Agneepath: Walking the path of fire with ease

Hindi (U/A)
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor and others
Director: Karan Malhotra

In 1990, when Amitabh Bachchan took the Agneepath to grab a national award for his breathtaking performance, Hrithik Roshan was just 16. In 2012, when the Greek God of the Bollywood took the same path, it wasn’t a cakewalk for him either as to fit in Big B’s shoe was not a child’s play. But boy! What a stunning Kolaveri act Hrithik has given in the 2012 version of Agneepath! He not only fits in Big B’s shoe but also walks the Agneepath with ease.

With revenge on his mind, Vijay (Hrithik) leaves Mandwa for Mumbai with his pregnant mother. The fact that his righteous school teacher father was killed and hung by scary Kancha Cheena (Sanjay Dutt) only makes Vijay a tough guy, burning him silently and helps him to plan meticulously his bête noire Kancha’s downfall. Soon Vijay understands that an enemy’s foe is a friend as his slain father had taught him “shakti ka istemal karne ke liye shakti ka pass hona zaroori hai”. So he uses his powerful “mentor” in the crime world Rauf Lala (Rishi Kapoor in a negative role for the first time), a drug peddler-cum-girl trafficker, to take his revenge.

To remake a film like Agneepath which still holds a special place in cinema enthuses’ heart is a painstaking task. But debutant director Karan Malhotra has done a relatively good job to keep viewers on the edge of their seats for nearly three hours. The outline of the original story has been retained. Some changes have been done like the funny character of nariyalpani wala Krishnan Iyer MA (which fethed Mithun Chakraborty a Filmfare award) has been dropped, while the character of Raul Lala has been introduced.

No doubt Hrithik and Sanjay steal the show, but other characters like Kaali (Priyanka Chopra), police officer Gaitonde (Om Puri) and Raul Lala play an important part. Music by Ajay-Atul is another plus point as all the songs, except the qawwali, are worth listening.

Ajay and Atul, who have made a mark in the Marathi film industry, have struck a right chord with the listeners. The film also has some minus points. The length of the film often shifts viewers’ attention from the screen to their watches. Also the grown-up Vijay Dinanath Chauhan appears only after a good 30 minutes. Lastly, PC’s role has been limited only to songs. Despite a few drawbacks, Agneepath is worth watching as it has all the fuel to set the screen on fire.