Tu na rukega kabhi
Tu na thamega kabhi
Tu na mudega kabhi
kar Shapath, Kar Shapath,
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath!
These lines resonate through your mind as you leave the theater after watching this Agneepath. The movie is superb in many, many scenes. But, on the negative side, there is a heavy dose of graphic violence and sometimes horror which was a bit unnecessary, especially, the first and the last 20 minutes. Again, the ending scene where Vijay Chauhan recites the poem Agneepath is terrific. Apart from that the rest of the movie is simply a classic of the dhamakedaar, masala movie genre!
Hrithik Roshan’s acting is just amazing. His Vijay Chauhan is very charismatic, very endearing and yet it is very different from the way Mr. Bachchan played this character. Hrithik speaks with his eyes. There are certain body movements that are so spontaneous that they remain long in your memory. After Hrithik, it is Rishi Kapoor who has acted very well. Sanjay Dutt also stands out, but somehow I found his character quite horrifying and sometimes it was just unwatchable! Deven Bhojani is memorable, so are the kids who played younger Vijay and Kaali. Priyanka Chopra does her part very well although she does not have much to do. Acting from rest of the cast is also really good.
Direction is first rate! The camera-work, background score, dialogues everything adds to the dramatics on the screen and makes the movie very impact. Everything from costumes to music, to dialogues to acting falls in place. The acting is so good that the older and younger Vijay or older and younger Kaali look the same person. Even Vijay’s sister looks so believable. She is shown as reticent and simple just like Vijay, so it is easily believable that they are siblings. And even the Dharma Banner music before the credits, is changed to suit the mood of this movie. So much thought is given! The movie is made with a lot of passion, and hence the director deserves all the credit!
One major flaw I found was that can the path of crime really be justified as ’Agneepath’-the path of Fire? But this flaw is there in the original movie itself, so we have to ignore it. And once you accept it without judging it then you can enjoy this movie fully.
The movie has many cliches like the wafadar police officer, a school teacher who follows gandhian philosophy, a typical mother who reminds his son of good values, the ruthless villains, etc, etc. And yet(barring some scenes), I loved every bit of the movie for its sheer masala, its dramatics and a beautifully woven story within that. I found it engaging, gripping and entertaining!
My Rating: 3.5 / 5. Sure to be a Blockbuster!