Sunday, 16 October 2011
Movie Review: Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
Don’t confuse it with the classic original. Guru Dutt’s magnum opus only partially lends the title for this riveting drama. From the feudal Bengal landlords of British India, Tigmanshu Dhulia transports the action to the Hindi heartland amongst it’s relics of decaying royalty. There is this Saheb whose financial clout is tied to the strings controlled by his step mother. And he has a Vodka swigging bombshell of a Biwi suffering from an attention deficit and a roving eye, both of which periodically propel her into hysteria. In steps our laddie from the Jatland and slides his way into the heart and the bed of the Biwi. Wait a minute, he is the lover boy. So who is the Gangster? No prizes for correctly guessing that but actually there was a surfeit of gangsters in the movie, Saheb & Biwi included.
The script of the movie is taut and each turn of the story unfolds with effortless ease. The story develops like it should and surprises you with nuances even when you are with the knowledge of what is about to happen. I loved the way the characters have been conceptualized. Jimmy Shergill as the blue blooded aristocratic strongman fits the role to perfection. He sums up the understated violence surrounding his troubled life. A neglecting husband, he kills and debauches with panache. His wife longs for fulfillment and sublimates her desires in alcohol. Mahi Gill looks the part. The political rivals of the Saheb introduce a mole in his household with an intention to eliminate competition but a heady brew of lust & ambition sees the Gangster pursue his own agenda. Randeep Hooda, as the wannabe banker turned jealous lover turned killer only seems to be improving with each movie but he had better come up with some star performances before age catches up with him. Deepal “Kanta lagaa” Shaw surprised me with her natural portrayal of a machinegun mouth village girl.
The movie has an irresistible old world charm far removed from the familiarity of the multiplex & internet driven urban madhouse where disputes are quickly settled by a bullet and pursuit of pleasure takes precedence over discretion or propriety. The music is simple and superb, specially the Shreya Ghoshal’s rendition of “Raat Mujhe” which has a mystical & haunting quality which I normally associate with some of the Lata songs of the 60s. As a package the movie is a class by its own and a worthy successor to Dhulia’s student politics thriller “Haasil” but for a diehard romantic like me its stuff dreams are made of.
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2 comments:
Nice post.
one small correction though. Deepal is not the Kanta laga girl. she is the baby doll girl. Kanta laga was by some Zariwala.
cheers
Yeah, you are right. Thanks
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