Devang Ghia relooks at Rajkumar Gupta’s Aamir

This one I gather doffs its hat to a Filipino movie called Cavite. Now I haven’t seen this film so I searched online for a synopsis, and yes it does fall into the category of a complete rip-off. So many debutant directors these days are making unconventional films. In fact it has become the norm. Hence, I shall desist from even calling this a brave effort. A brave effort was that of Vijay Krishna Acharya’s when he tried to do something different with Tashan while staying within the formula. Unsuccessful, but valiant.

Aamir begins with a young, urbane, Muslim doctor arrives in Bombay after a long while. No sooner has he stepped on home turf does he get embroiled in a terrorism plot. Guiding him is a sinister voice on the other end of a cell phone handed over to him by a couple of strangers. Sounds ridiculous? It is. Instead of being given straight orders to do the ordained, he is taken on a veritable treasure-hunt through Bombay, only that there is no treasure at the end of it, only instructions for the next task. Somewhere in the middle of the film, he looses his cool and demands an explanation. This is getting a bit too much, he says, come to the point. Sadly, this is the moment you are most likely to identify with. Sheer boredom.

Aamir is a good set-up for a great movie. But that movie never arrives. That half of the things you see on screen are illogical is a minor fact you are willing to overlook if the resolution to the wild-goose chase is satisfactory. It isn’t. In fact, the movie fails to answer the basic question; why was our hero chosen over millions of other Indians who could have easily done the job? In the tradition of Johnny Depp’s Nick of Time, everyone Aamir encounters is involved in the plot. Which makes you question his choice as the chosen one even further. If you have so many resources at your disposal, why pick on an obviously innocent, inexperienced man to carry out your dirty deeds.

The movie is replete with characters and scenes obviously inserted to prop it up and make it look smart. They stick out like sore thumbs and give reviewers like me an opportunity to prop up their own reviews with a few acerbic observations.

The music can easily be separated between the soundtrack which is nice and the background score which is anything but. Amitabh (not Bachchan, obviously) does a good job with the former. The latter sounds like amateur musicians searching for a catchy tune to record. Each time things catch pace, a different cacophony is upon us. The concept of a theme music, which is so crucial to a thriller, is completely lost.

Rajeev Khandelwal has a screen presence which directors are sure to notice. Expect to see him in bigger projects in the future. As for the director, he ought to try doing something original. Sure, it was a good move to lift from a film that only 0.00001% of your target audience has seen, but that does not make you any less guilty than he who lifts from the latest Hollywood hit.

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