Agneepath - My first impression of the movie !

Photo Credit: http://www.agneepaththefilm.com/

Agneepath

(English: The path of fire)

Agneepath was movie which was released in 1990 it was produced Yash Johar. This Mukul Anand directed movie immortalised the character of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan played by Amitabh Bachhan, the protagonist. It also gave hindi cinema a never to be forgotten dialogue “Vijay Deenanath Chauhan, poora naam, baap ka naam Deenanath Chauhan, gaon Mandwa.” The story is that of a young boy who grows into an angry young man fuelled by thirst for revenge to avenge the brutal killing of his father, Deenanath (a school teacher) a righteous man.

Year 2012, Agneepath is remade, produced by Karan Johar under the same Dharma Production banner which made the original. This movie is directed by Karan Malhotra. It has Hrithik Roshan playing the protagonist, Vijay Chauhan. The significant difference between the two movies is, this time around the movie immortalises the character of Kancha Cheena, the villain, played by Sanjay Dutt and his dialogue “Tum kya leke aaye the, tum kya leke jaoge. Rahe jayega toh sirf ek he insaan, Sarva shakti Sali sarva shaktimaan”.

The story of the two movies is almost the same at least the central theme. The story line tags along the same script as the original except a few characters being added and dropped. Like Krishnan Iyer M.A. played by Mithun Chakraborty has been dropped. A new character of a don called Rauf Lala played by Rishi Kapoor has been introduced. I need to add that Rishi Kapoor has acted extremely well in the negative role. Also noticeable is the changes to the heroines entry in the script. In the original Madhavi who played Mary Mathew was a nurse and meets the hero in the hospital where he is admitted and in the remake its Kaali Gawde played Priyanka Chopra who happens to be a childhood friend of Vijay and they grow up together in Dongri, Mumbai.

Let’s leave the similarities and differences apart.  Essentially when you watch the movie, Agneepath (2012) you can’t miss but notice how much cinema as an art has changed in the last 22 years. One of the key aspects is the cinematography which has evolved with new and improved technology. In some of the sequences the surroundings are superbly captured by the camera. The beauty of Diu has been beautifully captured by the camera where the movie was shot, few parts where shot in Mumbai’s film city.

What is also noticeable is how Item songs have become almost a necessity. They are supposed to add glamour quotient to an already glamorous movie. And mind it we no longer have likes of Helen, Silk Smitha who used gyrate their booty and add the spice off their Jhatkas and thumkas. These days leading actresses have stepped into their shoes and these are called special appearances. Like Chikni Chameli A.K.A Katrina Kaif in this movie.

All said and done, I simply can’t get away without appreciating the work of Sanjay Dutt A.K.A Sanju Baba in the new Agneepath. He has done a fantastic job and no words minced he was simply outstanding in the role of Kancha Cheena. The loudest whistle blown in the theatre and the noisiest entry on screen in this movie was that of Sanjay Dutt.

I was a witness to all this wild adrenaline rush of hundreds of fans as I sat amongst them in a crowded theatre, having consciously bought a ticket in the Dress Circle class (some may use the term Gandhi Class/ Second Class). For me these people who sit in Dress Circle class and watch movies represent the true audience of any cinema. They may earn very little but save enough to splurge it to buy movie tickets. They sure don’t want to miss out on their favourite stars movies.

After a very long time Bollywood has found a Villain who has the potential to become a cult like Gabbar of Sholay. The looks, the costume, the dialogues, the mannerism and most importantly the character itself is the true star of this movie. In simple words, Sanjay Dutt as Kancha Cheena is evil personified!

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Well the debate will always continue regarding – If remakes are good for the art of cinema? How it may not be a healthy culture to continue as we may be stifling new ideas and new stories being made into good movies. Debates are never ending and debates are good for they bring out interesting and intellectual thoughts and ideas.

It needs to be remembered that if Agneepath (1990) was never made and was not critically appreciated, Agneepath (2012) would probably never had been made. For me it’s a victory for the art of Cinema that matters. May be Karan Johar has just succeeded in what he planned to accomplish by remaking his father’s movie.

For the record Agneepath (1990) was not a commercial hit and Yash johar was very disappointed as a producer to have made a fantastic movie but was a commercial failure. Karan on the other hand has in a way just learnt and shown how critically acclaimed cinema can also be a commercial hit.

-       VJ Says ~ Cheers and Peace!