Movie review - 'Guddu Rangeela' - A Surprise Inspiration From 'Sholay'

Rating: ***1/2

Ok, so this is a film that surprised me big time. I expected it to be a buddy comic caper with a hint of drama on the lines of Ishqiya. It actually turned out to be anything but that. Instead, what I was served was a Sholay inspired film which turned out to be a high-on drama affair with liberal dose of action along with numerous twists and turns thrown in.

Did I say Sholay? Well yes, and don't jump from your seat because even director Subhash Kapoor knew that this was coming. No wonder, he actually makes the reference pretty early in the film once it is clear that he has established his characters. So pretty soon, within first 20-30 minutes of the film, you know that Arshad Warsi and Amit Sadh are Jai and Veeru, Aditi Rao Hydari is Thakur and Ronit Roy is Gabbar Singh. The conflict is on the same lines too, Aditi wants to avenge the death of her sister from Ronit, though the stage and setting is different. From being a daaku, the villain here turns out to be a Khap leader.

What stays similar is the entire rustic flavor of the film and the lingo which stays rooted to the core of the film. So there are rough terrains all around even as the trigger friendly Ronit Roy continues to terrorize his gaon waale with muscle power while doing everything in the name of 'samaaj'. Arshad and Amit have their own battle to fight with him as well and Aditi's agenda only makes their resolve stronger. What follows are numerous twists and turns in the first half, before an excellent interval point establishes the scene for a powerful second half.

Surprisingly though, the second half starts on a rather passive note, and at least some part of it has to do with the love story that develops between Amit and Aditi. It is purely there because a Bollywood film needs to have a man and woman occupying the scene to fall in love. Otherwise, from the film's plot perspective, the romance doesn’t solve any purpose whatsoever. A song or two is thrown in though, hence threatening to derail the film. Meanwhile, the back-story of Arshad Warsi and Sriswara too don't have the kind of poignant moments that would have brought a lump on one's throat. In short, the female angles just don't work.

As a matter of fact, even the buddy angle doesn't really make you sing Yeh Dosti along with Arshad and Amit. Despite the two being 'forced' upon a few scenes around natural bonding and camaraderie, the outcome doesn't reflect on screen. What does reflect is the vendetta angle that plays between Arshad and Ronit. Now that's the most powerful point about the film and one has to give credit to the two senior-most actors in the film who do make things happen. Both individually as well as together, they make sure that audience sees the kind of experience they come with.

Not many may know but Ronit actually made his big screen debut (Jaan Tere Naam – 1992) almost half a decade before Arshad (Tere Mere Sapne - 1996), and hence is more experienced as an actor. He makes sure that he actually stands up to the league of Gabbar Singh and brings on the menace and terror that is required for his character. He comes up trumps in a big way, something that has come to be associated with him of late, and is controlled and balanced in practically every scene. A brilliant act. Same holds true for Arshad who has to play a character which is not quite a hero right till the end but brings on the right emotions when pushed to a corner. His fight till the end proves that.

As for Subhash Kapoor, he could well have chosen an altogether different title of the film, considering the fact that the film is not at all a comic affair which a title like Guddu Rangeela lends. One look at a Sergio Leone inspired shot right at the end of the film with a vintage car being driven on a rustic land with a motorbike following it, and you would know that the film does come close to being a Westerner.