Krantiveer The Revolution: Nana Revisited!
By MovieTalkies.com, 25 June 2010
2 / 5
'Krantiveer The Revolution' proceeds exactly from where 'Krantiveer' left off. Mehul Kumar's original which starred Nana Patekar and Dimple Kapadia, is still remembered for its fiery dialogues delivered by Nana in his inimitable style. Mehul continues the good work, of exposing corrupt politicians, cops, builders etc in his sequel. This time, the fiery protagonist is his own daughter, Jahan Bloch, who is the screen daughter of Dimple and Nana.
Nothing has changed in 'Krantiveer The Revolution', the modus operandi is the same, the culprits are the same, only the lead protagonist has changed. One thing that one must admire is that Mehul delivers on his promise. His film is just what it purports to be, nothing more, nothing less. That kind of honesty and lack of pretension is a rare quality and is admirable.
There have been films which have been churned out by Bollywood about corruption in the powers that be, but 'Krantiveer' had stood out for its truly hard stance and also for the fact that it was among the early such movies, hence it reaped the dividends that it did.
However, the difference between 'Krantiveer' and its sequel is that much water has passed under the bridge and there have been just too many films about rapacious and corrupt politicians, cops, etc. Thus, despite being very well intentioned, 'Krantiveer The Revolution' just does not have the kind of impact the original had.
The story continues in the sequel with the fiery young daughter of Pratap (Nana), Roshni (Jahan), now having grown up to become an honest and fearless journalist, having inherited the same passion and stinging dialogue delivery as her father. She now takes on the system and launches her own revolution, just like her father did.
Joining hands with her are her college friends, Uday (Harsh Rajput) and Goldi (Aditya Singh Rajput) and her neighbour Vishal (Sameer Aftab). The foursome go ahead and launch a revolution to cleanse society of its ills. The film now follows a familiar route and one is not left guessing about what comes next. There are the usual confrontations, provocative speeches and exposes.
What makes the fare engrossing, however, is the manner in which Mehul handles the screenplay. He manages to keep the interest going even if there is not much left to one's imagination. Despite it not being as power packed as the original, it does have a certain impact and one is sure that there will be a lot of takers for this kind of cinema, cinema which is shorn of any kind of cosmetic beauty.
Mehul may have been handicapped by absence of a presence like that of Nana's, but that does not seem to deter him from his purpose. In fact, his protagonists seem to handle themselves quite competently.
Jahan leads the proceedings with a spirited performance and manages to stay in character all through the duration of the movie. Of course, it is a one dimensional character mostly, but she does well for a newcomer. She is well supported by Sameer Aftab, Aditya and Harsh.
However, it is veterans like Govind Namdeo, Mukesh Tiwari and Aman Verma, who stand out with their portrayal of villains. Another veteran, Farida Jalal, is her usual sweet self, while Suhasini Mulay, Ranjeet, Darshan Jariwala and Avtar impress in their brief appearances.
The film's music, composed by Sachin Jigar is just about passable. Fuwad Khan's cinematography is competent. All the punchy dialogues and bizarre sequences, are of course, the brainchild of Mehul himself, who is the story, screenplay and dialogue writer, as well.
This is the kind of film which cannot be judged on aesthetics. Its appeal is more in the manner in which it is able to make its point and make a connection with the common man. There is not much finesse here, but that was never Mehul's style. Everything is quite in your face in this movie with the director trying to wring out as much as he can from every sequence.
In the final analysis, the film has the Mehul Kumar stamp on it and stays true to its intention even though it lacks originality. The film is likely to find its audience among the non multiplex crowd. But where comparisons with the original are concerned, Nana wins hands down.
Pity, not much 'kranti' happening here.