Film Review - Badlapur

Beyond Good and Evil

Film: Badlapur

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Nawzuddin Siddique, Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam
Directed by: Sriram Raghavan
Duration: 2 hrs 7 mins
Rating: *  *  *  *

Revenge maybe a dish best served cold but as Friedrich Nietzsche rightly says in Beyond Good and Evil, “Anyone who fights with monsters should take care that he does not in the process become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”  

From the director who made Johnny Gaddar (2007) one of the greatest thrillers ever in the history of cinema, Badlapur is a return to form for Sriram Raghavan,  after the disappointing Agent Vinod. Raghvan’s forte is engaging the audience with the proceedings, the way he has crafted the characters and added twists and turns to the story, it could easily go on for another couple of hours and you would still be engrossed with his story telling. 

Based on the story by Italian writer Massimo Carlotto, essentially, Badlapur as the title suggests, is a story of revenge. With a Raghavan film, you have to pay attention to the details right from the opening credits. If Johnny Gaddar was a tribute to James Hadley Chase and Vijay Anand, there is a ‘thank you’ to Don Siegel, the director of Dirty Harry (1971) here. 

The tag line of Badlapur says ‘Don’t miss the beginning’ and rightly so. The first 15 minutes are as gripping as it can get. From the camera placed across a not particularly busy street in Pune we see some ordinary goings- on. A vendor selling fruits, cops’ trying to tow away a vehicle – the camera is static capturing the mundane proceedings but you know something is going to give in. A bank robbery goes wrong resulting in a tragedy, shots are fired, a woman and a kid end up dead. Only the audience and one of the two who is responsible for the death know who it is. One of them, Liak (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is taken into custody claiming he is innocent and it was the other man who was responsible. Raghu (Varun Dhawan), the grieving husband and father meanwhile can’t overcome the deaths and seeks revenge. He is ready to wait as long as it takes to settle scores with those who were responsible. 

The screenplay never lets you guess which way the story is heading and just when you think it has reached a dead-end, a new path opens up. The finale takes off on a different tangent altogether and though it may not be a very traditional climax in a sense it makes some points about morality by turning the story on its head. After all, there is no such thing as moral phenomena, but only a moral interpretation of phenomena.

The characters are fascinating – primarily it revolves around Raghu a sober ad executive who runs amok and Liak, the shrewd villain of the piece. In fact, Liak reminded me a lot the Joker, as far as a large part of his characterization is concerned - he is menacing, calculative and couldn’t care less. The others are also equally absorbing, Huma Qureshi as prostitute, Divya Dutta as a social worker, Vinay Pathak as the partner in crime and Radhika Apte as his wife all add to the conundrum.

Anil Mehta’s cinematography is from the top draw and on the acting front, Varun Dhawan makes an impression in a serious role and Nawazuddin Siddiqui steals the show again with his savior faire.

Badlapur is streets ahead of the rest and hence deserves a look.

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 22nd February 2015
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Film Review - Dedh Ishqiya

Sight For Sore Eyes

Film: Dedh Ishqiya (with English Subtitles)
Cast: Nasseruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Huma Qureshi
Directed by: Abhishek Chaubey
Duration: 2 hrs 32 mins
Rating: *  *  *  *

Once in a blue moon you get a film that is delightful, has a good story, excellent dialogues, is very well acted and also very witty - in other words, it has the X factor. During times when, forget the sequel, even the first part of most films is unbearable, Director Abhishek Chaubey who delighted us with Ishqiya (2010) doesn’t disappoint. The surprise element may be missing but be that as it may, Dedh Ishqiya is more than just one and half times better than most of the weekly stuff dished out every Friday.

The devil as they say, lies in the detail and since a lot of attention is paid to it here, it is this element that will enamor you. It has been a while since we saw some chaste Urdu (or Hindustani as it is known in cinema) on the big screen. Darab Farooqui, Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek Chaubey have done a marvelous job as far the writing is concerned - the dialogues are seamless, not a single line looks out of place.

Last time around, the lingo was Bhopali but this time, we are in Uttar Pradesh, where Khalujaan (Nasseruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) are back to their antics. After stealing a necklace they part ways only to meet again in Mahmoodabad in Awadh at one of those crumbling mansions where poetry sessions are still the in thing. The host is Begum Paro (Madhuri Dixit) a widow who is looking for a suitor. Her woman Friday is Muniya (Huma Qureshi) who is also in the thick of things and Vijay Raaz plays a politician who is first in the queue to become the Nawab of Mahmoodabad. In one of the many hilarious scenes, he kidnaps a poet curiously called Noor Mohammed Italvi, whose mummy is Italian and father is an Indian.

Love, heartbreak, deception, double crossing – its all there to make up for the second half which includes a shoot out filmed at a fairly deserted railway station, with Begum Akhtar’s Wo jo hum mein tum mein karaar tha playing the background. 

And who would have thought that someday we would hear Begum Akhtar (Hamriatariya pe aao is also brilliantly used) and Yo Yo Honey Singh in the same film!  

There are some hilarious scenes like the all night stand off between the two warring sides and some funny lines like the one where a U.P. don (Salman Shahid) says “Batman ka naam suna hain? Agar Joker mar gaya to saala Batman kya karega? Ghar baith ke aataa goondega?”  There are evocative scenes as well where the Begum calls Khalu by his name (Ifthekar) and he replies by saying that his first name never sounded so good.

The writers have also pushed the envelope as far as portraying the relationship between the two prime characters is concerned.  

For those interested in poetry, there is a lot to appreciate here, especially the many verses of Dr. Basheer Badr (Yahaan libaas ki keemat hai aadmi ki nahi / mujhe gilass bada de sharaab kam de)

Nasseruddin Shah in the costume and the character, reminds you of another role that he essayed, Mirza Ghalib. Needless to say, his performance is solid. After last weeks disastrous Mr.Joe B.Carvalho, it is such a relief to see Arshad Warsi do a role where he can truly showcase his talent. Vijay Raaz as the desperate lover is perfect for a few laughs. Like their counterparts, the ladies also have delivered what is expected. Madhuri Dixit’s as the dignified widow is apt and a feisty Huma Qureshi shows that she is a powerhouse when it comes to talent.

Dedh Ishqiya is sight for sore eyes. Go for it.

Published in The Navhind Times on 12th Jan 2014

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