Jun 23, 2016 01:21 AM
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By now you have read the reviews, maybe even seen the movie which has probably been dissected several times already in ink and digital print.
So why read this one?
Well because one has attempted to list some of the ways this movie manages to hold your attention to a problem that is not just Punjab’s but of all of us.
You might say, well I have never encountered this problem in my own home so why worry. That is exactly what the movie tells us. Three powerful narratives – two involving honest innocent people like you and me who don’t do drugs but how their lives are turned upside down by the menace.
The first narrative is of Tommy Singh(Shahid Kapoor) a famous pop singer of the underground, known for his huge bordering on the vulgar songs about sex and drugs. The second is about a farm labourer “Mary Jane”(Alia Bhatt) who accidentally encounters a 3 kg packet of drugs worth a crore that has been thrown in from the other side of the border and the third is of Assistant Sub Inspector Sartaj Singh(Diljit Dosanjh) who discovers his brother is an addict.
Daljit takes the help of the director of the drug rehabilitation center(Kareena Kapoor Khan) and in doing so, learns some bitter truth s about the way the industry works in this country. A truth we have so far shied from admitting, but Anurag Kahsyap bares no bones to do so.
On the one hand the movie takes us through all the drama that it is supposed to, but on the other hand it also has some memorable dialogues such as when Kareena tells Daljit – the bigger war is not fighting the drug lords, it’s about the victims fighting the menace within them.
The movie at times may seem a bit stretched but each scene is intricately woven into the story and with the others like a beautiful patchwork quilt.
This is not a warm fuzzy movie with a happy romantic ending.(There I have given that away). It is a dark firm with grim shades of truth out there. The corruption is shown in very realistic terms with no gloss or overt shades of drama. Only two songs, so no distractions.
Very realistic acting by all. Kareena again pulls off another role without make up. Subtle, underplayed a bit, but true to character and no drama, Daljit Singh as the main protagonist has an intense authentic endearing charm reminding you of the Sunny Deol of yore. Shahid, as usual takes his role very seriously as he has been known to do for quite a while now. Gone is the chocolate hero or any trace of it. Here he is a rugged underground drug infused pop singer who starts to fight his own battle with the addiction. Definitely a strong competition to Randeep Hooda. The one person who simply blows you away is Alia Bhatt. Cast as a rustic by semi literate Bihari village girl whose life changes after her discovery of the drug packet in the fields, she makes you empathise with each emotion she goes through even in the darkest of her scenes. Another brilliant performance which will make you see her in a very different light.
The music is good. The two songs have good lyrics and good music and are an integral part of the movie. For a movie that has a rock singer as one of the lead roles, it does not fall into the trap of adding songs where none are required and this is a very good idea.
The movie has also achieved a casting coup of sorts by having Shahid and Kareena in the same movie, but does not give its superstars a single frame together
Overall it has a pretty international look and feel especially with the Tarantino style climax
Go see it
