Spirit of the times – How the mighty have fallen and Johnny Gaddar

13Oct07

After periods of mediocrity there comes a phase signaled by a plethora of movies that change the face of an industry. A new wave! With line up of movies like No Smoking (Anurag Kashyap), Khoya Khoya Chand (Sudhir Mishra), Quick Gun Murugan (Sashank Ghosh) I believe we are entering that kind of a phase. I might be proven wrong with the Karan Johars and Kunal Kohlis who again can drag it back to square one with some megatronic blockbusters which are utter nonsense. But I hope. Hope is a good thing, isn’t it?

There were flag bearers of such a change like RGV with Rangeela, Satya, Company, Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon (production)….but alas RGV has gone complete nuts. Then there were phases with movies like Yahaan, Sehar etc. when again I felt this might be it. I was disappointed again. But I hope again. Somehow this time I have a lot of positive vibes.

Please don’t mistake me for a cynical-art-house-loving-pseudo-intellectual. I absolutely love masala and believe Govinda movies are an institution in itself. Unfortunately that is escapism at its best. Where is cinema in which you have a nice new story, brilliant narrative, edge of the seat thrill and all those inspiring moments? Of the leading lights only Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Asutosh Gowariker haven’t succumbed to the the box office trappings.

Just check out the list of some of the leading (read – having box office clout) movie makers and their last movies:

RGV – Aag (WTF was he thinking?)

Rakesh Roshan – Krrish (Please watch Paycheck if you haven’t and you will know how pathetic Krrish was – Superhero wow not withstanding)

Farhan Akhtar – Don (Glossy no-brainer remake of the cult original – Gigantic flaws which I won’t elaborate here)

Sanjay Bhansali – Black (over hyped copy/inspiration – Definitely not Big B’s best while Rani also IMHO played to the gallery, Saawariya – Looks like another Devdas)

Karan Johar – KANK (Superficial glossy take on marriage and relationships – Basu Bhattacharya will be crying in his grave)

Yash Chopra – Veer-Zaara (His last great film was Lamhe – a gem of a movie)

Sooraj Barjatya – Vivah (Read – Corny)

J P Dutta – Umrao Jaan (Pathetic remake of another classic)

Subhash Ghai – Kisna(Apart from making this disaster he also produced Good Boy, Bad Boy, Apna Sapna Money Money, Shaadi Se Pehle, 36 China Town)

Kunal Kohli – Fanaah (Bad movie critic, Worse director)

Anil Sharma – Apne (Absolutely ridiculous movie – and it’s a hit)

Shaad Ali – Jhoom barabar Jhoom (Gimme a break – what was he trying to make)

Other than four of the above, who are projected as the future of Bollywood, all are veteran movie makers and have made memorable classics which need not be reiterated here. But still they are concerned about the Box Office more than content. It is at this juncture that People like Shimit Amin (Chak De India) and Sreeram raghavan (Johnny Gaddar), Anurag Kashyap (No – he did not make Metro) (Satya, Kaun – script, Paanch (alas – never released),Black Friday, No Smoking) should be heralded as the flag bearers of the new wave. These young guns have new stories to tell and a very natural of telling it sans all the banalities of the above mentioned. May be many people are as frustrated as I am with the dumb no brainers that are being dished out day in and day out and they are raising their hands up and making their presence felt with sensational new content and brilliant narratives. In such times when a movie like Johnny Gaddar is released you feel like fresh air.

The director Sreeram Raghavan (He of Ek Hasina Thi, The Eight Column Affair and Raghav Raman fame)is not making any conscious effort to pass any message or awaken the moral. A throwback to the retro noir style thriller of the 70s its unabashed entertainment for your cinematic senses. A tribute to the genius that was Vijay Anand who gave us memorable thrillers like Jewel Thief, Johhny Mera Naam and Teesri Manzil, Johhny Gaddar is a treat for your visual and aural senses. Starting from the opening sequence and the Technicolor credit sequence that looks like a Warhol collage, to the climax it is fast and furious entertainment with brilliant in film references (Check out the book Rimi Sen is reading in the bus – The Guide, James Hadley Chase books and elements, The movie that Daya Shetty is watching – Eyes Wide Shut, The jigsaw puzzle scene- Citizen Kane and more, Parwana-one of my favourite Bachchan movies which I always felt should be remade)and a fantastic climax.

In its core Johnny Gaddar is a crime caper in which the plan goes awry and how each of the scheming partners, Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh – great future), Shardul (Zakir Hussain), Seshadri (Dharmendra), Prakash (Vinay Pathak) and Shiva (Daya Shetty) react to the situation. You know from the very beginning who has done what and how. What happens next is the crux of the movie.

I won’t go about the what, when and how of the plot but will just share some great moments from the movie. The scene where Zakir Hussain talks to Rimi scene during the zig saw puzzle – a brilliant piece of conversation – Zakir Hussain is brilliant for those five minutes – a very serious five minutes and then he laughs – which diffuses the tension that was building. Vinay Pathak talking to the two guys in his den and deciding their fate. All the murder scenes are well handled – all of them. Govind Namdeo’s cameo in is ridiculously funny accent is good but for his Michael Madsen turn – Reservoir Dogs anyone, which I felt was unnecessary. Performance wise this movie has it all – ensemble acting with the debutante Neil Nitin Mukesh showing promise and flair which is lacking in most of our new heroes. May God bless him and give him more material like this. Will someone give Zakir Hussain a full-fledged movie? He is a dynamite waiting to explode. Vinay Pathak and Dharmendra are impressive as well. The females in this plot have also redeemed themselves with very good acting. Special mention for Ashwini Kalsekar who plays Vinay Pathak’s wife. Rimi Sen adds the right amount of intrigue that is required for a femme fatale although I felt she could have been made for complex a character.

Technically the movie is far superior to whatever you have seen lately in Bollywood. Amazing background score interspersed with inspired dialogues this movie is sure to be a cult hit. I am tripping on the totally rocking OST as well.

It’s not that there are no flaws in the movie. Dharmendra’s dialogue delivery modulates between brilliant to ridiculous (He should be assured that his dialogue delivery in Hindi is good enough), his listening to the recorded audio cassettes of his wife and Govind Namdeo’s sudden transformation into a sadist. But one thing is sure, you can expect more brilliant stuff like this from Sreeram Raghavan. Here’s saluting the spirit of the times and movie makers like Sreeram Raghavan. Last heard he is making a new movie title Johnny Tokyo. Am I game for it…you bet I am.

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Tags: Bollywood, Cinema, Farhan Akhtar, Hindi CInema, Johnny Gaddar, Karan Johar, Sanjay Bhansali, Sudhir Mishra