Malang
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Kunal Kemmu, Anil Kapoor
Director: Mohit Suri
In Malang, it’s Goa where drugs, alcohol and blood flow in abundance. Two strangers meet and decide to go for the ultimate thrills of life only to realise that it may not take them anywhere. But who cares till it looks good on big screen.
Advait (Aditya Roy Kapur) and Sara (Disha Patani) meet in Goa and begin to live life the way they want, which simply means beaches, bikes and a lot of steam. Just when their love begins getting thicker, they’re hit by a tragedy. Wouldn’t spoil the fun for you but it, kind of, changes their lives forever.
Because it’s a Mohit Suri (Aashiqui 2, Ek Villain) film, there would be channeling of some inner violence. This time, it takes an even uglier turn as Advait turns out to be the one on a killing spree. Don’t ask me why. Consider it just happens. From here onwards, it’s a war between him and two cops, Agashey (Anil Kapoor) and Michael (Kunal Kemmu).
In between, there are peddlers, shooters and trigger happy cops. In short, it has everything you would have expected in a Goa-based thriller.
It’s the writer Aseem Arora whose imprint can be seen on the film as the characters deliver punchlines in a matter of fact tone. It immediately sticks with the viewers.
Consider this one: A bunch of media people are asking personal questions to a crime branch officer who heckles one of the journalists. As the journalist retorts in the background, Anil Kapoor takes a sigh and says, “Ye journalist log aaj kal Crime Patrol bahut dekhne lage hain."
Then there is a black drugs kingpin who speaks in Hindi and Marathi when threatened with a gun. It was funny, to me at least.
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What works tremendously in the film’s favour is its pace. Even if the developments are quite predictable, they take place at a rapid pace. The primary characters have been given ample time to establish different branches of the story and they have, more or less, done justice to their parts.
Malang starts with Disha Patani emerging out of the sea a la Ursula Andress and goes on to track the party scene in the city. Then comes the cops and some large-scale planning. Overall, a revenge story with airtight screenplay by Aniruddha Guha.
While Kapur and Patani are up for the challenge, Anil Kapoor is the one to hold it up above the water. Except for a cynical laugh, which will remind you of Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Kick, Kapoor’s game is on point. Kemmu also surprises in some scenes.
What doesn’t work at all is the repetition of the theme and the lack of innovation in the narrative. Glamorous songs, ripped muscles and overhead camera can’t put a curtain on the lack of urgency.
However, all said and done, Malang is an entertaining film and delivers what the trailer promises. For 135-minutes, you can go ‘Malang’ (ecstatic).
Rating: 3/5
Interact with Rohit Vats at Twitter/@nawabjha
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