Release date : 06 September 2013 | |
Director : Apoorva Lakhia | |
Producer : Reliance Entertainments | |
Music Director : Meet Bros Anjjan, Chirantan Bhatt, Anand Raj Anand | |
Starring : Ram Charan, Priyanka Chopra, Srihari |
Ram Charan’s ‘Thoofan’ is releasing tomorrow across
the world. We have been to a special screening that was held at Prasad
Labs and we are bringing you the first exclusive review of the Telugu
version. The movie has been directed by Apoorva Lakhia and Reliance Entertainments has produced it. Let us see how the movie is
Story :
ACP Vijay Khanna is an honest and aggressive cop. He
is also a very angry young man. His upright nature is rewarded with a
record number of transfers, but Vijay never changes his attitude. After
an altercation with some ruling party members in Hyderabad ,he is
transferred to Mumbai.
Vijay is tasked with the investigation of the violent murder of a deputy collector. He soon realises that a powerful oil mafia is behind the crime. An NRI named Mala (Priyanka Chopra)
is the only witness and Vijay seeks her help. As the investigation
deepens, Vijay realises that the very wealthy Rudra Pratap Teja (Prakash
Raj) is the man behind the entire criminal operation.
As Vijay inches closer to the truth, Teja uses all his money
and influence to get Vijay suspended. A defiant and angry Vijay vows to
destroy Teja and his empire. What follows next is a revenge drama where
Vijay takes the help of the mercurial Sher Khan (Sri Hari) and an honest crime reporter named Jay Dev (Tanikella Bharani) to bring Teja down.
Plus Points :
Ram Charan has delivered yet another power packed performance.
He looks good as a cop and he has fit into the character of ACP Vijay
Khanna quite seamlessly. This movie will be a pretty good debut vehicle
for Charan’s Bollywood career.
Priyanka Chopra is ok. She looks pretty hot in the
‘Mumbai Ke Hero’ and ‘Pinky’ songs. Sri Hari is effective as Sher Khan.
Tanikella Bharani has given a dignified performance as the courageous crime reporter.
Prajash Raj is very cool as the mafia Don Teja. He
is well supported by Mahie Gill, who appears as Mona. Their
conversations are filled with ‘double meaning’ dialogues that might work
with B and C center people.
The pace of the film is good. The short run-time is an asset. Just like in James Bond films, a song plays out during the opening titles and this has been shot quite well.
Minus Points :
When compared to the original ‘Zanjeer’, this movie
fizzles out in terms of story and screenplay. The plot is quite
superficial and predictable. The romantic episodes between Charan and Priyanka Chopra could have been a lot better.
In the original film, the bond between Amitabh
Bachchan and Pran is established quite brilliantly. That is not the case
with this present day Zanjeer. The friendship between Charan and Sri
Hari lacks emotional depth.
The placement of songs is quite bad, especially the
‘Mumbai ke Hero’ song. This is not a Telugu movie and Charan’s
traditional fans will miss the mass masala entertainment that is
normally found in the star’s films. Comedy quotient is also quite low.
Technical Aspects :
Gururaj’s cinematography is just about ok. Editing
is not up to the mark. Except for one or two sequences, re-recording is
strictly average. A more capable music director would have really helped
the film. Telugu dialogues are just about ok.
Apoorva Lakhia has succeeded in maintaining good
pace throughout the film. But he should have infused more humour and
entertainment into the proceedings. He scores passing marks as a director.
Verdict :
Do not compare this movie with the original classic(Amitabh’s Zanjeer). They are two very different movies. Charan has given a power packed performance
and the film has its moments. A crisp runtime also helps matters. A
better script and a higher dose of entertainment would have really
helped matters. Still, the movie ends up as a decent cop drama.