This poem which resulted in a movie about a man who fed up with injustice becomes his own system of governance yet manages to keep his conscience intact in the underworld. On a more realistically made theme came a movie about the journey of a man who varies from the right path to the wrong due to injustice, yet realises the importance of treading the right path.
The movie in question is none other than Agneepath, a movie which has several career defining performances which seem fresh even today. With that said, lets move on to the review of this classic.
Story:
The story for today's time is as old as the hills, and was certainly not novel for those times as well, since it seemingly walks along the lines of Deewaar and to an extent Scarface, except for the mandatory Indian movie masala treatment. The setting is in Mandwa, a small town close to Mumbai, but far away from any law in the land.
Over here an honest man, Master Dinanath Chavan (Alok Nath), lives with his wife Suhasini (Rohini Hattangady) and his children, Vijay and Shiksha. He teaches the children in the village and works towards making his village a better place. Opposed to this is the village Zamindar (Goga Kapoor), who with the help of Kancha Cheena (Danny Dengzongpa) maligns the good master's name, and gets him killed by the villagers who previously respected him. This part does make a point about how easy it is to lose one's hard earned respect, even if there is false proof, another reference tot he hardships of the honest path. Suhasini takes her family and goes to Mumbai where one night she is sexually assaulted by the workers in Kancha's petrol pump.
Vijay already burning for revenge against him, destroys the petrol pump and comes under the influence of the enemies of Kancha. He grows up to be a feared don (Amitabh Bachchan) who is met with constant disapproval from his mother yet is adored by Shiksha (Neelam). How he takes his revenge against Kancha and what part does Krishanan Iyer (Mithun Chakravarthy) play in his life, form the culmination of the story.
A few noteworthy sequences:
The young Amitabh dragging his fathers corpse to the cemetery after witnessing his death.
Amitabh's introduction scene. How Amitabh is decieved by his men and saved by Mithun, who makes his entry.
The sequence when Amitabh comes to eat at his mothers house and later at his nurse's house.
The meeting between Amitabh and Danny.
The climax.
Pros:
The story though old, is genuinely handled well by the director, who manages to engross the viewer from the first frame itself despite the flaws, due to slick handling and production values of the time, and of course extracts stupendous performances from the principal cast. The deft handling of key sequences shows that the director knew his job well, without letting the main character delve into over the top melodrama for the most part.
Cons:
If anything the absence of entertainment in the name of comedy or music is non existent except in parts by Mithun, which in essence probably did help to strengthen the impact of the movie. Also due to the lack of diversions, the length does begin to tell, and a little bit of trimming would be helpful, as the pace slackens for a while in the second half.
Moving on, the main thing that made this movie memorable, were the performances, which are as follows:
Rohini Hattangady As Suhasini: An excellent portrayal of the mother in anguish who is both repulsed by her son's dealings yet cares for him as any mother would. She underplayed this role and made it all the more believable with her silence and sharp jibes, instead of the loud sobbing that would have otherwise been the norm.
Neelam As Shiksha: She was the modern variation of Shashi Kapoor's Ravi (Deewaar) in this movie, only that she understands and accepts her brothers motives and reasons for his life, either out of awe or love. Though her role is not that lengthy, she performs well with the material given to her.
Danny Dengzongpa As Kancha Cheena: An excellent actor who comes very rarely on screen these days, his was a role which could have become a caricature, but he elevated it with the right degree of suavity and menace, proving a worthy adversary and even with a simple smile, embodying the evil that the character was. He proves that villainy can be equally chilling when underplayed.
Mithun Chakravarthy As Krishanan: I am not a big fan of Mithun, primarily because I never got around to seeing the movies he makes these days and wasnt able to see his earlier movies. Yet the man has a large following, which does not surprise me because he performs excellently in this movie. Though Amitabh has the major footage, he more than holds his own and plays to the gallery in this path, yet never parodying himself or the community he represents. Even in dramatic scenes he shines. A good actor will leave a mark if the role is well written, even if not lengthy, and here Mithun proves that he is a good actor who thoroughly deserved the awards he got for this role.
Amitabh Bachchan As Vijay Chavan: What can I say about this role that hasnt been said before. One of Amitabh's best performances, to me it is like an extension of Vijay from Deewaar, a more menacing and bitter man. Although there is a distinct impression of Al Pacino in this performance, Amitabh towers over all here, with his unbelievable acting, the way he intimidates and shows menace without resorting to a rippled physique and just by his sheer presence and dialogs speaks volumes for this tall and lanky actor. I have not yet met one person who did not applaud the change in his voice which he affected for this role, for having watched it in his original voice, the same impact is just not there. His dialogs, mannerisms and style along with great acting resulted in a mind blowing performance which I dont think can be duplicated and which got him a well deserved National award.
Alok Nath and the rest lend adequate support.
Conclusively, this gritty movie shows how injustice (societal as well as that of the law) can turn a man towards crime, forgetting all ideologies since having suffered, he realises the importance of the material wants in life, and in their ruthlessness just about lose any semblance of humanity. I believe that to a great extent this is how a lot of poor people become part of the underworld, and though Vijay is shown to be kind hearted and larger than life, this is not the case for most people who get trapped. Most do not gain the notoriety, wealth and power of the protagonist, if anything they lose their morals or just become bitter and helpless at the chase from the law that their life becomes and in reality, the end for such souls is mostly tragic and violent, as is shown at the end. Crime never pays, no matter if the reasons may be noble, the effects do not leave and this is to a great extent the message which this movie tries to project.
Having said that, those unfortunates who have bored themselves to the point of insanity by reading so much, do go the distance and rate and comment.
As always, honesty in either criticism or praise is appreciated.
Till next time
Enjoy
Faraz
