A Refreshing Youth Movie, A Predictable Cop Actioner- A Look At Two Releases This Month

Even as exams are just a month away, I cannot help but feel intrigued by any exciting release that comes this month. Come March and eventually we will get a taste of most of the leading Oscar contenders but I am also content to look for Bollywood movies that can give me a great time while being something different from the stuff we usually have every Friday. So, after flicking through the music channels, I just come here to talk about the two awaited releases this month.

Kai Po Che Will Be A Refreshing Youth Movie.

 

One is a slick, refreshing youth movie with a wonderfully creative name ‘Kai Po Che’ which is Gujarati for ‘I Have Cut’, a victory cry synonymous with the Makarsankranti Festival, the occasion when the skies are flooded with the fluttering kites of innumerable colors. Officially an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s ‘3 Mistakes of My Life’, the movie, helmed by Abhishek Kapoor, exudes freshness right from its casting choices to its sepia-tinted promos. The three leads in ‘Kai Po Che’-well-known TV actors Sushant Singh Rajput and Amit Sadh and character actor Raj Kumar Yadav- are, in every sense, a welcome break from the usual 40-plus heroes who are cast as youngsters in most youth movies. Instead of giving us big names, the film seems to be giving us real promise.

And ‘Kai Po Che’ even seems like a different kind of youth movie. The youth-oriented movies usually made in our film industry are either too flashy, glitzy (‘Student of the Year’,’ Main Hoon Na’ and the like) populated by designer brands and gleaming red Ferraris or downright realistic and earthy, devoid of the usual color and vigor of youth and growing up (‘Udaan’, ‘Dil, Dosti Etc’.). In between lie films that blend a feel-good warmth with a credible approach- films like ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Wake Up Sid’, ‘Rock On!’ and others are warm, witty and sensitive portrayals of coming-of-age and friendship, instantly accessible and good-looking as well. ‘Kai Po Che’, which, as believed, will stick closely to Bhagat’s narrative, is mainly about ordinary youngsters affected by political turmoil, or more precisely the communal tensions witnessed in Gujarat, among their aspirations and personal demons.

It obviously sounds promising but this is something that some of our most well-known filmmakers have doled out to us. Gulzar’s debut ‘Mere Apne’, as well as his final directorial outing ‘Hu Tu Tu’ are both about normal youngsters embroiled in events beyond their control; in the former, unemployment of the 70s leads to gang warfare among the youngsters and in the latter, two youngsters from influential families try to seek justice for the victims of political manipulation of their parents.

 

 

 

Sudhir Mishra presented to us ‘Hazaaro Khwahishen Aisi’ an incendiary film in which the youth of the turbulent 70s was plunged into emotional turmoil and forced to make their ideological choices. That stays as one of the best films about the youth facing tough times, forced to abandon their idealism and confront hard realities. And Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s ‘Rang De Basanti’ was a stirring and well-observed, if often melodramatic and pulpy, story of happy-go-lucky natured youngsters waking up to the realities of corruption, when it targets one of them- an Air Force Pilot. Clearly, the film’s most striking accomplishment is how it superbly draws parallels between the current generation and patriotic times of the 1930s.

If it gets it right, ‘Kai Po Che’ may eventually belong in the same genre. The fresh casting choices are already an advantage, making the film instantly easy to connect for the young viewers. On the other hand, at a time when India is halfway between uncertainty and utopia, the film’s underlying theme of communal politics and how it affects daily lives could not have come at a better time. And it promises to be a well-told tale as well- Abhishek Kapoor, whose last film, the impressive ‘Rock On!’ will obviously do a good job with this unusual story as well.

The second release, this month, may be regrettably run-of-the-mill. Named ‘Zila Ghaziabad’, Anand Kumar’s film is reportedly based on the 1990’s gang wars that had erupted in the eponymous district of Uttar Pradesh.

 

Zila Ghaziabad feels like a predictable cops and gangster film

 

The premise is then meaty but from what the promos seem to be telling us, ‘Zila Ghaziabad’ feels quite dated in its approach. On any given day, people like Sanjay Gupta, Anurag Kashyap and even Ram Gopal Varma (when in form) can make a fantastically delicious meal out such meat- without really gunning for too much conviction. In the past, movies like ‘Shootout At Lokhandwala’, ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’ and ‘Rakht Charitra’ have done just that- recreating legendary tales of gangsters and ganglands without really going into the specifics. Slick packaging, good casting choices and a confident film-making approach all help to make the drama interesting and exciting on the screen.

‘Zila Ghaziabad’, on the other hand, feels like a mish-mash of elements- there is a faintly distinct Sanjay Gupta-like flavor running through the promos but when we see Sanjay Dutt as a sleepy-eyed cop making a fool of himself with his ‘Service Revolver’, we know we are in mediocre territory. Ever since the roaring success of ‘Dabangg’ and its sequel, we have been handed down films about cops, which are actually more about an over-the-top and ribald expression of masculinity and tomfoolery- think about ‘Singham’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’ and now this.

And other things feel problematic too. The action scenes will be too loud and violent- so violent and silly that you will actually smirk. The casting, save for maybe Vivek Oberoi, who, after a long time, actually fits the role of a gangster, also feels uninspired- Arshad Warsi, for instance, hardly looks menacing as a gangster. And of course, we can guess that the film will have its own share of relentless dance numbers, an item number (of course) and those horrendously jarring close-up shots will grate our nerves. Ugh!

So, my vote would go to ‘Kai Po Che’; of the two, it obviously feels like something refreshing to welcome the summer days ahead. Already, I am hooked to the song ‘Shubhaarambh’. Has anyone ever heard such a sublime yet haunting Garba song in ages, one which parallels the coming of Navratri with new hope for the youth?

Way to go, Amit Trivedi.