A movie which know one has heard of came as a surprise to me. Ashu Trika's movies never have been highly anticipated. Right through from 'Deewanapan' to 'Alag' his features had came and went unnoticed. They never made the bells ring at the box office either. 'Baabar' is altogether a different experience. Since I am very familiar with the underworld and gangster genre, to me it was just another bad guy movie. It preaches the same message that we have heard time and time again 'those who live by the gun, die by the gun' and ' crime never pays'. I was again subjected to the same routine police shoot ups, plot and regular goings on as depicted in previous seen movies. However the second half proved to be surprisingly enjoyable, as the movie progresses with a plot. There is more focus on the police authorities as well as the the main gangster character. This bared a slight resemblance to a earlier 2005 movie called 'sehar' Unfortunately this movie did not fall in to the same high league. However it does raise a eye brow. Maye if Sanjay Gupta directed it he would get some recognition as a director.
************************SPOILERS AHEAD************************* Amanganj in U.P is the backdrop in the move. A boy 'baabar' enters in to the world of crime by killing someone. A few years pass and and he is one the most feared gangsters in the area. He has had countless cases against him ranging from extortion to kidnapping and murder. Tinnu Anand plays the senior who he works for and Mukesh Tiwari is his accomplice. Mithun enter the area as the s.p cop who had been transfered and has vowed to bring baabar to justice dead or alive. Meanwhile baabar has old scores to settle with his rival enemy 'sushant singh' after he looses a contract to him. Later Mithun makes a plan to capture Baabar while catching Om Puri as being the cop on the take. Om later has no choice but to assist Mithon in catching Baabar by using suppression and torture tactics. It proves difficult as baabar's accomplices are not willing to give his whereabouts that easily. Urvashi Sharma (his girlfriend) is however used eventually to get to Baabar. After his arrest corrupt politicians are afraid that he may leak out their secrets. So following Om's plan they decide to have him killed in transit journey. However there are other plans that are made to make it look different.***************END OF SPOILERS***************
The movie has a good pace and there is never a dull moment. All the songs have been interwoven in to the scenes. Ashu's direction is not up to the standard that is required. Jiggering camera work does not leave an impact. Due to the low production cost the film at times feels like a b grade flick. However there are a few plus points, instead of chronicaling the life of a gangster, much attention is on the police force and the method and tactics they use to bring baabar to justice. This is the highlight of the script. Newcomer Soham Shah gave a decent performance and has much potential. Sushant is good as always and appears in the same roles. Mithon is brilliant and mesmerises us again. Urvashi did not impress considering this was her second or third movie. Special mention has to be given to Om Puri who is the heart of the movie. His role is interesting and brings the movie forward at every level as well as influencing it. Both 'shakti Kapoor and Govind Namdev were wasted in roles which lasted 5 to 10 mins. There involvement was very minimum. The background score is pathetic and did not add to the experience. The sudden twist in the ending came as a surprise.
I could not help commenting on the scenes of police brutality that were shown. When will Indian cinema give a positive image of the law enforcements ?. It is getting too much.
************************SPOILERS AHEAD************************* Amanganj in U.P is the backdrop in the move. A boy 'baabar' enters in to the world of crime by killing someone. A few years pass and and he is one the most feared gangsters in the area. He has had countless cases against him ranging from extortion to kidnapping and murder. Tinnu Anand plays the senior who he works for and Mukesh Tiwari is his accomplice. Mithun enter the area as the s.p cop who had been transfered and has vowed to bring baabar to justice dead or alive. Meanwhile baabar has old scores to settle with his rival enemy 'sushant singh' after he looses a contract to him. Later Mithun makes a plan to capture Baabar while catching Om Puri as being the cop on the take. Om later has no choice but to assist Mithon in catching Baabar by using suppression and torture tactics. It proves difficult as baabar's accomplices are not willing to give his whereabouts that easily. Urvashi Sharma (his girlfriend) is however used eventually to get to Baabar. After his arrest corrupt politicians are afraid that he may leak out their secrets. So following Om's plan they decide to have him killed in transit journey. However there are other plans that are made to make it look different.***************END OF SPOILERS***************
The movie has a good pace and there is never a dull moment. All the songs have been interwoven in to the scenes. Ashu's direction is not up to the standard that is required. Jiggering camera work does not leave an impact. Due to the low production cost the film at times feels like a b grade flick. However there are a few plus points, instead of chronicaling the life of a gangster, much attention is on the police force and the method and tactics they use to bring baabar to justice. This is the highlight of the script. Newcomer Soham Shah gave a decent performance and has much potential. Sushant is good as always and appears in the same roles. Mithon is brilliant and mesmerises us again. Urvashi did not impress considering this was her second or third movie. Special mention has to be given to Om Puri who is the heart of the movie. His role is interesting and brings the movie forward at every level as well as influencing it. Both 'shakti Kapoor and Govind Namdev were wasted in roles which lasted 5 to 10 mins. There involvement was very minimum. The background score is pathetic and did not add to the experience. The sudden twist in the ending came as a surprise.
I could not help commenting on the scenes of police brutality that were shown. When will Indian cinema give a positive image of the law enforcements ?. It is getting too much.