‘Dank’ Pursuit Of Greener Pastures

As the world’s largest origin for international migrants, India leads the pack with a 32 million-strong diaspora out of which 18.68 million are of Indian-origin. Among all states, data has shown more than 4.78 lac people from Punjab flew to foreign countries in search of better opportunities in the last five years. Every year, more than 20,000 youth from Punjab attempt irregular migration,” according to a 2009 report by the United Nations. (Sources: www.unodc.in , www.migrationpolicy.org, www.mea.gov.in)

Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘Dunki’ is a riveting tale about similar aspirations, the associated challenges, with a hope to find an amicable humane solution to it.

The story begins in the 90s at Laltu, a tier 2 city in Punjab where 4 youngsters Buggu (Vikram Kochchar), Balli (Anil Grover), Mannu (Taapsee Pannu), Sukhi (Vicky Kaushal) with stressful personal lives are struggling to meet ends. Each of them strongly believes that migrating to UK is the only way to get rid of all troubles. In a sequence of events, Hardy (Shah Rukh Khan) an ex- army officer bumps into the quartet, decides to help them channelize their efforts and move to London. Deep down, he also has a soft corner for Mannu, which gradually blossoms into love. Geetu Gulati (Boman Irani) runs English-speaking classes to train all aspiring immigrants for IELTS preparations. Just before the fabulous five are all set to move ahead, something untoward happens which forces them to opt for the unpredictable, & dangerous donkey (dunki) route instead. How things progress hereon forms part of the remaining story.

The first half of the narrative is typical Rajkumar Hirani (RKH) light-hearted stuff with a combination of slapstick, situational and cultural humor. Post interval we see what Hirani has never attempted before, some hardcore action & thrill (inspired by real incidents), followed by few intense touching moments.

Writers, Hirani, Abhijat Joshi and Kanika Dhillion have done a decent job no doubt . However, since a lot of research was done by the team to understand the nuances of donkey routes, a deeper dive into traumatic experiences of travelers would have added value to the screenplay. Aaja Mexico Chaliye, a Punjabi film on the same topic that released last year was able to capture the ordeal of migrants brilliantly.

Cinematography by C K Muraleedharan and team is top notch especially the international locales. Ditto for the set designs by Subrata Chakraborty. Action by Sham Kaushal is good. Use of VFX of SRK’s ageing and de-ageing seems a bit inconsistent at times. Same goes with his voice modulation in a few portions. The music by Pritam is heart-warming & soul stirring. All lyric writers Javed Akhtar, Swanand Kirkire, Amitabh Bhattarcharya, Irshad Kamil have done a fabulous job.

RKH holds a benchmark in hindi cinema when it comes to wholesome entertainers with his previous body of work. In Dunki, the focal point of screenplay aligns more with ‘emotional’ and the comedy is restricted to subtle & basic. Secondly, the portions that are meant to pleasantly surprise or shock you are also presented differently. While this may be welcomed by a certain section of audience as an experiment, for multiplex viewers expecting hilarious one-liners & frame to frame entertainment, this may appear as  off-track or flat. The social commentary & implied messaging towards the end comes in as a simplistic bird eye view in the current geo-political scenario.

Performance wise, Taapsee Pannu emotes really well and does complete justice to her role. Vikram Kochar and Anil Grover also perform their parts brilliantly. Boman Irani is good, but his character deserved more shades. Shah Rukh Khan plays his part effortlessly and is impactful in every scene. Though being the protagonist, he allows his co-stars to take charge and underplays as and when required. But the showstopper undoubtedly is Vicky Kaushal !!  Even in a short role, his mere presence in every scene overshadows all the others including SRK.

Overall, Dunki is definitely a one-time watch for its heart-warming performances and emotional moments

Rating : ***

Like Father, (Un)like Son !

Movie Review: Animal

A major chunk of our society has been patriarchal as part of its lineage, irrespective of class (elite, middle or others).  In such kind of setups, the male is expected to be the bread winner, the dominating partner, and the protector of the family. The trend is subsequently continued with the son being typically raised to follow his father, take over the mantle at the right time and make the family proud. Now, irrespective of the interpersonal equations, both father and son end up expecting idealistic morals from each other as part of societal norms. This brings a complexity in relationship, posing unusual challenges at different stages of life. Secondly, this also affects inter-gender connections and a person’s overall approach towards life.

Animal (directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga) begins with a similar storyline. Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor) a  business tycoon runs Swastik Steels, in Delhi. His family comprises of his wife Jyoti (Charu Shankar), son Ranvijay (Ranbir Kapoor) and daughters Reet (Saloni Batra) and Roop( Anshul Chauhan). Balbir Singh is busy man immersed into work 365x24x7 and hardly has time for family. Ranvijay is academically brilliant and adores his father to the hilt, tries hard to impress him with every possible action of his. But Balbir is never seen reciprocating the same. As time passes, Ranvijay now considered as problematic by his family, decides to move to another country till things sort out. He gets married to his school crush Geethanjali (Rashmika Mandana), becomes a father to two kids, and settles down in the U.S. One fine day,  news comes in that Balbir is shot at by unknown assailants. Ranvijay without thinking much, rushes to his Delhi home (with his wife & kids) and re-unites with his family. Though Balbir escapes death, Ranvijay is convinced that the threat to their lives has not subsided and he as the next in line needed to take charge of the situation. Deep down inside him there also lies hope of his father acknowledging his love someday. Hereon, Ranvijay’s transition from a restless rebellious teenager to an intelligent yet ruthless gang leader is how the film progresses here on.

The first half sprints like a marathon full of high-octane drama and ends on a very high note. Post interval, things move at slow pace, and there is quite a bit of cinematic liberty here. But, towards the last 30 minutes we have interesting twists and surprises. The film draws heavy inspiration from The Godfather as well. From an entertainment perspective, the viewer is engaged throughout but editing wise, perhaps a 10-15 min reduction may have helped in reducing the overall length.

The cinematography by Santhana Krishnan and Amit Roy is top notch no doubt. The special effects, Prosthetics  & Set Design are all up to the mark. The soundtrack & background music align well with different moods covered in the film. All composers JAM8, Vishal Mishra, Jaani, Manan Bhardwaj, Shreyas Puranik, Ashim Kemson and Harshwardhan Rameshwar including the lyric writers Manoj Muntashir, Raj Shekhar, Siddharth-Garima, Jaani, Manan Bhardwaj, Ashim Kemson and Bhupinder Babbal have done a fabulous job. The action sequences are Hollywood level, both from an execution standpoint & the extent of gore.

The dialogue writing (Saurabh Gupta) is bound to draw diverse reactions. While casually sexist conversations were  conveniently ignored in the 90s, contemporary youth is a little more sensitive and tactful on this aspect.  Having said that, the film does have its share of adrenalin rush & goose bump moments which keep the entertainment quotient high.

The film highlights a few essential positives on nurturing healthy relationships & transparency within family members, and among extended families. But the repeated hammering of ‘alpha-male’ qualities, a man’s world and ‘protective masculinity’ supposedly meant to induce humor, appear like subtle glorification.

Performance wise, Anil Kapoor does complete justice to his role. The assertiveness as a businessman and vulnerability as a father is depicted perfectly. Shakti Kapoor (as Mishra), Balbir’s right hand man provides adequate support. Veterans Suresh Oberoi & Prem Chopra are wasted. Upendra Limaye & Babloo Prithviraj excel in cameo appearance. Saurabh Sachdeva is superb. Bobby Deol makes a terrific comeback and is ‘bloody’ brilliant but deserved more screen space. Anshul, Saloni, Charu Shankar play their respective parts well. Tripti Dhimri leaves a strong mark in  a shorter role. Rashmika Mandana does well in parts but her character deserved better writing. The crusader of the film is none other than Ranbir Kapoor as it was obvious from the trailers. RK is just phenomenal , right from his experimental looks, body language, intensity and voice modulations. Time and again he has proved his mettle & edge over peers and continues to do so with Animal.

On-the-whole, keeping aside our moral compass, Animal is a decent film worth a one-time watch, purely for its entertainment value and ‘paisa vasool’ moments.

Rating : ***