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| Film
Review - Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag |
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| By
Jyothsna and Movie Guru |
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Ram
Gopal Varma Ki Aag
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Mohanlal,Rajpal
Yadav, Nisha Kothari, Susmita Sen, Prashant Raj.
Direction: Ram Gopal Varma
Music: Ganesh Hegde, Amar Mohile, Prasanna Sekhar and
Nitin Raikwar
Production: Ram Gopal Varma |
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Ram
Gopal Varma has been under the scanner ever since
he announced his intentions to remake the legendary
Sholay. Though it was initially called Ram Gopal Varma
Ki Sholay, RGV was forced to change the title to Ram
Gopal Varma Ki Aag yielding to the objections raised
by the Sippys.
RGV Ki Aag may draw the audience to theatres who are
curious to discover how much of the original flavor
has been retained in the current one. As this is the
remake of a trendsetter of the seventies, drawing
parallels with the original is expected at every stage
and cannot be done away with.
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The
back drop of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag is the crowded
alleys of Mumbai as against the original bucolic setting
and has been rendered a contemporary feel. The villain
Amitabh Bachchan (Babban) does not dwell in a den
but in a suave bungalow and controls the underworld
operations. He is so ruthless that that he loves people
to challenge him as that gives him an opportunity
to kill them. Nobody has dared to defy him and the
one who did it was never spared. Mohanlal the encounter
specialist decides to put an end to his spree of cruelty
but loses everything. And the rest of the story is
how Mohanlal believes in two small time crooks Prashant
Raj and Ajay Devgan, and hands them over the task
of finishing off Amitabh. Whether they are successful
in this deadly mission or end up on the other side
forms the rest of this action filled adventure.
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Amitabh
Bachchan who had a positive role in Sholay has crossed the
bridge to the other side to play the fiery villain Babban
and the veteran has totally done justice to the role and
at the same time has brought out a unique individuality
to the character which only a seasoned actor like him can
do. The menacing eye does it all. Amjad Khan, if alive would
have felt proud of Bachchan senior’s performance.
The manner in which his character has been shaped reveals
the extent of grueling groundwork on the part of the film
maker and the artist.
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Mohanlal
sparkles in his role and the sequences where the two
doyens of Indian cinema come together are a treat
to watch. Ajay Devgan as Veeru attempts to emulate
Dharmendra and succeeds to a larger extent. Debutant
Prashant Raj doing Sholay Amitabh’s role is
passable. Nisha Kothari as Ghungroo does not ride
on horses but drives the ubiquitous auto and the lady
finds it an uphill task to emote. Looks like she relies
more on skin show for her stardom. On the other hand
Sushmita Sen speaks with her eyes and performs well
but her character has not been etched properly. Contrary
to the original Jaya Bhaduri’s role, Sushmita’s
approach to life is bitter and stronger in Ram Gopal
Varma Ki Aag.
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On
the technical side, cinematography by Amit Roy is good
and sustains the dark mood of the film. Music by four
music directors Ganesh Hegde, Amar Mohile, Prasanna
Sekhar and Nitin Raikwar is just average and none of
the numbers make an impact. Only the initial tracks
of the great ‘Mehabooba’ are retained and
Urmila Matondkar’s gyrations and body language
in this number borders on vulgarity which totally divests
the original flavor of this song. Action sequences by
Pradyuman Kumar are well choreographed and needs special
mention. Ram Gopal Varma’s direction is satisfactory
in the first half but fails in the post interval session.
Screenplay lacks tautness and there are logical flaws
in many sequences. Varma has not tried anything new
related to the progress of events in the film. All in
all, an average action packed film, perhaps interesting
to those who have not watched the original version. |
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Verdict-
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag without fire
Rating -
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