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Too long, too bad
A scene from the star-studded saga, "LOC - Kargil", now showing across Delhi.
LOC - KARGIL
(At Delite, M4U and other theatres)
AH! HERE comes the ultimate male fantasy. The men - all 30 of them - occupy the centrestage. Women bring up some delectable digressions. They sing the same song, flutter those lovely eyelashes, pout their lips, feign annoyance, smile and depart. The men take to guns, the women pine for them, lying in patient wait. The guns boom, the beauties sulk. Blood spills, bangles break.
Yeah, but this is not ordinary war film. This one is on Kargil, that integral part of our holy land attacked by Pakistan not too long ago. It tells us that not everyone who shakes hands is our friend. Nor is ever beyond being a foe. That all of us who talk of the merits of war from the safe environs of our drawing rooms can do so only because at the frontier there is a jawan guarding the nation. He too is a human being; he too has parents, wife and children. Yet he moves on, keeping the love of the nation ahead of everything else. So far, so good. No gimmicks, no sermons. Just the way things should be said. Or felt.
Then come the flaws, slowly, ever so slowly. And the film, which could have been a stirring tribute to our brave soldiers who sacrifice sleep and life so that we can be awakened from slumber and watch the morning sun, tapers. The action is good, very good. Yet after a while, it gets repetitive. Jawan after jawan dies on the battlefield, the same machine guns, the same cruel mountains, the same unscrupulous enemy. They mouth the same slogans, walk the same way, shoot down the enemy before laying down their life. Somewhere down the line the viewers begin to feel that it is going on for too long, that the film could be easily edited, that four hours is at least an hour too long.
Also, Dutta's soldiers abuse far too often for comfort. Pray, when they are defending our motherland why should they abuse some one's mother? That too over and over again, with every bomb they hurl, the trigger they press. And with their last breath? Should not they be hailing their motherland or God instead of letting out the choicest expletives about the female gender? That the Pakistanis retaliate the same reprehensible way is no comfort. An occasional strong word, even an expletive would have been fine. Here it is a clear case of overkill.
J.P. Dutta, who had given us "Border", apparently did a lot of research for this Rs.35 crore project. He took no chances with details, involved the Army at every step. He even got his crew into the hilly terrain a few days before the shooting began to help in acclimatisation. All noble intentions, one would say. Alas! Not much of it shows on the screen in this saga. Yes, the uniforms, the commands, the artillery, everything is appropriate. Even the terrain shown is reliably inhospitable. Yet, he forgets that there is only as much you can score by looking after fine details and not any further. He forgets the broad story framework. Dutta concentrates too much on too many heroes for him to be focussed on any one or two them. He has probably bitten off more than he can chew with this film. Too long, too bad.
ZIYA US SALAM
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Metro Plus
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Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
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