Mumbai where he takes on the oil mafia run by Teja (Prakash Raj). Like Robert De Niro did in The Untouchables (1987), he calmly kills one of his men at the dinner table. ‘Chicken aur chicks are the two meaows of my life’ so he says. I don’t quite know what that means. His moll is Mona (Mahie Gill) and at one stage he tells her “Mona darling, apna mooh sirf ek cheez ke liye hi khola karo”. I think everyone knows what that means.

Sanjay Dutt plays Sher Khan the pathan and once again, Dutt makes his entry in slow motion. He should be in the Guinness book of world records for the maximum number of intro shots in slow motion.            

 Priyanka Chopra is a NRI girl who witnesses a murder. She has come from New York for her friend’s wedding, whom she met on Facebook and has never met in real life before. I always knew spending too much time on FB can get you in trouble.

A lot of dissection can be done as to how bad this film is but that will be a waste of your time and mine. You might want to know about Ramcharan, the Telugu star who makes his Hindi debut. Well, lets just say he is like Clint Eastwood, with expressions of wood. As for Priyanka Chopra, this has to be the worst performance of the year by an acclaimed actress.  

A dubbed version of this film called Chialo Kaxlaug will also be released in China. Probably it is India’s way of getting even with the Chinese after the recent developments on the border.  

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