Sooryavanshi (spoiler free) Review

 

Have you ever wondered why Bajirao Singham and Veer Sooryavanshi are referred to as Singham and Sooryavanshi even by their wives, mothers, friends etc? Technically it’s their surname not first name.

 

 

SOORYAVANSHI

Cast- Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif in saree dancing to Tip Tip Barsa Paani (Coz lets face it Katrina is a hot dancer, not a good actor), Javed Jaffrey, Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, lots of flying cars and others...(well if you watched the spoiler filled trailers you already know who else in the movie)

 

Rohit Shetty has become my favourite mainstream Bollywood director. Mainstream being the key word. My favourite Hindi movie directors are Sriram Raghavan (Johnny Gaddar, Badlapur, Andhadhun) and Abhiskek Chaubey (Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya,Udta Punjab). But you know the proper mass entertaining (sometimes mindless) Bollywood masala movies that are meant to be watched in a crowded theatre with hoots and whistles...Shetty has perfected that art of just the right amount of masala with the right amount of meat.

I personally wasn’t a huge fan of his Golmaal series. But ever since Singham, barring something like Dilwale, he just doesn’t miss. He is delivering actually entertaining blockbuster after blockbuster- Chennai Express, Singham Returns, Simba and make no mistake Sooryavanshi is a blockbuster. Despite the year and a half delay owing to the pandemic and the restricted seating capacity, Sooryavanshi has already grossed 100 crs in 3 days of release. And its not just hungry audiences coming back to theatres, it deserves the response it is getting. Because it is a damn good movie. 

Taking inspiration from Marvel and DC comics cinematic universes, Shetty expanded upon Singham’s popular appeal by making Ranveer Singh starrer Simbaa (a remake of Telugu movie Temper) a part of his ‘Cop universe’. The move was unique and welcome. Not that Bollywood hasn’t had a cinematic universe before. (Baby, Naam Shabana, Ayyare and by extension Wednesday are technically Neeraj Pandey’s own cinematic universe). But Shetty has that similar yet slightly different formula of action, music and comedy traits in his universe specific tailored to the hero of that movie. While Singham and its sequel were intense and the light comedic traits were suited to Ajay Devgan’s on-screen persona, Simbaa was naughty yet intense suited to Ranveer Singh. Sooryavanshi is action filled, fast paced and has sarcastic comedic elements- suited to Akshay Kumar’s persona.

The action..oh boy...the action in this movie is Michael Bay level. Not even exaggerating. Shetty has truly amped up the action quotient here to suit up to Khiladi Kumar’s action talents. There is a Bangkok chase sequence that though mildy exaggerated, might be at home in a Bad Boys movie. In the second half, there is a particular rotating slo-mo shot from the bottom angle that is almost trademark Micheal Bay. The chase sequences are not just cut fast to give the illusion of speed, they are actually well shot and edited. There are a few solo long shot action sequences near the end, involving combination of hand to hand and gun fights that are very evident of John Wick style Gun-fu. This is some of the cleanest and the best original (yes thankfully no Hollywood scene was copied that I can recall) action sequences I have seen in Bollywood in a long, long time. While there are obvious cinematic liberties that do not make sense, but hey...baby steps Bollywood...baby steps. If you came into the theatre expecting complete sense during a Rohit Shetty movie, I suggest you take a long look at yourself in the mirror.

The story is written by Rohit Shetty himself and..just like his most underrated movie –Singham Returns- it is surprisingly layered. Though it starts with a info dump at the beginning that can be a bit heavy and the editing keeps cutting back initially to moment we just saw 5 mins ago in typical Bollywood style. However later it settles down and gathers a slightly slow but intense pace. There are exaggerated messages of national and communal integration peppered throughout the movie, which am not a fan of to be honest. I personally prefer a bit of subtlety. But hey, what the fuck is subtlety in a Rohit Shetty movie? (I should have taken that look in the mirror myself). However, the drama actually works and there is a Hindu-Muslim unity dramatic scene in the second half that had me emotional and the theater clapping as well.

 As I said, just the perfect amount of masala...it rides that fine line between falling into melodrama territory but just recovers. Also, it’s not just the hero but supporting characters who are well rounded and shine as well. The flow builds up perfectly till the interval with all the chess pieces slowly falling in place and...do yourself a a favour - don’t watch the trailer. Because the second half is...its like the Steppenwolf fight from Zack Snyder’s Justice League or the portals scene from Endgame Ok,. I mean at least the Bollywood equivalent of it. Haven’t had so much fun in a Bollywood movie since ages. Trust me, the second half alone is worth the price of admission.

The basic plotline is Veer Suryavanshi lost his parents during the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. He is now a Inspector for the Anti-Terrorism Squad. 1 ton of RDX had been smuggled into Mumbai in 1993, but only 400 kgs was used. The rest is still buried somewhere. Lashkar Sleeper cells plan to use it. Not only to create terror. But to humiliate the ATS as well which has been a thorn in their flesh since 27 years. How our hero tackles this threat while balancing the personal risks this involves is the crux of the story. But there are several other character arcs that are peppered throughout. It manages to balance a large number of characters while keeping the plot moving along. Even the villains are given somewhat understandable backstories to make them multidimensional and not just random bad guys. The script has great balance of comedy, some very intelligent dialogue driven comedy and great action.

When we saw him being teased in a MCU style scene at the end of Simbaa, I knew he Akshay Kumar would OWN this role. And he 100% owns it. From the action to comedic timing, it’s perfect. The risk in any franchise is often the repeatable aspects of it. However, Shetty and his team manage to craft an entirely new and original cop hero which is similar to yet distinct from Simbaa and Singham. The way the action is filmed and especially the humor is original to each movie. There is a scene here  involving with Sooryavanshi forgetting names that’s just hilarious as hell. There are also a ton of meta jokes that poke fun at action hero traits that are just my kind of humor. Katrina Kaif acts as she best can, she gives a not too bad performance. But dances the shit out of Tip Tip Barsa Paani. (Thats all that matters I guess). The rest of the cast (THE REST- Ok I think most of you know who I am talking about) are fantastic and the chemistry between them towards the end is just...fucking amazing! They also set up a sequel in the best way possible. I can’t wait for the next instalment in Shetty’s cop universe.

 

You know what, Go watch this movie. Not on Netflix, in a full fucking theatre with all the whistles etc. This is the grand mass entertainer that deserves to be enjoyed like this. Welcome back to Cinemas. This movie is – TOTAL TIMEPASS!

 

PS- I frankly believe that Rohit Shetty has done more for popularizing Marathi culture than any Marathi artists or the Shiv Sena combined. The liberal and perfect use of Marathi language and culture in his ‘Cop universe’ is heartening to see. 

Toofan (just one small spoiler) review

 

Don't get attached to heroines who smile too much

 

TOOFAN

DIRECTOR – RAKEYSH OMPRAKASH MEHRA

CAST- FARHAN AKHTAR, PARESH RAWAL,MOHAN AGASHE, MRUNAL THAKUR AND OTHERS

 

Its a sports epic that comes from one of India’s best modern working directors-  Rakeysh Mehra. It has music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (who are not composing music as frequently as their talents merits). It has Farhan Akhtar as struggling youth from a troubled background who finds direction and purpose in sports. It isn’t Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. It feels like wishes it was.

Toofan is a completely fictional tale of Aziz Ali – a vasooli bhai types – who finds real purpose and discipline through boxing.  He is encouraged and supported in his endevaour by local Dr. Ananya Prabhu (Mrunal Thakur speaking impeccable Marathi) who happens to be the daughter of renowned Boxing coach Nana Prabhu (Paresh Rawal giving a powerhouse performance once again). While in itself that's not a new premise at all, the movie is also a love (jihad) story and has elements of religious discrimination as well.

Here’s the thing- the movie is well made, technically sound, the humor works well, there is decent music and the sports sequences are well shot (Mehra shoots the boxing scenes with his characteristic style). However, what mars the movie is the sometimes uneven and predictable flow. Now if you have seen enough Hindi movies, you know when the actress starts smiling a lot and dances with orphans AND senior citizens both, she is gonna die soon. This is not even a spoiler. According to every working Indian script writer, the only way to ensure that the death of a female character hits hard is to make her Jesus or something close to him. But what you expect doesn't really happen when you expect it, but yes it does happen later on and for the flimsiest reason imaginable. In keeping with the communal discrimination themes of the movie- there could have been 10 different ways for the characters death to mean something however its quite random. 

Speaking of the religious discrimination parts, well I honestly don’t think mainstream Bollywood has developed the kind of sensibility and intelligence required to handle such a sensitive topic. Though the issues faced by Aziz and later on by him and his Hindu wife are very very real. There is still a very conventional way this is treated in the movie. If it was any other director, I may have forgiven it. But I honestly expected better from the guy who directed Bhaag Milkha and Rang De Basanti.

There are just so many cliche’s in what could have been a more sensible take. So of course there is a old matronly nurse (played expertly well by Supriya Pathak)who is obviously christian and who speaks in “Tumko Jasti karne ko kaun bola” type Hindi. She is the only one willing to help the newly wed Muslim-Hindu couple.  The Hindu girl’s father is of course communally biased spouting some really insensitive lines about Muslims despite his best student being Muslim (?). Now he is shown to have good reason for being so too. But that part is not given the weight it should have. It could have been a really insightful take on violence, redemption, things that divide or unit us.

But the movie then veers again into sports territory with rivalries, hastily introduced fierce young opponent who we are TOLD (not shown) but just TOLD is very deadly. It almost feels like 2 different movies and while battling personal demons and sporting rivals is a common theme especially to boxing movies- it just doesn't mesh as well together as it should. There is a point where our hero is going to make a return to the ring after a long hiatus, yet his first steps in the ring are just edited over and shown to us via a news paper montage. There are scenes you would expect to be cut short which drag and vice versa. The felt like it knew how to box didn't know where to land its punches (oh yeah...puns are back).

Yet the movie is brilliantly acted by Farhan Akhtar who not only emotes with his face but his physique as well (ladies, go watch it for that reason specifically).  Paresh Rawal is the real powerhouse here and Mrunal Thakur has a charming presence on screen but requires some improvement in the acting department.

Also, my one big problem with Indian sports movies is that there is not enough sports in it (Fuck you Dhoni a Untold Story. Fuck you for not giving me an insight into one of Indian crickets most brilliant minds) . Like we get it, its about the drama behind the sport etc etc. But how about showing us how that plays into their sport as well. How about making a sports movie like you would make a war movie- clearly making us understand the strategies not just through words but visually as well.  Wouldn't it be awesome instead of rising music and slow motion telling us that the character is bringing out a special move or trying a different strategy why not SHOW us that on screen? Why not let the characters very movements inside the ring/ground, their strategies be front and center rather the drama behind it? Rocky movies have been doing this so well. Rocky has a well defined style in the movies, which changes over the years, it is challenged and Rocky has to adapt to those challenges. Look at any martial arts movies, the fighters have different styles which is an expression of their personality. Their movements often convey...anyways rant over. Might make a separate post about that later.

The music is average – with the title track being a straight rip-off of Zinda from Bhaag Milkha. There is one song called ‘Begaani Shaadi mein’ which sounds like its from the late 90’s or early 2000’s for no reason at all since the movie isn't exactly a period piece. Shankar Ehsaan Loy can and definitely need to do better. So does Rakeysh Mehra. You guys are all better than this. The story was conceived by Farhan Akhtar and developed by Anjum Rajabali (who has written good movies like Pukar, Ghulam, Rajneeti etc). But it kinda felt like Akhtar got his best buddies who had made a great sports epic before just to put his ideas on screen...which doesn't work as well.

So to summarize, although Toofan is cliche’ in parts and engrossing in others. While the COVID era has changed my ratings system in that I cant say this is better watched on TV – because that's the only way to watch it. But well, if you have a Saturday afternoon to spend while eating Biryani/Kofta, it is a good one time watch.

My rating is – Worth Watching Once (if you have the time).

Toofan is streaming on Amazon Prime. 

PS - If you really wanna watch good Hindi cinema content- Go watch Ray on Netflix.