Film Review - Guddu Rangeela

Khaps and Robbers

Film: Guddu Rangeela

Cast: Arshad Warsi, Amit Sadh, Ronit Roy, Aditi Rao Hydari
Directed by: Subhash Kapoor
Duration: 2 hrs 4 mins
Rating: * * 1 / 2

In Guddu Rangeela, director Subhash Kapoor pays a nod to the greatest story ever told, Sholay. In fact, it is more than just a nod. He uses the same template to tell a more contemporary story and has also made an effort to make it socially relevant by targeting the antics of the Khap panchayat –Khap ko jala ke raakh kar donga seems to his motto.  He manages to pull off some of it while bits of it are a let-down and at least it is not a film that makes you desperate to head out for the exit door.    

Set somewhere in Haryana, Guddu (Amit Sadh) and Rangeela (Arshad Warsi) are conmen, a bit like Jai and Veeru.   They roam around on a motorcycle with a sidecar in the Yeh Dosti mold and it one point, Rangeela even says “Loha garam hain, maar do hatoda.”

Ronit Roy plays a Billu pehelwan, a politician and khap leader with a mind-set that is older than the Harappa civilization. Samaj (society), rivaaz (traditions) is all that he cares about even if it means killing innocent people. His ire is specially targeted against couples who marry outside their caste.

Meanwhile, Guddu and Rangeela take up an assignment of kidnapping a girl (Aditi Rao Hydari) from Chandigarh and ‘delivering’ her like a package to Delhi. But there is a twist in tale and there is more than meets the eye as far as the girl is concerned.

In the second half, the screenplay hits a few road bumps as the khap gets involved and a woman (Shriswara) who suffers silently her whole life suddenly gets into the rebel mode in a not so convincing manner.  A tau at the khap panchayat even asks his fellowmen to keep quiet and let the woman speak, her preachy speech being directed to the audience.

But Guddu-Rangeela has its fun moments too, a couple of cops (Amit Sial and Rajeev Gupta) are hot on the chase of the duo and Gupta with his deadpan expressions evokes a few laughs.

Director Subhash Kapoor needed a tighter script, he certainly has the flair for story-telling and when he borrows styles liberally (like the Tarantino’isque climax) he knows how to keep you engaged.

All such sagas need a good villain and though Ronit Roy has been there done that, fair to say he is still the most menacing bad guy around. The ladies don’t have much of a role to play, symbolically the chief minister of the state is a shown as a woman but Kapoor has his heart in the right place when it comes to making a point about the plight of women and the attitude of extra judicial authorities like the regressive khap panchayats.

Amit Sadh and Arshad Warsi complement each other well. The supporting cast of Brijendra Kala and Dibyendu Bhattacharya make their presence felt. All in all, even if slightly, Guddu Rangeela is above average fare.

Published in The Navhind Times on 5th July 2015

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Film Review - Ugly

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

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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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