Eye of the Beholder
Film: Ugly
Cast: Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhat, Girish Kulkarni, Tejaswini
Kolhapure
Directed by: Anurag Kashyap
Duration: 2 hrs 7 mins
Rating; * * * *
Anurag Kashyap’s much awaited Ugly has finally hit the
theatres just as we say good bye to 2014. Suffice to say that even though this
tale is dark and grim, it is a good way to end the year, after all, Ugly is
certainly one of the best films of the year
.
While Wasseypur was whacky and brave, this is the Kashyap we
know of from Black Friday – a director who doesn’t mind walking the lonely path
and do his own thing and yet connect with the audiences. Much like that film on
the Mumbai blasts, Kashyap also extracts some terrific performances from actors
who are not in the A list of stars.
Plus, he also has that knack for writing and crafting
brilliant scenes. Imagine the child is kidnapped while the father and his
friend go to the police station to register a case, the cop instead of looking
into the matter with urgency is more curious to know about smart phones and how
a person’s photo can be displayed along with the number when he or she is
calling. As absurd as it may sound, it is one of the most remarkable scenes
among the films we have seen in 2014.
At the heart of it, Ugly is a kidnapping drama. A ten year
old girl vanishes from a car when her father Rahul (Rahul Bhat) leaves her
alone for just a bit. But it is not your standard formulaic kidnapping story,
this is more of a human drama and every character here has something at stake.
Rahul is a struggling actor still looking for his big break, his best friend
Chaitanya (Vineet Kumar Singh) is a casting director who first notices that the
little girl has gone missing. The actor is separated from his wife (Tejaswini
Kolhapure) and she is inseparable from alcohol. She is now married to a top cop
(Ronit Roy) who is a tough cookie and will go to any extent to find his step-
daughter.
Investigating the case Jadhav (Girish Kulkarni), a
no-nonsense cop who will go that extra yard since his boss is involved in the
matter.
None of these finely characters are what they appear to be –
there is deceit, double crossing and ultimately all of them are serving their
self interest. Kashyap succeeds in making the film more than just a kidnapping
tale. In fact, for most parts of the film you are more attentive to what the
people are upto and why rather than ponder about the little girl, everyone has
their own agenda here.
Unlike say Inkaar (1977, which was inspired by Kurosawa’s
High and Low (1963) which were in a thriller mould to a large extent, Kashyap
exposes the frailties of human nature.
While more and more film makers are moving away from Mumbai
when it comes to shooting outdoors, Kashyap’s love affair with the city
continues and cinematographer Nikos Andritsakis (Love, Sex aur Dhokha fame)
captures every detail.
The acting department deserves kudos. Rahul Bhat as the
tormented father and Ronit Roy as the heartless yet dignified cop are spot on.
Vineet Singh as the sleazy friend and Tejaswini Kolhapure as the mother are
apt. National award winner for Deool (2011) and well known Marathi actor Girish
Kulkarni makes a smashing debut in Hindi films.
All in all, Ugly is the work of a director who is on the top
of his game.
Published in The Navhind Times on 28th Dec 2014
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