Ab Tak Chappan(56)
Only very rarely I watch Hindi Movies simply because I dont understand Hindi all that well. But after reading Lazygeek's post on the movie I couldnt help myself and decided to rent this DVD.
Shimit Amin's "Ab Tak Chappan" is straight forward and realistic. If you are into typical Bollowood masalas then this movie is not for you. But this movie is an example that goes to say how Indian Cinema has matured in taking movies close to reality.
The story is simple. A Cop, encounter specialist and a family man - Sadhu Agashe(played by Nana Paketar) - is the talk of the press lately due to his encounters that he made in the Mumbai City. He and his department shoot people who escape punishments with their infulence or money. I liked the way the director went about conveying this message in almost the beginning minutes of the movie. I was also impressed by the way director let the credits appear on the screen which apparently happened along the movie (like our director Shankar).
After the first few scenes the movie changes gear, where Sadhu's office and house are shown. These scenes give an impression on the simplicity of the man behind the recent killings(encounters) of gangsters of Mumbai. Revathi(played by our Revathi) as a wife of Sadhu has little to do. Sadhu has full freedom to do things his way within the department and has often been successful.
Imtiyaz, the next person in the line of command within his department, is jealous of Sadhu for his fame and name that he gained. This person(apparently does not look like a Cop) does emote well. His anger on Sadhu grows even higher when he realises Sadhu is giving importance to another relatively new entrant in the department. Imtiyaz, has count of number of people he has bumped and wants to take his count more than Sadhu. Sadhu who do cares for Imtiyaz's feelings also feels that he is not good enough.
Things go out of Sadhu's control, when a new superior officer takes office. Meanwhile, Sadhu's wife also gets killed when an escaped prisoner(earlier arrested by Sadhu) takes revenge on Sadhu. This is one of the best scenes in the movie according to me. Everyone around Sadhu is terrified and restless seeing Revathi down with a bullet shot. One of them screams out for Ambulance, Doctor and so on, but Sadhu remains composed and says "No, She's Dead". Everyone in his department is taken aback when he returns to office a few days later and behaves in a normal way.
His investigation on his wife's murder leads him to a highly influential man in the city. His senior officer(who is also jealous) questions his efforts for which Sadhu resigns his job. Later tagged criminal(for killing) and given shoot at sight order. Imtiyaz, the new chief, arrests him and tries to bump him. But Sadhu's loyal assitants kill Imtiyaz instead. This adds up as one of the charges against Sadhu. At this stage he flees the country with the help of his Underworld friend. We think the movie comes to an end with a twist. When the ex-chief of police meets him and tells him the possibility of he getting free for guilt but plainly refuses because he comments that he is happy the way he is.
Things I liked the most - Dialogs were down to earth and so was the casting, the hero is not a larger-than-life person who kills people, the encounters are realistic and the narration was particularly impressive. One of my friend Thirumurugan, who watched the movie with me yesterday, commented that the movie is kept intact with the one character and the whole movie revolves around Sadhu. Very good BGM's for the movie.
A must-see for a fan of Serious films.
(Image Courtesy: http://www.stardustindia.com)
posted by Rajesh Thiagarajan @ 7:57 AM
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