The above image was chosen from all the available images for this movie simply because even though Hritik Roshan (Vijay) as the protagonist is stupendous the other actors seen in the poster Priyanka Chopra, Rishi kapoor and Sanjay Dutt also put their indelible stamp on the movie with their sublime performances. I have only a faint memory of watching the original Big B starrer Agneepath and am so in no position to make any comparisons.
The movie starts on a humdrum note in the sleepy salt cultivating village of Mandwa and the screenplay takes its own time to show the life of young vijay(Arish Bhiwandiwala) in the village and the strong bond between young Vijay and his father who is the headmaster of the village school. Arish Bhiwandiwala excels in portraying Vijays childhood and things get more interesting and intense from the moment young Vijay arrives in Mumbai with his pregnant mother(Zarina Wahab) after losing his father to Kancha Cheema's(Sanjay Dutt) treachery in Mandwa. Young Vijay decides that power is what he needs to get back at Kancha Cheema and decides to side with rival gang leader Rauf Lala(Rishi Kapoor).
Things fast forward by 15 years and Vijay Deenanath Chauhan( now Hritik Roshan) is described by Commissioner of Police( Amrish Puri) as the key person in Rauf Lala's gang who has some other goal in his life as he gives away all his earnings to the needy. The rest of the movie is about how Vijay reaches Kancha Cheema and has enough enough emotional charge and depth in the script to keep you engaged. Karan Johar's shadow direction is evident from the melodrama.
Production design is the main highlight of the movie and makes the visual experience ultra savoury with surreal set pieces which complement and support the cinematography. Kancha Cheema's den and the place with the Banyan tree will remain embedded in your memory for years to come.
The letdowns of the movie are the last half an hour and Katrina Kaif's item number. An out and out skin show Katrina's item number totally lacks the oomph factor of her earlier outings and totally fails to titillate. Her costumes are neither ethnic nor contemporary chic and totally get lost in the dead zone between them.
Now why a scheming Mumbai gang lord like Vijay decides to come alone to Mandwa and take on Kancha Cheema and all his henchmen is beyond me. I definitely was also wrong if i thought that medical miracles( don't want to give it all away) in Bollywood movies were a thing of the past. Considering the revival of the indomitable larger than life heroes in Bollywood in the last two years this movie should be a winner.
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