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Agneepath - Preview
Agneepath
I'd assume that someone wants to remake a film that they produced twenty years ago, because they see scope to improve it. Or at the very least, make it a different experience. So, you have Sanjay Dutt replace Danny Denzongpa - just his "look" is enough to make me believe that this is for the better. He instills disgust from the trailer itself.
Priyanka Chopra taking over Madhavi's role and Katrina Kaif doing the do instead of Archana Puran Singh are all steps in the right direction. But, but, but... Hrithik Roshan for Amitabh Bachchan...that's stretching it a bit, ain't it?
The only thing I liked about the 1990, Agneepath was Vijay Dinanath Chauhan's character. Yep! Good riddance if Shiksha (Neelam) and Krishnan Iyer MA (Mithun Chakravorty) are out, I say. As two-dimensional as Vijay was, the traumatized childhood leading to low self-esteem issues coupled with a constant need of approval - from his own mother to a child he doesn't know - was what Agneepath was about. Revenge was secondary. If anything, it was just a means which brought Vijay's end.
Other than that, there were a thousand unintentionally amusing moments. And that's why I hope that the producers are aiming to improve on it. Reducing the run-time would be one huge one for sure. The lyrics of the songs are most certainly are better than, 'I yam Krishnan Iyer Yem Ye, I yam nariyal-paani wala' and 'Ali Baba mil gaya chaalis chor se' is certainly not a testimony to Laxmikant-Pyarelal's capabilities.
For some reason, 'Chikni Chameli' which looks like the obvious replacement of 'Ali Baba', reminds me of Madhuri Dixit in Sailab and the open-and-shut case about how sexiness is oozed out of a 'koli' dance number.
That still doesn't mean I didn't like 'Chikni Chameli', I think all of Agneepath's songs have a refreshing amount of energy. And it's not energy for the sake of energy, you actually feel like tapping your feet to the melodious numbers and dancing to the faster-paced ones.
All these superficial changes aside, while watching the original Agneepath yesterday (Revision, you see!) I was hoping that the secondary line of villains had more edge to their characters in the remake. And, lo and behold, I see Rishi Kapoor and the shock when I saw him being beaten up by Hrithik Roshan (at minute 2:37 in the trailer above). How can someone so lovable deserve that? Yep, that means, I'm looking forward to Agneepath, except for the Hrithik-turns-Amitabh bit, of course.
Good to know the music has been received well -
Milliblog - "Agneepath is what one could ideally call as the Hindi debut of Marathi composing duo Ajay-Atul; outstanding debut, this!"
Music Aloud - "8.5/10"
dunkdaft - "somehow, after few repeats, I am pretty much into this Ajay-Atul composed album."
Bollyspice - "3/5"
Happy Sing - "something that can be bought on the day it gets launched."
koimoi - "3/5"
Agneepath - Movie Details
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- Banner: Dharma Productions
- Producer: Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar
- Director: Karan Malhotra
- Lead Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor
- Supporting Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Zarina Wahab, Om Puri, Sachin Khedekar, Chetan Pandit, Deven Bhojani, Rajesh Vivek, Brijendra Kala, Ravi Jhankal, Arish Bhiwandiwala, Kanika Tiwari, Aditya Surve
- Story: Mukul Anand
- Screenplay: Ila Bedi Datta, Karan Malhotra
- Dialogues: Piyush Mishra, Piyush Mishra
- Cinematography: Kiron Deohans, Kiran Deohans
- Editor: Akiv Ali
- Action Choreography: Abbas Ali Moghul, Abbas Ali Moghul
- Choreography: Saroj Khan, Brinda, Chinni Prakash, Rekha Prakash, Ganesh Acharya, Firoz Khan 1, Brinda, Saroj Khan, Firoz Khan 1, Chinni Prakash, Rekha Prakash
- Music Director: Ajay, Atul
- Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
- Costume Designer: Mandira Shukla, Navin Shetty, Manish Malhotra
- Art Direction: Sabu Cyril
- Facebook Page: Link
- Inspired by: Agneepath
- Running time: 170 minutes
- Reviewer: meetu
- Categories: Hindi Movies
- Genres: Action, Crime, Docu-drama, Musical
Agneepath - Trailer
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Agneepath - All reviews summary
External Reviews
48 reviewers have given Agneepath an average rating of 3.5/5.0. 27 yays, 7 nays, 14 so-so. See all external reviews »Twitter Reviews
On twitter, 291 twitterers have given Agneepath an average rating of 3.7/5.0. 203 yays, 62 nays, 26 so-so. See all tweets »
Comments (42)
Hi Meetu,
Your preview seems quite positive. For me the trailer gives an impression of someone wanting to make a heavily violent film and using remake of agneepath as an excuse !
ligne
A very expected article trying to downplay Hrithik's potential as an actor(which you've been trying unsuccessfully for the last 5 years). I'm sure u would have noticed that the 2012 VDC is a completely different character from the 1990 VDC. Yet u wanna be comparing the two of them? I can already predict your rating for this one. I'm sure it won't be more than 2.5
P.S. : Kindly ask someone else to review Hrithik movies 'coz u make a hash of even the excellent ones like Jodhaa Akbar and Guzaarish!
@ligne I don't mind violence as long as it is not for the sake of violence. Also, the eternal filmy optimist in me is hoping for and looking forward to the changes from the original.
@Anuj I do have my reservations against Hrithik's acting capabilities but I gave Guzaarish a 'add to must watch list' rating - just pointing out. :D
If HR's a mediocre actor by bollywood's standards then who according to u is good huh? Salman?Or SRK....lmao!! And please don't mention kiddos like Ranbir and Imran. If at all there's anyone who's had variety and variation in performances(after Aamir) its only HR. Looking at Fiza,Mission Kashmir,KMG,Lakshya,Jodha Akbar,Guzaarish,ZNMD and now Agneepath you would know what i mean.
Anuj, no point arguing with her. The movies that she likes 99.999% of India doesn't and vice versa. She even criticized Hrithiks performance in Zindagi.... Guzaarish was the only exception I think.
@Sunil Haila! For ZNMD i remember saying, i'd be nit-picking if i complained about Hrithik Roshan because he did a good job too...BTW, Agneepath review is out. And I liked him here too! :D
About being in 0.001% people liking a film, it's cool. not everyone has to like what i like and vice versa. as long as the review helps you make a decision.
@meetu : "About being in 0.001% people liking a film, it's cool. not everyone has to like what i like and vice versa"
I hope you don't mean to say that u loath movies like RDB,Lagaan,Munnabhai,TZP,Deewar,Sholay,Zanjeer,Mr.India etc while you consider Ra.One,Mela,Veer,Yuvraaj,Khuda Gawah,RGV Ki Aag etc to be classics ;) :P
Nothing new in this movie. Typical story from old Indian movies. The original was the same, but it had Amitabh. The new one isn't even as stylish. It feels like it is actually set in 90s. Can't believe there's so much hype for this movie.
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The only thing that appealed to me from Mukul Anand's Agneepath was the character of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan. Note: I said 'character' and not the portrayal of it by Amitabh Bachchan, his national award for it notwithstanding. If I had to remake Agneepath, and I could pick any actor in the history of time to play Vijay, I would pick Hrithik. His eyes emote like few others. But I would try and stay faithful to the 'character' of Vijay from Mukul Anand's version. Karan Malhotra's Agneepath is definitely watchable. However, if you strip it down to bare bones, I feel Vijay's character is very weakly written. For example, there is absolutely no reason for him to be a partner with Rauf Lala for 15 years while he pimps girls. That is a straight disconnect from one of the prime character traits of what makes Vijay as a character truly interesting. 'Agneepath' as a concept still awaits a film that is worthy of it.
@Pradeep Ditto about VDC from the 1990 Agneepath, as in that character the only thing I liked about the film. I thought the 2012-VDC was biding his time. Waiting to make sure he could overthrow Lala successfully because he would get only one strike. Lala indeed induced more fear than the four cartoons from the 1990 film, put together. That reminds me what was that about the 1990-VDC going and getting butchered in his 'maut ke saath appinment' I first thought it was some sort of a test for the foursome, but it just doesn't make sense. Anyway...
@Anuj :P good one!
"Lala indeed induced more fear than the four cartoons from the 1990 film, put together"....lol so true. But there were some moments in the 1990 Agneepath that were pure magic! The intro scene of Amitabh,the scene with his mother when he visits her place for dinner,the scene where he goes to the goons hideout to rescue his sister and roars "Dekho,Socho..ye ladka chingaari!!" and the climax where he's reciting the Agneepath poem. The problem with the older one was that it was over the top and certain aspects of the movie were completely illogical and senseless. Add to that the caricatures of Neelam and Mithun to make matters worse. The new Agneepath is a lot more polished and refined film while retaining the magic of the 70's and 80's revenge sagas(Deewaar anyone?). Hrithik's restrained yet brilliant as VDC while Dutt tries a bit too hard appearing a bit fake in the process(a far cry from his menacing KhalNayak and Vaastav versions)Gimme Danny as Kancha anyday. Rishi and Chikni Chameli are undoubtedly the USP.Could never imagine baby faced Rishi pulling off something like this. Time for his son to try something similar i guess!!
@Meetu : Did you ever feel that the original Agneepath was a wannabe and a dumbed down version of Deewar(the greatest bollywood movie according to me,even better than Sholay)?
If it's made for entertainment purpose then i give it thumbs down , if it's for social injustice or moral aspects i might give it a two thumbs .Bascially if movies contains both of the ingredient it makes a good match . I didn't had any expectation as the 1990 film is my favorite but now that it's has been rated by one of the critics who seems very genuine and fair to me, i won't go to PVR maybe a dvdrip will work.
@ Pradeep Menon "For example, there is absolutely no reason for him to be a partner with Rauf Lala for 15 years while he pimps girls." When a 12 yr old Vijay killed police officer it says all. It showed he is using Rauf lala only as ladder to reach at Kancha...not at MANDWA...here its a big difference between OLD Agneepath and NEW Agneepath....In old agneepath Vijay only wants Mandwa and send Kancha behind the bar but in new agneepath,he wants to kill KANCHA...So he is coldblooded and heartless towards every thing.
I believe any re-creation of a previous work as a tribute to it is guided by the fact that the original work is considered as a great work/classic/epic. A classic is a classic because the story being told and the way it's been told is eternal and still inspires artists and audience alike. Most of us would agree that we do not remember more than the baritone delivering "Vijay Deenanath Chauhan" and possibly the lines from HRB's poem. So in my opinion, the original film was in itself never an epic/classic 'coz if it had been, most of us would be motivated to watch it again every time it came on TV (which happened till a few years ago. Meeta I'm sure you would have made an active attempt to watch it again before comparing with the new one). And I would somehow relate to Anuj's comparison with Deewar by saying that it actually was a reflection of all the revenge stories (with mostly AB in it) that existed during the late 70s & whole of 80s but were clearly reaching their fag end in the early 90s. So, the relevance of the style of storytelling and the story itself, even for that era, is debatable. So, here you're trying to re-create, by and large, a non-epic, that too with the same style of storytelling, (I'd agree some irrelevant portions have been kept at bay), which to me doesn't lend too much to appreciate. I wonder, if the same story could be re-created keeping current sensibilities in mind and thereby taking the story and the characters to an altogether different platform where a larger audience would be able to engage with it. Paying tribute to a certain kind of storytelling technique would be attractive if it is able to generate the same magic as it originally created.
I thought it was a good one, should have been rated 'must watch' if you compare it to the other crappy films that Bollywood comes out with. Coming to the movie - A lot of violence could have been avoided. Rishi Kapoor's character seemed unnecessary. Also, I didn't get the point of VDC trying to take over Lala's position, his empire and then going to Mandwa all alone to meet Kancha!
Karan, your movie agneepath may be minting gold at box office, but you got all wrong this time, your thought of a cross breed of a lion [amitji] n a cheetah[rhtk],is inapt, you put all power of a lion,n took away it's roar,in one line your movie is a "lion without the roar "
The movie was strictly OK! Some things just didnt make sense - like if Hrithik Roshan had to go in alone for the final fight, why does he have to scheme around to become the king of Mumbai. Also overall Hrithik's role was too soft - never felt like he was on some vengence path. The kid did a better job to convey that feeling. I think the Director got confused about how to portay the adult Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. Special Effects and Background music was good. Sanjay Dutt was brilliant.
Nice review! This one surpassed my expectations - definitely worth a watch!
@Anuj agreed with all except Danny as Kancha. I didn't think he was menacing at all. That doesn't mean Sanjay Dutt did the do. It needed a more Gabbar like performance. Speaking of which, now that's a revenge saga too, Sholay. I never thought of Agneepath as watered down Deewar, so it's an interesting take. For most parts, I think of Deewar as a philosophical revenge. Vijay wasn't really seeking out Samant (is it?) to kill him. But ultimately, all revenge stories pan out the same. So, I can see where you are coming from.
@guddu ouch! Wait till it's officially out on DVD/Satellite? No?
@Mudit I don't know about paying tribute to a style of film-making, I don't think they were paying tribute. They were using that style to tell their story, and I thought they did a pretty good job of it. Similarly, I didn't think the remake was to pay a tribute, it was to showcase their interpretation of various characters.
@Vineet Really? I thought the violence is what gave the characters their identity. VDC needed to be in a position to sell Kancha's drugs in Mumbai, the only way he could do it was by taking over Lala's empire, because Lala wouldn't allow anyone else including his arch rival.
@rajsinghavi ha ha ha. 'lion without roar' says what you felt about the film to perfection!
@Pritesh Again, because there is no other way for VDC to sell Kancha's drugs in Mumbai. Lala and Commissioner Gaitonde, in their own right, didn't allow Kancha to enter Mumbai.
I mean the original Agneepath had "shades" of Deewar. For instance the story of a righteous man being wronged by an evil society and his son taking the wrong path to seek revenge(against his mother's wishes). The strained mother-son relationship in both the films is quite similar. The only thing missing in Agneepath was the brother angle(which too was tried to some extent courtesy Mithun's character,a very unsuccessful and needless character that). Sholay too is a revenge saga but that's a completely different type. And no i don't agree that all revenge dramas end up being similar. Think about something like Ghajini for a while. There's no resemblance to the likes of Deewar/Agneepath. Revenge stories like Sholay,Deewar/Agneepath and Ghajini are chalk and cheese.
And on Kancha,i don't think the original Kancha was even meant to be menacing. He was more of a suave,stylish and sophisticated gangster and was exceptionally portrayed by Danny. Dutt on the other hand was more like those heartless,evil and menacing "villains" of film folklore. I don't think Danny's Kancha was ever meant to be a traditional "villain",if you know what i mean.
@Mudit Yes, of course, I did a revision by watching Agneepath 1990 again before watching this one :D I was getting curious about the 'cult' status that the 1990 film had earned even before the remake was announced, so I might have watched it anyway, but I doubt it would have been so soon. It would be a 'some day' program. :D
@Anuj By ultimately the same, I'm painting with a very broad brush of course. Going by the theory that there are only 7 original stories in the world. :D
And Kancha, I need my villains to make me scared for my hero's life. I want to convince my hero (and him to refuse of course) not to engage him and let bygones be bygones, which is what Danny didn't do.
Both Mayank Shekhar and Rajeev Masand gave the movie 3/5. Then how's it that one is a so-so while the other is a thumbs up?
And btw,another revenge story almost identical to Deewar that immediately comes to my mind is Baazigar(except for a few more twists). A son seeking revenge for his father's death,becoming a criminal/murderer/gangster in the process and ending up dying in his mother's arms is a theme we bollywood buffs would never have enough of :D
@Anuj i think it all depends on whether the film has been done well or not, even if it's the same thing over and over again.
About External Reviews - 1. for 3/5, it depends on how the text reads. 2. If the text isn't a clear indicator, i tend to make one the lower rating and the other a greater rating.
You mean you actually read and analyze each and every text so carefully! :-O Ur one hell of a patient lady :D
"I need my villains to make me scared for my hero's life. I want to convince my hero (and him to refuse of course) not to engage him and let bygones be bygones, which is what Danny didn't do."
Now how exactly would you feel scared for an angry,venomous 6 feet 3 inch,red eyed Amitabh Bachchan mouthing his dialogues with utmost fury as though all hell's gonna break loose! The "Vijay Dinanath Chavan" dialogue of Amitabh would itself be enough to make even Gabbar and Mogambo sweat :D
@Anuj nope! I'm no super-woman, I skim through the reviews quickly. And go by the overall impression I get.
And about Amitabh Bachchan as VDC - point taken! :D
great movie, Fantastic acting by hritik, sanju, rishi, good songs, good screenplay and great direction.
Must watch.
haven't watched the movie ...but in case if the movie can inititae such a long discussion .. and that too surprisingly not about 'chikni chameli' ... then i should go and watch it soon .....
@Vishal that's true :P
Agneepath can be divided into 3 parts. Part 1 and 3 revolves around Hritik and his hometwon Manda and part 2 has a Mumbai flavor in it. The story is being held together by Rishi Kapoor who has worked amazingly in this film. I have never seen Rishi Kapoor doing such kind of villanious role but I must say he was superb. Hritik was nice and he has done all that he could do. Sanjay Dutt gave pure justice to his character. The role of Priyanka Chopra was a little weak but overall the movie is nice.
Disappointing film.....eventhough i am a hrithik fan.
Damn Story....bad direction....bakwaas sentiments....not an entertainer....
waste of money!!!!!!
wt happened to Hindi movies ????? !!!!!!.... y the standard of hindi movies are going down
poor film......saw agneepath with much excitement.....Disappointed, disappointed...disappointed........Directors must learn to direct well from South Director Shankar.
No good script writer left in Hindi Industry.????.....poor film...
Bakwaas movie
The movie is really awesome....brilliant.. Thanks! karan malhotra,& kj..
I can't think that,what kind of actor he(Hrithik,Vijay Dinanath Chauhan)is...he is just..just superb..mindblowing..superb!.really HRITHIK is proud of agneepath. and besides,Sanjay dutt's look in this movie,fantastic... awesome.I think this Agneepath is so much better,more fantastic than 1990's agneepath...overall the movie is fantastic..
That Master Dinanath Chauhan's suicide was converted to murder from the original Agneepath to this one. Because the fighter in him, wouldn't have committed suicide most likely.
I guess u didn't watch the film properly... In the original Agneepath Alok Nath didn't commit suicide but was killed by villagers
Original Agneepath was a great film though some scenes were stupid like Mithun's character
Amitabh's diff voice and also the way the film was handled didn't go well with the audiences
This film is treated like a 80s film but the film is good... Rishi's character was superbly treated, He did a superb job also another plus is that the film keptthe revenge angle alive and nice twists
Sanju baba welcome back after faltu films and Rishi is awesome.... Hrithik too did a great job
The emotional scene between Hrithik and priyanka till the end looked so forced and stupid also in the original Amitabh running through the fire in the climax was awesome... in this the impact was thanda also dialogues by vijay were not too great
Still dont know how Priyanka got shot..... when Vijay saved her first and took her behind the wall
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