Why, Why, OH WHY???. Review on Viruddh - Bollywood

Why, Why, oh WHY???

Review : Before I begin to explain the title of my review for Viruddh, let me go into a brief review of the plot. Viruddh is the story of Vidhyadhar (Amitabh Bachchan) and his wife Sumi (Sharmila Tagore), who are a retired, middle class Maharashtrian couple living in Bombay. They have one son Amar (John Abraham) who is studying in London and is dating a Brit/Indian girl (Anusha Dandekar). John comes back to visit his parents with girlfriend, who soon becomes wife, in tow. Everything is hunky dory, until Amar, out at a pub one night with his friends, decides to intervene in a crime that has taken place and gets killed in the process. The criminal (Amitabh Dayal) has got friends (or a father in this case) in high places and not only goes scot free, but also gets Amar tagged with a drug dealer charge. How Vidhyadhar and his wife face the aftermath, fight for justice for their son to get his name cleared, and how it all happens miraculously, is the rest of the story.

Let me comment on the plot first. The story unfolds really well, if a little slow, in the first half. You get to see the really warm bonding between Amitabh and sharmila, you get to see fairly ok sequences between Amitabh and his friends, between Amitabh and Sanjay Dutt (sorry, have left him out of the plot above...but did I do that purposely?!!), and some really nice scenes between Amitabh, Sharmila, John and Anusha. The turning point of the story, the scene where John gets killed by Amitabh Dayal, is done superbly. The scene looks chillingly real and plausible..something that could happpen in any public place in India...very well shot.

And then..the story starts unravelling. Upto the point they show the parents mourning the loss of their son, it looks natural. Then, you see the typical injustices faced by the have-nots versus the powerful in the Indian legal system....well, even though its been done to death in other films, you can still accept that...it does happen after all. But the WORST is saved for the finale, where EVERYBODY- the justice system, the judge, even the criminal's father does an about turn! And I was left holding my head in my hands going.....WHY, WHY, WHY, Mr. Manjrekar?

I would still recommend this movie for its performaces. The performance of Amitabh Bachchan was SUPERB. If any film- goer was left in doubt as to the Big B's versatality, well, swallow all your doubts...he is undoubtedly the most flexible actor around. His vulnerablilty as a mourning father comes through beautifully. Sharmila Tagore as the wife left you wondering why she hasn't been seen more often in films in the recent past. She is wonderful. John Abraham comes across as natural and very likeable. Anusha Dandekar fits the part, as does Amitabh Dayal.

This movie was obviously not made with a commercial point of view. It is made by a good director, with a dream cast. It was meant to be a GOOD film. Then why not put just a little more thought into the script? Mr. Manjrekar, is it enough just to work with the great Mr. Bachchan? Dont you owe it to him, and to yourself, to make the very best film you can make?