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GANGAAJAL |
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action drama Starring Ajay Devgan, Gracey Singh, Mukesh Tiwari, Mohan Agashe, Mohan Joshi, Yashpal Sharma, Ayub Khan, Dayashankar Pandey Written/Edited/ Produced and Directed by Prakash Jha Music: Sandesh Shandilya ReViewed by Akshay Shah |
Prakash
Jha and Ajay Devgun reunite yet again after their last
venture DIL KYA KAREN was a disaster at
the boxoffice. But unlike DIL KYA KAREN which was a family drama, Jha
this time comes up with a far more gripping and hardhitting flick
getting back into his roots and showing us the brilliance we had
witnessed in DAMUL, HIP
HIP HURRAY and MRITYUDAND! On
one night Amits juniors driven by anger and frustration at the system
burn some goons eyes with acid which is given the term "gangajal"-a
religious term for purification. Soon
the lines are blurred between right and wrong......lawlessness
previals on the town of Tejpur and the tyranny of Sadhu and Sundar
Yadav starts to get out of hand... How
Amit manages to retain law and order into the town of Tejpur and
awaken the people of Tejpur forms the crux of the story. In
terms of a story the film offers nothing new or novel at all. A story
of this nature has been witnessed a hundred times before in Indian
Cinema, more recently being the Sanjay Dutt starrer KURUKSHETRA
or ecspecially the Manoj Bajpai starrer SHOOL
which the film bears a striking resemblance to. But to GANGAJAALs
credit it manages to throw some new light onto a old story and gives
the film that extra bit of punch needed. The
screenplay of the movie for the most is novel although it is cliched.
The film picks up momentum when the officers burn the goons eyes with
acid. Jha has managed to merge fact with fiction by taking the
Bhaglapur Blindings case of 1979-1980 without making the film look
like a documentary. As
a director this is indeed the best flick Jha has made recently.
Although the story is not entirely orignal, he seems inspired and his
efforts show of on screen. His last few releases be it BANDHISH,
DIL KYA KAREN or RAAHUL
lacked that extra "punch" that is expected from Prakash Jha
films. Right from the first frame Jha treats the film with utmost realism and make the viewer feel they are right there in the crude, agressive and violent town of Tejpur. Each and every character created by Jha has a "real" feel to them and nothing is fake or madeup here. The dialpgues spoken deserve accolades too. Yes they are EXTREMELY crude at times and not for younger viewers at all, but Jha manages to make a statement and gives the characters an extra bit of life that is essential in a film of this nature. Saying
all this Jhas film does have a few flaws. Some of the scenes have a
"seen that" feeling to it and the last half hour of the film
tends to lose a bit of pace and punch. Nevertheless
Kudos to Mr Jha for shedding some new light onto an old subject with
successful results for the most. Also
his ability to direct the movie on one sole track works wonders for
the movie as it never loses pace or grip for the most. The
introduction of a new character every now and then keeps the viewer
watching and the absence of inane comic tracks and romantic songs is
welcomed. Even the NAUTANKI number is keeping in sync with the mood of
the story Jhas strength lies in his ability to create realistic and hard hitting charcters and he manages to extract some mindblowing performances from his versatile cast. From
Om Puri, Sanjay Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nasseridian Shah to Manoj
Bajpai have played the role of a cop caught in a corrupt system and
Devgun in all probability is likely to be compared. And although his
portrayl may not be the best ever....he certainly manages to add his
own touch to his character and deservesa noble mention which is enough
said! Yet another award in Devguns kitty. Gracy
Singh doesn't have much to do in the film at all. Her role is
miniscule, yet she acts with conviction in the few scenes she has. It
is indeed the supporting cast that breathes life into GANGAJAAL. Each
and every character compliments Devguns performance all the way and
act as the film pillar of strength. Dr Mohan Aghashe and
Akhilendra Misra as outright corrupt members of the police enact their
parts well. Misras charatcrer will be hated by the viewers. Mohan
Joshi plays the role of Sadhu Yadav as expected, he has played a
character of this nature before in Jhas MRITYUDAND and yet again comes
up trumps. Yashpal Sharma is brilliant as the maniacal Sundar Yadav.
He is best suited in villianous roles and yet again proves that! Ayub
Khan is good in a underwritten role, one felt that Jha would offer him
a bit more keeping their past ties in consideration.Anoop Soni and
Chetan Pandit both act ably. Dayashankar Panday who was last seen in
LAGAAN is great in his role as a corrupt lower caste officer. His
scene where he reforms to become a chai stall owner is one of the
films best. Brij Gopal, Anita Kanwal and Master Yash Patthak all enact
their parts with conviction. The
absolute scene stealer in the movie comes in the form of actor Mukesh
Tiwari. Right from when i saw him debut as Jageera in Raj Kumaar
Santoshis CHINAGATE i knew this actor was
destined for MUCH more. But sadly after a great stint in REFUGEE
he was succumbed to inspid negative roles in
films like MITTI, AAGHAAZ and GHAAT
and latter to more shameful supporting roles in films like HAWA.
Finally Tiwari gets a chance to show us his talent and he doesn't let
it go by. The actor has immense screen presence and his voice
modulation is simply brilliant as his use of eye movements. As Bachcha
Yadav a corrupt officer who reforms Tiwari gives one helluva
performance that is bound to get him recognized. The scene where he
loses his temper in the jail and throws acid into the goons eyes or
his death sequence leave the viewer at the edge of their seat. Technically
the film cannot be faulted. Arvind K's cinematography perfectly
captures the rugged look and atmosphere of the movie while Jai Singhs
action is just like it should be-VIOLENT and GRUESOME. The action
sequences here are very violent and Jha is not scared to show heads
popping and blood squirting. The film is definetly much more violent
than recent releases such as FOOTPATH, SUPARI and TERE NAAM and
deserves guidance if younger children are to watch it. Sandesh
Shandliyas music is OK. The film has one Nautanki number which doesn't
have the gloss needed for an item number. Wayne Sharpees background
score on the other hand is excellent. The music further enhances the
impact and ambience of the movie. All
in all GANGAJAAL is a MUST-SEE and makes for some intelligent viewing,
although it is not entirely orignal and lacks in the climax. a MUST
OWN on DVD for fans of the genre and fans of Devgun who will go for
repeated viewings just for his histronics!! 8.2
outta 10 |
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