Apaharan

Prakash Jha jumps off to a scintillating start. But he falters by making it too meandering at times.

Namrata Joshi

Updated on: 8 February 2024 4:29 pm

Apaharan

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Rating:

Very well begun but half done. Prakash Jha's Apaharan jumps off to a scintillating start. The heart of darkness called Bihar, the lawlessness, caste politics and corruption, the intricacies of the flourishing kidnapping industry and its nexus with the state machinery is well portrayed. Kidnapping in Apaharan is akin to a courier service wherein the parcel has to be delivered in perfect shape to the right address. There's humour too in the way situations turn. The initiation of a bunch of youngsters headed by Ajay Devgan into the dubious trade is heart-breaking yet funny, their con games are in true blue Bunty Aur Babli tradition and the dons ruling Bihar from the five-star prison cells, equipped with state-of-the-art gym and modular kitchen, is macabre.

Jha knows the rules of interesting story-telling and delineates a colourful set of characters. He demonises and humanises the don Tabrez Alam (Nana as fictionalised Mohd Shahabuddin) simultaneously. Tabrez ruthlessly kills his own son but becomes a surrogate father to Ajay. At the other end is the stubbornly idealistic Gandhian father (Mohan Agashe) who exasperates with his misplaced, tragic principles. The stand-out performances come from Yashpal Yadav as Tabrez's crony Gaya Singh and from Dinkar Pandey as the corrupt home minister. However, Jha deals with politics not with the intent of offering any new insights. The anarchy in the state becomes fodder for a racy thriller but he falters by making it too meandering at times. Also the grit and grime of the first half easily lapses into a melodramatic morality tale post interval. As in Mrityudand and Gangaajal, Jha seems to say that the state of affairs has hit such a nadir that the only way out is bloody violence. There are other cliches as well. The overt attempt to "secularise" crime is good-hearted and well-intentioned but forced. Balancing one bad Muslim don with another good Muslim cop is too pat and a little cringing. But where he fails big time is with Bipasha Basu. Are sleeveless shirts and coloured hair her idea of a simple Bihari girl? Basu's body language is so utterly hip chick that Bihar is totally lost on her. Thank god she doesn't last long on the screen.