Ungli Movie Review: Predictable But Entertaining

By and large, vigilante films are known for their dark content and their angst-ridden protagonists. However, Rensil D'Silva chooses to show the middle finger (pun unintended) to this rule with his Ungli.

When a bunch of masked vigilantes start targeting corrupt government officials with innovative punishments, the Commissioner of Police ropes in tough cop Ashok Kale (Sanjay Dutt) to bring these vigilantes to book. When Kale decides that a different approach is needed to capture these elusive criminals, he in turn gets on board Nikhil (Emraan Hashmi), a maverick cop, to fight fire with fire.

Nikhil goes undercover and manages to join the Ungli gang comprising Abhay (Randeep Hooda), Maya (Kangana Ranaut), Goti (Neil Bhoopalam) and Kalim (Angad Bedi). Will Nikhil bring down the gang or will friendship trump duty? Watch the film to find out.

What strikes you about the film from the first scene onwards is that though the gang sets out to tackle corruption, the whole process has been shown in a breezy and light-hearted manner without any preachy sermons about the issue (for which we are thankful). The punishments meted out to corrupt officials too are funny and the film manages to strike a chord primarily because the film addresses the kind of issues that we face on a daily basis (rickshaw drivers refusing to ply etc).

Emraan, who has made a career out of playing the rake, does so once again in the film. His 'bad boy' charm and the wicked glint in his eye, which hints at mischief galore, is enough to make you grin in anticipation. Hooda too delivers an admirably restrained performance while Kangana, Angad, Neha Dhupia and Neil seem sidelined by the filmmakers. Sanjay Dutt has immense screen presence, but he looks quite tired and haggard (understandably so, as Sanju baba was dealing with the court verdict at the time of shooting).

To Rensil's credit, the film moves at a fast pace and the plot is never ignored to highlight the romantic track between Nikhil and Maya. The dialogues are quite witty (specially the banter between Dutt and Hashmi) and will provoke some guffaws.

On the flip side, the plot is quite predictable (it is sure to remind you of Rang De Basanti) and at times, logic seems to desert the storyline. 

However, all in all, Ungli is a light-hearted fare, which can be counted on to strike a chord with the masses.