Agneepath Movie Review : Not a patch on the original
Bollywood, Reviews — By Ajay Nair on January 26, 2012 4:29 pm
Big stars, big production house, bigger canvas and a big big adaptation. Agneepath had everything going for it, but did it really live up to the expectations of all true blue fans of its original will be seriously disputed in the days to come. It may well turn out to be the intended blockbuster in trade language but will it satisfy the real followers who have been holding it very dearly in their hearts? My answer is a big empathic NO and there are several reasons which I would like to point across which necessarily all may not agree to and this is my personal take.
Note – I am sure everyone is aware of the plot & hence I am not going to dwell upon the same over here.
- Ok Mr.Karan Johar so this one is a homage to Mukul Anand and your father Yash Johar but don’t you have any concern for their soul who must be wandering back to earth for this unimaginably bad version? You will have a tiring time with Sunita Menon in doing witchcraft for this and there will be no redemption.
- Karan Malhotra - dude what were you smoking when you wanted to do an adaptation of such a cult classic? Was that cocaine cultivated in Mandwa ( in the film ), growing in your own backyard? Even if you would have been a fanboy, this movie deserved a vision and style to match up the original. When the original was way ahead of its time, you took the catastrophic route of taking this movie back 20 years.
- My dear Priyanka Chopra, with folded hands I request you not to be visible in movies for the near future. Kali Kavde and your nauseating performance should be transported to a world where Extra Terrestrials can bear and make you feel at home. Your demise is the first bright spot about this film.
- Sanjay Dutt you beauty, did a complete transformation and I wished that you have been given a character that can never fail going by the previous version. But you are wrong my dear friend, because actors put life to them and you only laugh on them. Bhagwad Gita is not your cup of tea and versing them too. The day you stop being in an illusion of always playing Raghu from Vaastav will be a defining moment for Indian Cinema.
- When Terelyne, Usman, Hasmukh and Anna Shetty can’t be portrayed by different artistes we get one Rauf Laala. Rishi Kapoor Uncle is given the difficult part of portraying all together and yes he does justice to it. He is the second bright spot of this film and it would be a shame if some really good worthy roles don’t come his way.
- The art of background score is a true gift and if Ajay-Atul are highly rated in Marathi cinema for this then I am sorry to say we are looking at the wrong people. Ear deafening pieces where one can go deaf and having no signature composition for characters will spell a doomsday in near future at multiplexes if these guys make music like this. Chikni Chameli was a farce and even you know it.
- Hrithik Roshan gives a big hard try by his look and in no ways he could have matched up to the legend of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. Roaring in pain with the camera zooming up seems to be his only way of expression along with quivering in slow motion, which has become a trademark of Hrithik. Come on man, we did not want to see your six pack abs or your effortless dance movements in this film. Vijay Chauhan is a man of rage and seeing his super sensitive sissy side kills the whole purpose of this film.
- Who the hell came up with an idea of eunuchs as Vijay Chauhan’s band of accomplice when dealing in action scenes?? Was there any development that Vijay was raised by them as they are shown to be his army, which we fail to understand?? How did Commissioner Gaitonde(Om Puri) remain clueless about his new look and identity while presentation to top brass officers ,when in the next scene we see him interacting with Vijay?? And Sachin Khedekar, Deven Bhojani- what were they for??
- Tribute without an essence of underling the strained relationship between the mother and son is one of the biggest drawbacks of this film. No connect to the painful turmoil and having an easy route of distancing both Vijay’s mother(Zarina Wahab) and sister; but getting as clichéd as possible while making a re-union makes the entire project a homage to K3G.
- Dark black shades to give a grittier feel is a territory best reserved for RGV and I think cannot be perfect in an imperfect world of Agneepath. Point to be noted is the Ganpati song which is so ideal as if the occasion is celebrated with clear decorum and that when we are talking about the early 90’s here. The old Mumbai charm is seriously missing and even Mandwa fails to establish as a character.
- Harivanshrai Bachchan’s glorious poetry is put to absolute sham during a sequence so cringe worthy that even Amitabh Bachchan will find it hard to nod an appreciation. Neither Hrithik understood the meaning nor did anybody else associated with this film.
- India-Australia series is a disaster because of Agneepath or is it the other way round can be a huge debate of contention. My two cents are on the former as the curse of Mukul Anand seems to be falling on Indian team too. The ODI series need to be re-named pronto or we are in a hopeless situation.
Dharma Productions need to tender an apology to the fans of the earlier cult masterpiece for massacring it in the name of reverence. Hope this puts an end to the remakes of yesteryear classics and save us the misery in future to come.
Mukul S. Anand may your soul rest in peace always.
And last but not least, how come there are glorious reviews for this film when movies better than this if taken in solidarity were given a raw deal and criticised harshly? I will leave that to the figment of one’s own imagination.
I m sorry i hav to write it this way… But this is another cynic view than critic review… Of cours we may or may not like a film but as ppl passionate about movies, we must know how to make a dispassionate judgement than a personal attack..
I am sorry if this article has disappointed you in any way but when critics are not doing their job i am still a small fry….I never intended to thrash it and neither have made any personal comments which should be taken seriously….
And as much as one can be dispassionate from the original we have to admit the fact that this project takes the bigger risk of putting itself under the hammer by recreating a cult classic…Just by putting across a note like a tribute or homage does not even its scrutiny…
And i went to see some moments of brilliance without keeping any expectations and unfortunately it failed in that count too and the only positive i came out with was Rishi Kapoor…
Would love to know your views too after having seen it and i am sure you may like or dislike it for various reasons which i am ready to accept and understand.
“how come there are glorious reviews for this film when movies better than this if taken in solidarity were given a raw deal and criticised harshly?”
K Jo is a PR maestro
K Jo is a PR Maestro and thats a given or else who can forget Kurbaan and the reviews that followed which was a shame for film journalism.
lets get drunk sometime soon
Sure Maccha why not…BTW Movie kaise lagi…Sethu will be in touch and lets catch up soon….
worked for me. why? hrithik roshan. enough said.
Chalo isi bahane Old Monk ko pranaam karenge…
well written again, totally in contrast with the last article on agneepath.
sometimes the love for the original makes us hate the remake even more but there must be something very wrong with the new one then!!
Well @angrykopite, i am truly a big fanboy of the original and lets agree to the fact that some movies are better left untouched… I mean Agneepath was not a 70′s tale which needed an upgrade and to top of it when there is nothing novel to bring on the table why was it even attempted…Atleast could have given us some cheap thrills by retaining all original characters…
I will say and re-affirm that people may love it and have no issues on it but then when you are not good as the original then why are you following the legacy too…
i saw the movie on thursday and found it as good as a remake as RGV’s sholay.
disaster on almost every level.none of my friends enjoyed a bit of it.
wonder why can’t directors/produces see their own work with a critical eye before exposing it to public.
couldn’t agree more with your review.
Fair enough…point taken!Interesting read.Writing as usual was crisp,sharp and to the point.
Excerpts of Hrithik’s interview on Star News :
Interviewer : how differrent is VDC character compared to the original.
Hrithik : He is not stylish,has no attitude,doesn’t swagger,doesn’t talk much…
Interviewer : then what is left!
Hrithtik(taking a deep pause and with great difficulty answers): simplicity
Thanks a lot Singh Saab…Well Hrithik actually did not have a choice and he would have been ridiculed majorly if he tried any of the style, attitude or swagger. And you will never once feel that Hrithik is even a character here and let alone be it the iconic Vijay Dinanath Chauhan.
Very much agreed to most of your views, poor direction and very loud film. I still can’t believe that a film very dear to Karan Johar who desperately wanted to remake it and have it a commercial hit, forgot that the film requires good director, and a vision which maybe different from 90′s film but it would leave the viewers applaud the film. Unfortunately, that wasnt the case.. and worst thing is, the film would end up a HIT despite being so poorly made.
Nice that you agree to most of points and you too make a valid statement…Thanks for the read and please keep visiting here and provide your valuable inputs…
i completely agree wid you…wish they had put more efforts in a good screenplay and character building rather than looks and sets!! BIG DISAPPOINTMENT…next time do direct the muvee well mr malhotra rather than just a trailer
Bingo and you nail it Swapnil
i still cant blv kjo can make such a blunder…young hrithik in d film have 5 fingers and aftr 15 yrs thrs an xtra finger..sanjay dutt luks d same aftr 15 yrs..while hr gets older?weird n sad had huge expctation with dis movie..bt alas..acting only rishi kapoor was gud…hrithik entry was aftr 50 mins which was shockng..pc under used..and sanjay hammed a lot…1.5 strs 4m my side..(personal opinion)..hrithiks best actng prfrmnc is still koi mil gaya and best film is znmd..
Glad you share the same view and thanks for the read…Do keep visiting on this site and provide your valuable inputs…
and your points r perfect good job
You have covered almost all the points I had in mind after watching the movie. I had read Johar’s interview when he was planning the project and he sounded very clear then. His idea was to remove the “Krishnan-Shiksha dance sequence” and such masala stuff and focus on the theme of Revenge. I appreciated that. What has come out is even more pathetic : Priyanka and ‘basti’ fellows celebrating Shiksha’s birthday as they did not even celebrate “Vijay-Kali” marriage.
To add to your fine review:
1. Film makers now days pay special attention to even resemblance and expressions of the child character and the grown up character. How did a black-eyed boy become green-eyed man in 15 years? Was it the “Revenge in eyes” effect?
2. How did mother of Vijay recognize Surya? According to the story they had left the village when he was a boy.
3. Master Dinanath was not a good teacher. He did not know Harivansh Bachchan’s poem. Instead of repeating the words “lathpath” and “agneepath” thrice, he stops at only two repetitions.
4. In Mandwa Hrithik gets wounded, earlier he gets hit by a bullet, he gets a wound while fighting with Rauf lala and a few other fight scenes but in their next scenes there is not even a mark on his face. Very well quoted that while Agneepath, 91 was ahead of its time, Agneepath, 12 has moved back in time.
Superb comment Arijit and i am glad that you mentioned all these bloopers which really even i forgot furing this catastrophe.
The best was Priyanka saying “Waqt aa gaya na Viju” to Tinnu Anand’s”Time aa gaya na Viju”….Be a regular here and would love your inputs always…
@Ajay………..Awesome writing buddy.
I remember once during the interview. RGV was asked, about remake of sholay.
He said that, ” I have done a little better job “, If Karan Johar, remakes such classics like Sholay, he would probably shoot the movie in London and call it Ramgad”.
Its disappointing to see the kind of movies,that are coming out. The whole freaking industry is filled with kids of stars of previous decades, with absolutely No visions, No creativity and No originality.
As an Industry, they bring an embarassment for most part of the year.
JP apni toh bajj gayi…Ab London mein toh kuch ache film banne do…Tu fikar na kar iss jahan mein badlaav aayega…jaise mere KARAN ARJUN aayenge…
I am glad my thoughts of the film prior to the release were correct. There’s little that the audience shall get in terms of entertainment from the film specially after the interval.
On a positive note the background score of the film is awesome. The original had great dialogues and awesome delivery.. However this has some good performances Rishi Kapoor, sanjay dutt, thumps up.. Hrithik a disappointment (or perhaps he just lived up to my expectations)
Well i am glad that you could take some positives out of it and thanks for the read….Keep your valuable comments coming in for future too….
http://amitsinha69.blogspot.com/2012/01/agneepath-good-but-far-from-cult.html
I agree with your review. Check out mine on the link
Thanks for the read Amit and have left a comment on your blog.
If we compare the original one then this is a Blunder… and utter disapointment.. Karans dint do justice to the Original makers n actor of the previous version and this is simply disrespectful to the Actor Amitabh who is still alive…
May be only ppl who havent seen the old one will like this version…but im amazed what happed to the Reviews by the official media…why did they forgot the golden words of describing below average perfomance.. is it Dharma production which has tightened their lips or tied their fingers.
@Habeeb: Dharma Productions have not tightened but increased the pockets of a lot of them it seems…
One must not forget that KJo is one of the endorser of NDTV. The big logo comes in the beginning of the movie too.
Awesomely written Ajay n Thanx for taking out the rage mere hisse ka bhi….Its not done maan in the name of business jus give the passion n tribute as a reason n then totally fuck it up….without really carrying about wat it means in a movie goers heart
Thanks Sanket…Yes its a bad homage as mentioned and should not have been remade in the first place….
If they were so confident then keeping everything intact,but without mentioning the earlier Agneepath or its characters would have been the right approach for it…And lets see what everyone felt….Even in that count this is a below average flick.
i had so good memories of original Agneepath….this new remake version ruined all my fond mermories….
You need to watch the old one again pronto
Thanks for the read and do drop on this site regularly…
Ajay Nair, thank you for such a wonderful review because you just said it what I had in my mind. Also all the comments are great here.
I gave a view to your rant and its completely justified…
Thank you!
I enjoyed reading, especially point 12. Good one mate!
Thanks mate for the read…
Yes man.Even karan malhotra is also type of karan johar.He not only used hijras to fight but also made a macho hrithik a “hijra”
@Prakash, haha like your comment.
This year seem to good for you, players, vettai and now agnepath, I am loving it.
For me there are 5 biggest disappointment :
1) Poor portrayal of mother-son love hate relationship
2) The intensity, rage, revenge feeling is totally missing….
3) Vijay chauhan never playes political games like in this movie..he will take bullets on his chest rather than setting some cheap schemes against his enemies..
4) Length of the movie…it’s tooooooooo long
5) Love story plot is totally distracting
I have strong feelings for vijay character and i think karan johar should not have made this remake..maybe some other producer could have done a better job… and that K3G type background score is annoying
Everything is annoying about the film apart from Rishi Kapoor…Thanks for the read and your points are spot on.
Honest Declaration and disclaimer: I have NOT seen the original Agneepath!
So imagine my surprise when I had to sit through 3 lynchings, 100 murders, 1 rape, and countless gang fight sequences… Not my idea of entertainment!
The remake typifies what failed so many movies in the 90′s… Actors that don’t fit the roles (but will bring box office $$$), item song that will be forgotten by Spring, unwarranted gore in theaters half full of kids, and retread storylines that show no originality!
Sure you love to hate Rishi Kapoor in this movie as he gave a brilliant performance! And as a guy, I will never say no to leering at Priyanka on the big screen… but other than that… I was ticked off by this mind-numbing movie!
VERY surprised that Karan Johar was involved in this movie and not surprised at all how well Katrina did in a non-speaking role!
:-p The movie should have been rated ‘A’ for sure.
seems like all the Hrithik haters have gathered here for hatred fest……
There is no hatred towards any particular actor here….Just the incompentence of this remake towards the original cult….Hrithik remains one of the better actors amongst his contemporaries.
What an embarrassing and apologetic so called tribute this movie is tot the original.The film is full fo so many WTF moments and devoid of any emt
I thought you loved Priyanka Chopra in this one if nothing else.
Ajay – Hahaha…..i didnt like Priyanka in this movie. Yeah she is good to look at in any movie.But when it comes to acting esp. in this movie it was a disaster. I was very happy when she died in the movie.
Coming to the few bright spots in this remake – the scenes till which Hrithik was a kid were engaging and showed promise. But once he grows up it is a totally downhill journey. The VDC intro scene though it comes very late in the movie was still well done.The film had good action and a gritty tone.However when it came to the emotional core the film was again a disaster.And yeah it was nice to see Rishi Kapoor in a villainous role. He was quite creepy as Rauf Lala.
All the key scenes ion the original movie which made a great impact were messed up completely like the dinner scene, the confrontation between VDC and Rauf Lala and so on.
What the fuck was Kancha’s hatred towards the mirrors all about. Never explained at all. Hrithik being shown as a amoral character was again a downer which is why you don’t care whether he gets Mandwa or not.In the climax after getting beaten mercilessly he still gets up kills Kancha. After a certain point of time I stopped caring whether VDC lived or died, got Mandwa or not. You just don’t feel like rooting for any of the characters.
In fact the film is full of so many WTF moments that it would make for an entire post. The film is more of an disgrace rather than a tribute. I am so sure Mukul Anand’s aatma will be turning in its grave.Kadar Khan and the enitre team of the old Agneepath will also be pissed to see the new version.
K’jo and his band of directors should stick to making I hate luv stories and other such shit.Let the classics remain the way they are.
I pray to the Almighty that no one hits upon the idea of remaking Hum after this.
The real retelling of Agneepath was released two years ago. It was called Striker. And the best Marathi mulgi dance still remains ‘Hum Ko Aaj Kal Hai Intezar’ starring Madhuri. I have no idea why everyone’s going lady gaga over Katrina’s version.
Tejasbhai….Agneepath series toh dekh liya ab yeh path kab chal rahe ho….Waise nateeja ek hi hai….Aah Madhuri and her jhatkas….
Bas himmat juT-te hi dekh loonga
Well, to begin with, I find this article (or as some may call it critic review) more interesting than the film. Apart from all the crap put together which they called “Agneepath”, it also had a lot of bloopers, technical n basic common sense type mistakes. For example (spoiler alert!!), 1.On Shiksha’s b’day Vijay steps out of the auto-riksha drunk. Later we hear him saying “daru pina buri baat” n they have scenes which states he doesn’t drink. 2.Vijay took three stabs n umpteen cuts like a real hero n was still standing tall. But when he was shirt less I cud c no blood gushing out?? May b Vijay had fevicol in his blood…”chutki me chipkaye”.
Well I can go on n on about some silly mistakes n bad direction in the movie but I’ll just pass.
Comparing the film with that time flop but a cult cinema “Agneepath Original” is not even in the picture, while even as a stand alone movie this one fails to impress.
I’m no critique…just passionate about movies.
@Vrrooon: Thanks for the read and i agree that as a standalone film it is a below average flick….Do keep visiting here and provide your valuable comments and inputs..We would love such passionate guys around…
When will the director/producer understand that it is not compulsory to have a heroin in each and every film. Just because you paid Priyanka chopra you wanted her to occupy the screen. PC and that sister (shiksha, i guess) should have been SHIFT+DEL. Keep it simple yaar
I have to agree with most of your points. However, I did like the first half of the movie. The re-imagination of Kancha Cheena was pretty good and Rishi Kapoor selling off young girls in a market was quite tounge in cheek, i mean, for mainstream Bollywood cinema. I was even okay with the garish music that almost punctured my ear drum (considering I was going deaf sometime ago, it actually hurt) and that is saying a lot.
But, good god! What the hell happened after the timeout? The whole Kancha hating mirrors was never used effectively. The first half was over hyped and I expected some kinda brutality (considering they were making a homage to 90s cinema) that never came. Vijay’s sister came into the scene and added absolutley nothing, Priyanka Chopra added nothing, Om Puri just wanted some crappy order from some sleazy politician throughout the movie… Towards the end, Hrithik reminded me of an Adamantium Skeleton Infused mutant with healing powers and only thing missing were the claws. The whole movie was like the metaphor bringing a knife to a gun fight, but there was no gunfight and no knife, just some boring arm wrestling matches, melodramatic bull crap about ambiguous family values, a eunuch hitpeople and some really, really bad songs. Thumbs down from me.
Your points made me realise that Hrithik will make a good Wolverine…Infact he will be good as a superhero in any film…Rryan Reynolds as Green Latern was a body double to Hrithik and happy to know that you did not turn deaf…:-)
Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor dominate while the real ‘hero’ Hrithik is felt to be unnecessarily occupying screen-space. The original movie was all about Vijay, Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. The latest movie doesn’t do justice to the man, the image. It deserved an ‘A’ certificate, due to being highly insulting to the cult classic and gravely offensive to the sensibilities of its fans!
Nice to know that you are part of this herd….
Dialogue’s which was so impressive in org. Muvie … no such efforts ver taken in this part.. org. Vijay had fire in his eyes.. here drinking, killing n singing…I cudnt understand hw vijays mom recognise the guy vijay killed in ganesh chaurthi … she had never been to mandwa.. best acting done by sanju. N rishi sir
Am told the old Agneepath defined a genre, it defied the odds, compeled emotions, and brought an era of artistically influential idea back to Bwood then.
THis new Agneepath is anything but! How is it “today”- beats me.
Sunjay Dutts demeanor and a trying hard to be evil sense of acting is at best easy, comical too in parts and waaay too obvious. This role definitely needed a deeper , real world feel to it. Was starkly missing
Rishi Kapoor was conventional and hence convincing too.
I found the film lacking on several counts, didn’t have a meticulously chiseled screenplay, lacked the tightness of a marvelous piece of modern literature (and it definitely had the makings of one!), lacked a sense of poetic. The Gita dialogues coulda been so moving, only if they were felt!
The theater was bizarre empty, the audio hence felt deafening, the emotional response from the handful of audience was mute at best. The music score never once touched the soul
@Mee: Though the original Agneepath is no great shakes with regards to story or novelty, but it more than makes up with its outstanding performances and style.
Yes the screenplay is the biggest culprit here and some characters are really laughable including Kancha.
Surprised to know that the theatre was empty as its raking money in crores or even that is a media hype!!!!
Thanks for your read and do drop in at the site for valuable suggestions/inputs on various posts.
If they claimed that it wasn’t a remake they could have changed the ending at least! It was intolerable and Priyanka, what’s with her dude????
Points to note:
Black eyed boy turning green eyed man
Vijay’s mom recognizing the village dude
Sanjay Dutt’s secret of remaining the same with the same kurta for 15 years
How the hell doesn’t Vijay use a gun to shoot the bad guy when all along even for the wedding shoot-out scene he is carrying a gun. So when he confronting pure evil he will go swinging his hand???
@ Vidz: If Karan Malhotra, the director of this remake reads all comments below then he can improve to be a better film maker in future…Would love to present him with this gift….
You said it!
Totally agreeing with you my dear. I think I have a lot of tolerance when it comes to pathetic movies but this one was beyond me. It became hard for me to sit till the end.
May I add to your list the following flaws in addition to yours:
- Viju being a near illiterate fellow has an accent that can be expected only from those who have studied all their life in english medium schools.
- Kancha using the terminologies of “lease”, “factory” etc looked out of place.
- Kancha’s father’s reactions in the end were ridiculous.
- Mandwa is not an island as shown in the film.
Cant think of more right now, but the film surely was a business venture rather than a tribute to Mr. Yash Johar or Mr. Mukul Anand.
But one thing which I would like to say is that now I firmly believe that Vijay Dinanath Chauhan was without a doubt the best acting performance from Amitabh sir. This role outnumbers his role in Sharabi, Black & Paa. Nobody can even dare to think to match that in his dream.
Salute to the Big B.
Regards
@Farhan: The accent part that you mentioned is spot on and you have hit the bull’s eye….A Mumbai local don is not so sophasticated with a clear diction and when he is a Maharashtrian, its a complete NO.
I think they were trying to make a spoof or a comedy.
I agree with most points mentioned in this review..the movie lacked soul..i still remember the final moment in the original where the mother says ‘mera beta gunda nahi hai’ implying she has finally accepted him …the mother-son relationship is not at all brought out in this new version..priyanka’s shaadi fund got more attention than that
…i couldnt understand whats the deal with sanjay dutt’s kancha cheena..seems he will be living the same lifestyle even if he makes it big in mumbai or dubai or wherever..then y bother? he reminded me more of kooka singh from Mukul anand’s Trimurti..
Who cares about what you losers write.All HR haters are whining here. The movie has crossed 100 crores in 11 days but according to you all those who have liked it are dumb. You guys are the only intelligent ones on the planet earth. Oh and Shabana Azmi and likes loved HR’s performance and the movie but well what does Shabana Azmi know about acting. Anyway for your info, original agneepath flopped miserably. Maybe back then people were not as smart as you. Every critic who praised the new movie and actors are paid by dharma. You guys are the real critics,gods of cinema. Get a life. Don’t worry your type movies are also made. Classics. Enjoy them. Leave these loud ones like HR’s Agneepath for us dumb mere mortals.
Ok my dear super Hrithik fan…Seems this post and all comments below have antagonised you no end…But no one here seems a hater towards any particular actor and neither we are claiming to be great critics…
You enjoyed the movie and surely must have recommended it to more people to let it pass the 100 cr club…But frankly speaking i give a damn about it as this movie did not work for me and I have the right to express my displeasure as did many others… Thanks for reading it and do visit here often…One day you will find me praising a movie too….
Tanishka Sana, you are my hero of the day!