The Hindu : Karnataka News : Gritty narrative ends up shooting blanks

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Karnataka

Gritty narrative ends up shooting blanks

IN-YOUR-FACE:Every character is two-faced here and the women compete with men in guile and scatology.

Bhindi Baazaar Inc. (Hindi)

Cast: Pawan Malhotra, Piyush Mishra, Prashant Narayanan, Gautam Sharma, Deepti Naval, Jackie Shroff

Director: Ankush Bhatt

The underworld is no longer a novelty in H0indi cinema. By now the audiences have a fairly good knowledge about the characters who frequent Mumbai's dark underbelly and their foul-mouthed mode of communication. Neither is the lack of a moral centre unusual. In this scenario, when a young director manages to surprise with imaginative treatment of the gutter world, then he deserves credit.

Director Ankush Bhatt manages to engage us with the pace and the twists and turns that he has imbued to the usual story of two rival gangs, which specialise in picking pockets. One is led by the ruthless Mamu (Pawan Malhotra) and the other by the crafty Pandey (Piyush Mishra). Mamu is a dark shade of grey while Pandey is all black. Mamu rules through Fateh (Prashant Narayanan) and Tez (Gautam Sharma), two childhood friends who want to be Mamu one day, leading to eventual shift in loyalties.

The film takes time to come to the point but when it does, it grabs us by the collar. Backed by powerhouse performances by Pawan Malhotra and Prashant Narayanan, the narrative manages to grip our imagination for a while.

Backstabbing by ambitious cronies is the hallmark of the underworld but Ankush has presented it with some panache. Every character is two-faced here and the women compete with men in guile and scatology.

But the engagement is short-lived as after a point, the twists and turns become in-your-face and the vitriolic lines voyeuristic. Silence and subtlety are sorely missing both in content as well as technique.

Deepti Naval could have been the surprise package as the silent, suffering wife of Mamu but her role is severely underwritten. Amidst seasoned actors like Prashant, Pawan and Naval, newcomer Gautam proves to be a weak link in the crucial role of Tez.

The director opens too many folders for his comfort. And when Jackie Shroff turns up in a hideous wig, the film loses its authentic touch, giving the impression somebody in the background is relishing the goings on in this amoral world even as the viewer is expected to be righteously indignant.

The scenes are mounted for shock value but the lines are too verbose to retain their bite.

The use of a game of chess as a metaphor degenerates to being hammy and an excuse to create some unorthodox camera angles.

A.K.

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