Movie Review - BULLET RAJA

THIS RAJA WINS HEARTS

DIRECTOR: TIGMANSHU DHULIA

GENRE: DRAMA, POLITICAL, ACTION

STARRING: SAIF ALI KHAN, JIMMY SHERGEIL, SONAKSHI SINHA, GULSHAN GROVER, RAJ BABBAR, RAVI KISHAN, VIDYUT JAMWAL

FINAL VERDICT: ***

Ever since the trailer of Bullet Raja was out, I had made an “omerta” of sorts with myself, of watching the film on the very first day. And I did exactly that. Fortuitously, my hopes didn’t come down crashing, and the150 minutes that I spent in the cinema house, were fruitful.

The film commences with Saif Ali Khan or Raja Mishra, escaping an assassination attempt, but after a few seconds, was shown once again facing the gun, with cops surrounding him. Post that scene, the film slips into flashback, and the title track portrays Raja being involved in the notorious aspects of the society. Escaping possible foes, Raja gatecrashes into a “baarat” and as expected in a typical Bollywood flick, dances his way through. There he meets one Rudra, and instantly befriends him. The two save Rudra’s relatives from an ambush planned by the traitor Lallan (Chunky Pandey). From that very moment, Raja and Rudra become the modern day Jay-Veeru. The film then goes on exploring the revenge saga that begins, with the buddies finishing off Lallan, and all the people responsible for Rudra’s uncle’s (Sharath Saxena) death.

The two are soon noticed by the cunning Ram Babu Shukla, a minister from the opposition, who soon appoints them as his “bahubali”, or chief henchmen. The duo then carries out numerous political assassinations for Ram Babu. Seeing the growing cordial relations between Shukla and the two pals, Sumer Yadav (Ravi Kishan, who is the former henchman)  gets livid.

Gulshan Grover plays Bajaj, a shrewd businessman, and his “Marwari” jokes tickle the funny bone. The movie then goes on a more serious note, with the two kidnapping Bajaj, for an insult. However, the tables are turned on the duo, as Bajaj gets in Sumer Yadav to finish off the friends. However, one dies, and the other swears revenge and as anticipated, all hell breaks loose. Amidst the tension, enters Mitali (Sonakshi Sinha), an aspiring actress, and quickly ensures that the duo now become the trio.

The film then slows down for quite some time, until Raja returns from an exile, and till Arun Singh (Vidyut Jamwal) makes a grand entry. The movie then goes on, portraying the treachery of politicians and accomplishing the revenge saga.

Overally, the plot wasn’t completely extra ordinary, but the presentation of the setting makes it a treat to watch. The real locations add absolute authenticity to the plot. The locations chosen stand out, and they give the viewer, a true feel of Uttar Pradesh. The dialogues and the typical accent too make viewing enthralling. One instance of the accent coming into the fray is when Saif pronounces “NASHIONAL- JIYOGRAPHIC” in a typical UP accent.

Gulshan Grover plays an entertaining part, and his dialogues, which comically target the “marwaris” are simply amusing. “JALE HUE NOTE KO BHI CHALANA JANTA HAI MARWARI,” is one such instance. Grover makes his presence felt on screen with sharp dialogues. On a couple of occasions, the film goes on making a mockery of the current Indian politics (Mayawati may raise a few objections.. Enough Said), and that is a delight to watch. In one particular scene, Jimmy Sheirgill or Rudra dotingly, but zealously signifies that no one should have the authority of dividing Indians and stopping them from being a part of different states. (The leader of a political outfit based in Maharashtra, may raise issues though).

Saif Ali Khan steals the show throughout and his act of Raja Mishra surely makes viewers go gaga. His wit and spiky dialogues keep the viewers hooked and engulfed. It’s very pleasing to see Saif, do justice to a thorny role, with utmost ease. Jimmy Sheirgill too isn’t far behind, and ably supports Saif. The rest of the cast members more often than not, do justice to the script. Sonakshi Sinha, is an exception however, and she is the same Sonakshi Sinha, whom we saw in Dabbang, Rowdy Rathore and Son of Sardar.

Barring Lootera, Sinha has done very little of note and her dialogue delivery and acting standards remain similar. With every film, her fans and viewers expect her to be a little more innovative; but to their misery, she always fails.

The direction of Tigmanshu Dhulia remains potent and one wonders that what more does Dhulia needs to do in order to be noticed well by critics. In spite of delivering classics like Paan Singh Tomar and the Saheb Biwi aur Ganster series, it is shameful  that talented filmmakers like Dhulia do not get their due credit, while directors making some “mass entertainers” hog the limelight.

The flaws of the film arise with the music. Barring Tamanche Pe Disco and to an extent the title track, none of the songs catch the eye of the audience. An item number by Mahie Gill is profusely needless and is a mere waste of five minutes. Another shortfall of the film is that, Bullet Raja often loses its steam on several occasions, and fails to completely grab the attention of the viewer. One feels that the film could be made more interesting by adding more serious stuff. However, the instances of “black comedy” partially cover this shortfall up.

Overally, the film is worth watching and the Bullet Raja act by Saif Ali Khan is sure to enhance his fan base. This film is a must watch for those, who take a keen interest in the underbelly of the “dirty politics”. It will be fair to say that Bullet Raja will be etched in the memories of the audience for quite sometime.

A SIMPLE TASK

The ambience of the “GLORY” lounge was far from its usual extravagant style. Rather, the setting was more somber and dull, with only the dim red bulbs being switched on. In the background, a soft and romantic number of the “BACKSTREET BOYS” titled “QUIT PLAYING GAMES WITH MY HEART” was played. The bartenders were missing; so were the usual party poppers. The T.V. set was switched on, with a domestic T20 game being broadcasted.

There, in one corner, near the inventory of the beer bottles, sat Joe Simmons, the owner of the lounge, with a green coloured Carlsberg bottle in his left hand, and a pen in another. The layers of chin hanging around his neck, and the presence of tiny but numerous blisters on his dark face, made him resemble nothing less than a monster. Joe, or popularly known as the “SIR”, fidgeting with his metallic PIER-CARDIN, said in his husky voice, “Listen Brian, my fella, you got to lose tomorrow’s critical tie.” “The odds placed on you, are really sky-rocketing, and if you win, no crisp notes would be minted, and surely there wouldn't be any raking in the moolah,” continued the fifty year old gangster. “So, are you in for this SIMPLE TASK of just purposely losing the game,” inquired the bulky Joe. “Just for giving up early, you get $40000.”

“$40000 is too humongous an amount to refuse,” came the reply from the person sitting on the next sofa. “You get $20000 now, and the remaining, after the job is done and dusted with,” concluded the gangster, passing on a bundle of notes to the person sitting on the next sofa.

The person was none other than Brian Brown, the nation’s ‘Numero Uno’ wrestler. Brian, a brawny thirty year old man, with tattoos all over his body, had been going through a lean patch in his professional, as well as his personal life. The results in the past few matches had gone against him; and to rub the salt on the wounds, his wife too left him for another man. But the most significant blow to Brian was that, he still had to clear all his debts, and the deadline period, was all, but over. Brian took the notes, and without even counting them, walked away from the lounge.

Apart from going through a turbulent phase in his life, there was another integral factor that had been playing on Brian’s mind. It was regarding his condition of “dissociative amnesia”. It had been a condition, which had resulted in Brian having no memory of certain events in his life. The amnesia had already created a ruckus in the thirty year old wrestler’s life. It was the consequence of amnesia, which had caused his wife to cheat on him, and elope with another man. 

“Whatever! I will lose the game tomorrow and for just being knocked down for 30 seconds, I’ll earn a massive $40000. No task can be as simple as this,” thought Brian, as he opened the door of his rented room.

The annoying sound, sourcing from the hammer striking the metallic ring, indicated the start of the fight.  Brian’s opponent was Dave, a rookie in the wrestling industry. As the robes of both the wrestlers were taken off, Brian boasted of his muscular body and tattoos, and looked real like a hungry and menacing beast.  In contrast, the young rookie, Dave, had a moderate build, and nothing worth boasting as compared to his opponent. Brian was the clear favourite, and a lot of money was bet upon Brian’s win. Joe Simmons knew about this well in advance and hence decided to do the “out-of-the-box” by ensuring that Brian did not win. As a consequence of this, all the bookies on Simmons’ payroll would derive immense profits; so would Joe, by himself placing the bet against Brian.

The fight began, and as expected, Brian had the upper hand. The rookie was not even able to challenge Brian. Simmons entered the arena, and quietly sat among the audience, in the front row.

As the fight was into its tenth minute, Brian stepped back a few steps and halted his actions. Simmons thought that Brian was doing the job, he was paid to do, but it was something else. Brian ceased to attack his opponent and rather began taking the punches on himself.

Dave, the rookie had the ball in his court now, and was bruising Brian. Brian, in the meanwhile had his vision blurred, and blacked out for a few seconds. To everyone’s utter surprise, Brian was going through an amnesia attack. This sudden amnesia attack resulted in Brian, completely losing his memory about the meeting that he had with Simmons.

However, within a couple of minutes, Brian pounced his way back into the fight and punched Dave on the neck, for once and for all. The rookie wrestler lay down with excruciating pain, and lost the fight, as the referee ended his count of three. Brian didn't remember a thing about his meeting with Simmons, and regrettably, that was the only part of his memory that he “lost”. The fight ended, with the referee terming Brian as the winner.

Brian, in spite of winning the fight, had failed the SIMPLE TASK of just acting to be knocked down. As Brian, kissed his champions belt, he could see a man, staring at him with vengeance and fury. For Brian, he was just another spectator, but in reality it was JOE SIMMONS