First of all what is NOT so Special about the movie...
01] Kajal Aggarwal: Not her fault. Catering to so called mass effects, her role is unnecessarily extended like a rubber-band. It actually pulls the movie down by a few notches.
02] Songs: Seriously whoever conceived songs in this kind of a movie needs a proper scolding. They act like bumps in the road during a thrilling ride.
03] Peter England: Not the fault of the Company. We just get a glimpse of a Peter England in a story happening in 1987. A minor flaw, but all the same a flaw.
04] Sunil Gavaskar: Well, what was he doing on TV, playing a Cricket match in Sharjah in late 1987 ? He had actually retired from Cricket on 17 March 1987, a day before the movie begins !
And now, what is Special about it ?
05] Neeraj Pandey: He has exceeded himself. A superb second film to follow up a first one. An extremely well researched movie with very few glitches.
06] Anupam Kher: Lost somewhere in the Indra Kumar - Ashok Thakeria kind of buffoonery, this giant of an actor of "Saaransh" fame is the highlight of the movie. In a role that demands him to be serious and scared while making us giggle, Kher is pure delight. So are the names of his count-less children.
07] Manoj Bajpai: One of the finest actors of this generation got his due mostly in Prakash Jha movies. Here, he is at his best as the honest and somewhat arrogant CBI Officer Wasim Khan. One of his better movies !
08] Akshay Kumar: His best role and movie in a long time. Period !
09] Jimmy Shergill: One more under-rated actor gets a fabulous role as Inspector Ranveer Singh and he has done complete justice.
10] 100 Rupees and honesty: Good to see 100 Rupee note getting respect. The thug returning the officer's honestly earned 100 rupees shows the values people had in that era. Even the kids don't have respect for either 100 rupees or honesty these days.
11] Divya Dutta: "Sirjee, Asli kaam toh yeh log karte hain". In spite of looking older, this lady entertains with her comic act.
12] Kajal Aggarwal: Her role was extended unnecessarily in not her fault. The young lady looks beautiful in 80s style costumes and emotes well.
13] CBI: Central Bank of India... How many people really know the real expansion ?
14] Black Money: Hiding money in the Pooja room, inside the bed and in car seats was fashionable those days. Amitabh Bachchan always managed to find it if he was playing Inspector and invariably managed to escape with it if he was the "Don" !
15] The Phone: The huge black phones with 4 or 5 digit numbers and the cord-less connection phones as large as the dumb bells are sheer nostalgia.
16] Hello: The old style phone tapping was in currency during this period and this has been shown to help crack the case. Zail Singh once blamed Rajiv Gandhi of tapping his phone. Ironically these two begin the proceedings in the movie.
17] Cars: Old cars, Ambassador, Maruti, Padmini, Fiat and not a single new generation car on the roads makes it look absolutely authentic. So is the Connaught Place of the yore. A lot of meticulous work has gone into this. Appreciated !
18] Humor: Extremely subtle. So subtle, most people would miss it if not attentive. A subordinate officer clad in Lord Shiva's getup [under cover], walks past a serious discussion between Bajpai and Shergill, casually greeting them with a "Good Morning, Sir". This is serious comedy !
19] English: "I want to do my Country". This is not the pretentious "Don't angry me" or "Child in the arm pit" stuff. This is real English spoken in India in 1987 and even today !
20] Chulloo Bhar Paani: I don't know how many times this dialogue has been used in Hindi cinema. But I bet it can't be bettered after Manoj Bajpai's Classic act in the climax. The actor turns even the trivial into a classic.
21] Minister: Ministers those days did fear the CBI even though it was post Indira Gandhi era. The guts shown by P. K. Sharma when he slaps the Minister defines the mood of the movie.
22] Dialogues: Neerak Pandey's dialogues are just point blank. The seriousness, humor and timing all are just perfect and are made worthy of a long stay in our minds by some extremely good actors.
23] Rajesh Sharma: as Jogindar, one of the 4 in the gang is life-like. He lives the role. We don't see any 'acting' !
24] Kishore Kadam: As Iqbal, the fourth in the gang is another competent actor.
25] Illustrated Weekly of India: Long dead papers and magazines like Dharmyug come to life adding to the nostalgic value. Old is truly Gold !
26] The heist: Finally, after such duds like "Thees Maar Khan", we get to see an extremely competent 'heist' movie in Indian cinema. A genuinely delightful climax adds to the brand-value !
My Opinion: An extremely well made movie with some forgivable glitches. Would have been much better without the songs and with lesser of Kajal Aggarwal. Yet, this one is Special and is a must watch !
2 comments:
Luks A Very Rigorously Analysed Movie Review.With All Positives n Negatives Clearly Defined,Gives Me An Idea On With What Expectations To Go For This. Have Been Very Wary About Watching Akshay Kumar Movies In Recent Times.. What With The Stuff He Has Been Doing,Despite Being A Capable Enough Actor. Hopefully,Special 26 Is Special.. And Does Not Disappoint. :)
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