Sheikh Mukhtar, Mukri and Baby Shashi on the sets of Mangu (1954), directed by N.A. Ansari

Sheikh Mukhtar Productions’ action-packed, sentimental human drama “Mangu,” whichwas premiered at the Super and other cine­mas in Bombay on February 11, is one of those films loaded with mass appeal. Deftly written and cleverly directed, the picture is a singular success for N. A. Ansari, the veteran charac­ter-actor, who makes a promising debut as a full-fledged director in, this film.

The story centres round the exploits and innate humanity of a giant-sized tramp called Mangu. His rugged exterior and enormous phy­sical strength lend poignancy to the pleasing qualities of his heart. Never given to working for a living, he becomes a changed man when an innocent child, an heiress chased by assassins hired by her uncle, suddenly comes into his life and he takes upon himself the responsi­bility of sheltering her.

In this task he is aided by another tramp, a dwarf who justifies his name, Kamchor, by his abhorrence for work. For the sake of the child Mangu begins to work as a railway coolie and, in the colony where he lives, meets and falls in love with the daughter of a fellow-worker. On the other hand the hunt for the child continues unabated and Dr. Shorey, the wicked uncle of the child, tries every trick to deprive her of her inheritance.

The big, bluff Sheikh Mukhtar dominates the picture with his powerful personality and fine, sympathetic performance in the role of Mangu, the kind-hearted tramp. Mukri, the pint-sized comedian, lends able support to Sheikh Mukhtar as Kamchor and brings the house down with his mirthful sequences.

Niger Sultana as Mukhtar’s sweetheart, Purvi, looks utterly charming and is superb. She puts over the song sequences with gay abandon and alluring ease. Ansari as Dr. Shorey, the villain of the piece, lives up to his reputation as one of the most hated bad­men of the Indian screen. Baby Shashi as the child heiress who is the victim of all the intri­gue in the film endears herself to audiences in her delightful, impish and enchanting role.

Sankatha Prasad as Purvi’s kind and sym­pathetic father, Mumtaz as the child’s long- suffering mother and Aroon as her rich rela­tion are others who do well in their roles.

A complete misfit in the cast, however, is Sheila Ramani in a role which demanded dramatic talent and dancing ability. Stiff and stilted, with more pose than poise, she re­duces what could have been an entertaining characterisation to a dull, artificial portrayal.

The songs are melodious, and are pleasing­ly sung, scored and written. Anna Nevada, the Spanish danseuse, contributes an exotic dance number.

Production values in matters of decor, sets, rostunies, photography and sound are good (Filmfare – 1955).

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1954, Genre – Action, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Sheikh Mukhtar Productions, Director – N.A. Ansari, Music Director – Mohammed Shafi and O.P. Nayyar, Cast – Sheikh Mukhtar, Mukri, Nigar Sultana, Sheila Ramani, Baby Shashi, Sankatha Prasad, Anna Nevada and Aroon.

Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap (2011)

I’ve never been a stickler for action movies – particularly the dishum-dishum one-man army variety Bollywood serves on a blood-stained platter. The one exception, though, remains Indian cinema’s proverbial ‘angry young man’, Amitabh Bachchan: superhero for the masses eons before a shirtless Salman Khan became all the rage. Zanjeer. Deewar. Sholay. Trishul. Muqaddar ka Sikandar. Lawaaris. Shakti. Coolie. Shahenshah. Mai Azaad Hoon. Agneepath – I’ve grown up to his cult-classic one-liners, his bravura, his passion, aggression, and of course, that trademark Bachchan baritone. Now 68-years… young, one thought he’d long since abandoned that larger-than-life persona in favor of stern patriarchal figures, occasionally reinventing himself with gems like Black, Cheeni Kum and Paa.

Of course, then came along Bbuddah… Hoga Terra Baap. The ‘one-man industry’ [as billed by French director François Truffaut] strikes again in the avatar his ardent fans love most: the one where he kicks major ass.

Let me get this out of the way at the onset: this is masala filmmaking at its finest, read: thin-to-the-point-of-emaciated plot. For example, here are some of the characters: a conscientious cop so ‘straight’ he could convert an army of little monsters, re: Lady Gaga [Sonu Sood], his doting single sati-savitri mom [Hema Malini] and blink-I don’t love you-blink-but now I do love interest [Sonal Chauhan], a moist toilette mafia mogul [Prakash Raj] and his army of womanizing goons… and Raveena Tandon, who replaces Johnny Lever as the movie’s staple over-the-top comedienne. You’ve seen them all before; these cardboard-cutout characters predate cinema of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Then there’s the plot itself: following a perceived terrorist attack – calm down, the antagonist isn’t Muslim – ACP Karan [Sonu Sood – a dead ringer for a young Amitabh] avows to rid Mumbai of its mafia kachra within two months [sigh, only in Bollywood]. Naturally, Kabir [Prakash Raj], the contractor behind the attacks is a bit peeved and hires the baap of all contract-killers to off our righteous cop. Enter Viju [Amitabh Bachchan], who has as much aversion to being called ‘bbuddah’ as Pamela Anderson had on being called ‘babe’ in Barb Wire [did you know the movie was a reimagining of Casablanca?! But I digress.] With several botched up operations under his belt 45 minutes into the movie, just when you begin to think ‘whoa, he’s really not the best in the business, is he?’ or ‘whoa, why am I watching this movie?’ comes a twist in the tale that pulls the rug from right under you. Where the first half is really bbuddah wine in new bottle, it’s the second half that really brings on both action and emotion. And those wolf-whistle inducing one-liners.

Seriously. The first hour or so is mild torture, mostly because of infuriating subplots. ACP Karan is head-over-heels over Sonal Chauhan’s character [I forget her screen-name]. Yawn. Raveena Tandon is reunited with old flame Viju and must express her lust via million-expressions-a-minute. Fast-forward to the good stuff, please. Even Amitabh Bachchan channels less of his Zanjeer/Deewar namesake’s [Viju/Vijay] firepower and gusto in the first half: his character is more reminiscent of womanizer Sam from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Yes, he’s riding a Harley, and rocks Aviator sunglasses whilst aiming a sniper rifle, but you’ve seen him angrier, you’ve seen him more irreverent. Where’s all the ‘thodi thodi seena zori, thodi thodi maatha phori, thora action, thora Jackson’ we were promised? I don’t want to see Amitabh playing matchmaker, doling out marriage-advice, DJing at a club – I want to see blood, guns, explosions, the frikkin’ works! Director Puri Jagannadh reserves all the good stuff for the second half, and we’re reduced to watching more a display of the South Indian cinema aesthetic – choppy editing, disjointed scenes, several thousand camera angles for a single shot… in essence, everything you hated about Salman’s Wanted – than an ode to brand Bachchan. And that’s really where you feel letdown; we all knew this wasn’t going to be a National Award winning screenplay, but we did hope the director would keep that camera lens focused firmly on its protagonist. Dare I say it: Jagannadh doesn’t exploit AB enough; as critic Deepauk Murugesan puts it: ‘unsuggestive background music clouds the reticently used baritone and designer sunglasses mask the smoldering anger in those eyes.’ One wishes as much effort had been put into the screenplay and dialogue as was into Bachchan’s eccentric wardrobe.

But fret not, for whilst the first half boasts of mediocrity, the second – minus that one unwarranted subplot featuring a father who hates love marriages [massive eye-roll] – is where both director and Bachchan really come into their element. The action sequences work – Amitabh even gets to bend a bullet a la Angelina Jolie from Wanted!, as does one brilliant comedic sequence [read: background music war] involving Amitabh, Hema Malini and Raveena Tandon caught in lovers’ crossfire at a café. The emotional element, the little of it there is, packs an equal punch. But it’s the climax sequence, beginning from Bachchan the storyteller to Bachchan the destroyer of all, that takes the cake. There he is. This is what I’d been waiting for. And man, was it worth sitting through half-a-dozen characters and their half-baked stories for. AB really does reign supreme; he makes even the most ludicrous sequences work because, well, he’s Amitabh Bachchan. And here’s a legend that’ll never really grow old.

In its finest moments, Bbuddah… Hoga Terra Baap brings on the nostalgia, and then some. So if, like me, you’ve grown up watching AB deliver one electrifying performance after the other in reverent awe, watch BHTP and then make a trip to your local DVD shop and bring home his classics. Because there never was, and never will be, another Amitabh — Osman Khalid Butt

Rating – 3 out of 5

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2011, Genre – Action, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, AB Corp AB Corp, Director – Puri Jagannadh, Music Director – N/A, Cast –
Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sonu Sood, Sonal Chauhan, Prakash Raj, Makrand Deshpande, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Charmee Kaur, Mahie Gill, Subbu Raju, Shahwar Ali, Rajeev Verma, Rajiv Mehta, Atul Parchure, Raveena Tandon

Game (2011)

When it comes to films starring Abhishek Bachchan, one is somewhat wary. Often times it’s because despite the hype, many (if not most) of AB Junior’s films turn out to be duds. For every Yuva or Guru, there is a Raavan, Bus Itna Sa Khwab Hai etc.

Having said that, it must be said that Game did look appealing. For one thing, it isn’t a regular Abhishek Bachchan film. Plus it comes from Farhan Akhtar’s banner that has a history of producing modern and entertaining films.

Our introduction begins with some key players through a series of meetings set by Kabir Malhotra (Anupam Kher). A billionaire who resides in Greece, he writes a letter to four people and invites them to his private island under the pretext of helping them with their various problems.

Abhishek Bachchan comes in from Turkey as Neil Menon, a casino owner in some serious debt from loansharks who are lethal as they are dangerous.

Vikram Kapoor (Jimmy Shergill) comes in from Mumbai as an actor with a deadly secret (namely murder) and three back to back flop films. With his career on the low, Jimmy takes the offer from Kabir Malhotra and comes to Greece with the hope that his career will eventually fly from some help from the tycoon.

The third player is OP Ramsay (played superbly by Boman Irani), Prime Ministerial candidate for Thailand. A corrupt politician to the core, PM comes in to protect his seat in power. Hoping to gain some cash from AK, he too arrives to the secluded island.

And finally there is Tisha Khanna (Shahana Goswami), a journalist who drinks too much and has no real credibility.

Once the four players arrive, Kabir Malhotra reveals his real reasons for inviting them. And that is getting them arrested for the death of his daughter. But before he can prove their guilt through some evidence, Kabir Malhotra dies. What looks like suicide turns out to be murder. And so enters Kangana Ranuat as Sia Agnihotri a member of International Vigilance Squad (IVS). She begins her investigation and so begins the chase.

During the first half of the film, the plot thickens quickly. The frames move quickly and we travel to Istanbul, Mumbai and back to Greece in quick succession. It’s thrilling and exciting. One reason is perhaps because the plot is hard to decipher and predict. And that really makes a difference, especially if the flick is dealing with the genre of thriller.

But it’s the second half where the film looses momentum and completely changes gear: from a smart urban thriller it delves into a typical Bollywood film where there can be no gray shades to the star of the show. In this case, it’s Abhishek Bachchan. You’ll have to watch the film to understand fully what I mean.
From an acting viewpoint, the real star is Abhishek Bachchan. He looks suave and cool and plays it so. As a casino owner, he has shades of nasty grey but Abhishek plays it so well. Neil Menon is neither a good guy nor bad. He walks somewhere in the middle and Abhishek walks that line like a complete pro. The script doesn’t do his performance justice.

The other actor who is absolutely brilliant is Boman Irani. As a corrupt politician who will do anything to get to power, he is delightful to watch. Boman really makes you hate his guts and he does it conviction and class.

Kangana Ranuat is adequate in most scenes. Jimmy Shergill once again proves that he is a great actor, desperately in need of some meatier roles. His role is relatively small but it is significant. As an actor obsessed with successes, Jimmy’s Vikram Kapoor is brilliant.

Ultimately, Game loses points because of its script. What started out as an interesting and entertaining film eventually slows down and becomes predictable. Game falls short of being edgy. And that is its biggest flaw – Maheen Sabeeh

Rating – 2.5 out of 5

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2011, Genre – Action/Drama/Thriller, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Director – Abhinay Deo, Music Director – Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa, Cast – Abhishek Bachchan, Sarah Jane Dias, Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill, Gul Panag, Soniya Jehan, Shahana Goswami, Kangna Ranaut, Sikander Kher, Anupam Kher, Gauhar Khan