Chisel a big log of wood in the form of a human being, more or less looking like Ram Charan Teja, and make it wear the khaki uniform. What do we get out of this exercise’ Unfortunately, ACP Vijay Khanna, protagonist of “Thoofan”, which gives Ram Gopal Varma’s remake of “Sholay”, a tough competition.
Zanjeer: A broken one, and another bad remake.
There is Shahrukh Khan and there is Hrithik Roshan who played legendary, the Angry Young Man in the remakes of Don and Agneepath. And there is Ram Charan Teja who couldn’t have picked a worse film to enter Bollywood. There is something wrong in his choice for the role of The Angry Young Man. I’ve not watched the original Zanjeer, neither I’ve watched Don nor Agneepath. But from Don and Agneepath I got pretty much idea of them. I expected same from the Zanjeer. And now I’m pretty much sure that original Zanjeer was not like this.
Introducing the Hero, ACP Vijay Khanna wakes up sweating due to a nightmare he is having since a long time. And then on the duty, lashing on a politician and gaining headlines and getting transferred. The movie starts as a promising one. ACP Vijay, transferred 17 times in last 5 years, is sent o Mumbai this time. Where he fight the oil mafia, controlled by Teja, played by my favorite Prakash Raj. Then he becomes frind with Sher Khan, another honest don in the movie, and the both take on the bad guy. Everything becomes clear in the beginning. Police office fighting with a big gangster, his past and his department. A typical police-don story.
Ram Charan is average. He was not very good in delivering dialogues, punches and whatever else he was asked to deliver. His hairdo remain same, not matter it’s a lovemaking session or a fight with the bulky Sanjay Dutt. Ah! Sanjay Dutt, a good thing about the movie. Priyanka Chopra couldn’t be any worse than this. As an NRI girl, she is too cheery for a serious movie. Cracking bad jokes and jumping around everywhere.
Needless to say that Prakash Raj is a great actor, but he seriously needs to get rid of his Wanted image. In the movie he has played the oil mafia leader. He is good at everything, beating his men with sofa cushions, delivering jokes in tense moments, which are far better tham those cracked by Priyanka Choprs. And then comes the man Sanjay Dutt who is playing Sher Khan in the movie. He is just awesome. Flashing his colorful Pathani suits with now-a-huge body, he has done more than justice to his role. Mahie Gill is kept for a display. She remind me of Amisha Patel’s role in Race 2. Kept for the kind of audience who go for some ‘scenes’ but she fails. Atul Kunlkarni as a crime reporter Jay Dev was good.
Music was nothing but just, whatever. An opening song which was not a bit interesting. ‘Pinky ‘ was performed by Priyanka Chopra as a dance number in a marriage which looks more like a dance bar song.
Dear Apoorva Lakhia, don’t copy Hollywood. Be you, be true.