Gunda II

If you are searching for the epitome of a pure Bollywood movie, go home and have a hot drink of coffee, or whatever you do when your search for the epitome of a pure Bollywood movie is over. For, I have here a movie that every bollywood movie strives to be, a movie that a Karan Johar or a Ram Gopal Verma can only dream of making, a movie that’s bound to leave every movie-goer’s every inch of the body taut, and itchy. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let me present, without further ado, Gunda.

A lyrical masterpiece, the movie takes one through the atrocious underworld where villains commit heinous crimes behind the curtain of corrupt policemen and hypocritical politicians. “Cliché,” one might be tempted to dismiss. Wait, for Gunda has more to offer.

Gunda offers, among other things, flawless editing where scenes overlap, propelling the movie to new heights of alacrity. The two hour long movie leaves no scope for boredom to set in. The scenes, seemingly unconnected on the onset, knit together to form a larger canvas. Remember 21 Grams or Memento, anyone?

Gunda uses a powerful method hitherto rare in Hindi cinema. In many scenes, the actors face the audience while delivering a dialogue. Thus, while maintaining a realistic backdrop, the actors manage to address a larger audience, securing themselves a place in the larger canvas. One is reminded of the technique used by Fritz Lang in his movie, Metropolis.

The dialogues are replete with similes, metaphors and rhyme lending the movie a dialogic force. Viewing the movie thus becomes a lyrical journey.

Ah! The cast. Gunda boasts of such actors as the uber-versatile Mithun Chakraborty, who has acted in over 190 movies in roles as diverse as a Tamil coconut seller (Agneepath) to the Indian James Bond—Gunmaster G9 (Suraksha), and a pimp (Dalal) to Ramakrishna Paramhansa (Ramakrishna Paramhansa). Mukesh Rishi, remembered for his role as Inspector Salim in Sarfarosh proves why he is the coveted actor that he is. Not to forget Shakti Kapoor who proves his versatility in the role of a villain coping with gender confusion.

The protagonist is presented as a superhero in its subtlest form, not its essential Hollywood underwear-outside-the-pants counterpart. He is as human as any one of us, albeit equipped with superpowers that every hero would envy in superheroes.

The women, in the brief roles they get, form the crux on which the story revolves. One cannot but be impressed with their dynamic style, substance and vital statistics. The rape victims are quickly eliminated, thus saving the viewer from going through the tribulations that they would gave gone through.

The movie leaves a few questions unanswered, and some riddles that are bound to haunt one long after the movie is over. The repeated appearance of the airport as a backdrop makes one wonder if the director wants to depict something. Should we strive to 'take off' and escape all the dirt of this inhuman world, or try to clean it up ourselves?

Quotable quotes:

“Hum aise laashen bicha denge jaise kisi nanhe munhe bacche ke nunhi se pesaab tapakta hain—tap tap”

“Mera naam hai Ibu Hatela.
Maa meri churail ki beti.
Baap mera shaitaan ka chela.
Khaayega kela?”

“Kala dhanda karne walon ki maa, behn, beti ki zindagi ka koi bharosa nahi hota. Magar tune meri behn ka rape karke, bahut bura kiya. Bahut bura kiyAA..”

“Main hun jurm se nafrat karne wala.
Sarifon ke liye jyoti.Gundo ke liye jwala.”
“Tujhe banaakar main maut ka niwala,
teri seene mein kaat dunga main maut ka bhaala”