Film: Zanjeer
Director: Apoorva Lakhia
Cast: Ram Charan, Prakash Raj, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt
This new ‘Zanjeer’ has a hero who hardly manages to stretch his facial muscles, a villain who dresses up like a ringmaster and a story comes only in between item numbers. Apoorva Lakhia isn’t paying any homage or tribute to the 1973 ‘Zanjeer’ that catapulted Amitabh Bachchan’s image as the angry young man. Lakhia just stitches in clumsily composed scenes along with over-the-top action sequences to shackle his audiences in tolerating 137 minutes of mind numbing entertainment. [break]
Ram Charan makes his Bollywood debut in this muddle of a remake. A little background on Ram Charan, he’s a rising star in South Indian films and the son of actor Chiranjeevi. But unlike Dhanush in ‘Raanjhanaa’, he’s not even remotely likable and makes no effort to wipe off his poker-faced acting.
Charan plays Inspector Vijay, a hot-headed cop who, as the movie shows, is the only honest officer in the entire police department. Due to his unconventional ways of handling crime, most probably by beating criminals into pulp, in five years he has been transferred 17 times. Now he gets posted in Mumbai.
And in a parallel plot, Mala (Priyanka Chopra) has just finished her “Pinky Song”, because that’s what NRI girls do – perform elaborate dance at a Facebook friend’s wedding who she’s known only for three months. Tanked up with few tequila shots, she witnesses a murder while peeing behind the bushes. Priyanka takes her place right next to Ram Charan in sabotaging the film and takes annoyance to newer depths. She acts overtly girlish and we’re constantly reminded that her grasp of reality comes from watching too much Hindi films.
Remaining damage is done by Sanjay Dutt, a wrong choice to reignite the iconic Sher Khan, originally portrayed by the late Pran. This Sher Khan, we’re told, deals illegal automobiles. But two scenes later, Sher Khan completely shuts down his business for the sake of his newfound friendship with Vijaya – because that’s what BFFs do. Talented actors like Mahi Gill are strictly restricted to utter only “meow” and remain intact in the crushing embrace of the villain. Prakash Raj is yet again typecast as the main antagonist and yet again he’s seen making a fool out of himself. He gets to deliver the most loud and corniest of dialogues in the movie.
‘Zanjeer’ is a very bad remake that embarrasses itself in each and every possible way.
Screening at QFX Cinemas.
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