Babban Singh (Bachchan) plays harmonica. The nod here, we are reminded, is to Bachchan’s Jai in Sholay. The hardened gangster — now, pit this against the no-frills evil that was Gabbar Singh, the original — spouts some tripe about innocents being killed by America and Al-qaeda.
When Heero and Raj (Devgan and Prashant Raj, no vibes shared) set out chasing a fortune in crime, we hear the yeh dosti strains as BGM. Burman’s classic theme, played against a Mumbai skyline and two tapori protagonists, suddenly, starkly tells you why this was a mistake, after all.
That’s how Ram Gopal Varma turns Sholay on its head, in a pointless remake that serves up camp in an unapologetic binge. RGV, with fanboy enthusiasm, celebrates the original in an unholy fusion of pulpy material and overtly clever technique.
The clinching downer, however, is that while Ramesh Sippy put together a straitjacket actioner with interesting lead players in Sholay, RGV pushes the whole salute-to-classic bit too far and ends up indulging himself with caricatures.
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag follows Inspector Narsimha (Mohanlal)’s trail of Babban, with two trigger-happy convicts as frontmen. The Narsimha-Babban confrontations offer an engaging contrast of acting schools: Mohanlal’s assured, studied calm, pitted against Bachchan’s stylised ham-up.
Bachchan gets to brandish a range of mannerisms — tics, scowls and a menacing half-cough — but his set-piece build-ups and smart one-liners work only just. Prashant Raj makes a jaunty debut, while Devgan is disappointingly off-touch. Sen’s black-clad composure and Kothari’s annoying eagerness all look too rehearsed. Even with material that’s fodder for stuntmen, Aag’s action (Pradyumna) fails to burn it up.
Amar Mohile’s thudding, off-sync BGM and the listless tracks (Urmila pouts from memory in a slaughtered Mehbooba) add to the cheesiness of this RGV vehicle that’s fuelled, and tanked, by ambition. This is Hindi cinema’s original maverick, taking another blind shot at greatness.
Aag, independent from the original, has a B-ness about it that, at times, is interesting. But only till you are reminded that you are with Sholay, redux. Heck, you don’t remake that and get away without comparison.
