'Agni' movie review: Tribute to firefighters, but it lacks the heat

Of all the civil servants working day and night to keep the public safe, firefighters are probably the ones who are farthest away from the limelight. A story paying homage to these unsung heroes is what Rahul Dholakia’s ‘Agni’ does.

Parel fire chief Vitthalrao Surve (Pratik Gandhi) and his dedicated team fights both fires and the systemic corruption and injustice in the country. His struggles are not made easier by his brother-in-law, Samit Sawant (Divyendu Sharma), who has risen to fame as a police officer. He stands for almost all the things wrong with the lackadaisical correctional system.

The plot develops into an investigative thriller, where Mumbai comes under the chokehold of a series of suspicious fires. Vitthal has to find this arsonist and save the city while battling the avaricious state powers as well as handling his family life. While the vision of the film must be applauded, the representation is highly stylised. The film tries to provide a social commentary with a meaningful message, while simultaneously creating the suspense of a whodunit. But the narrative delivers neither. The intrigue is too little for the audience to be actually engaged, and the story seems to lose sight of itself by attempting to do too much at once.

The only saving graces were perhaps Pratik as the moralistic and upright hero and Divyendu as the swaggering cop. Other characters fall flat and fail to leave any impact on the viewer or on the story.