Aag is no Sholay

RGV proves one known fact — Sholay cannot be remade

Kathmandu:

Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag

Director: Ram Gopal Verma

Genre: Action/thriller

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Prashant Raj, Mohan Lal, Sushmita Sen, Nisha Kothari and Sushant Singh

Ram Gopal Verma was right when he said Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag would be nothing like Bollywood’s milestone Sholay. His Aag is a disappointment (as all die-hard Sholay fans had predicted). It does not have the masala, action, hard hitting acting, all time favourite one-liners or songs the original had.

RGV seems to have worked much too hard to make his ‘first original movie’ different that he forgot to give it his magical touch. It neither falls in a good remake category nor does it have RGV’s originality.

Heero (Ajay Devgan) and Raj (Prashant Raj) are small time goons who come to Mumbai with big dreams. Unknowingly they get involved with the underworld and on the insistence of inspector Narshimha (Mohanlal), they decide to help the police force nab some criminals, but end up being in the jail for a year for working with the bhais. When they are released, they meet Narshimha again, who asks for their help to fight the most wanted criminal Baban (Amitabh Bachchan), who has been terrorising Kali Ganj and its people. There they meet Ghungroo (Nisha Kothari), a mawali auto driver who is a big fan of Rajnikant, and widow Devi (Sushmita Sen), Narshimha’s sister-in-law. As in every Hindi movie the heroes successfully kill the villains and the story ends.

But this story does not end here: by the time the movie reaches it climax, one actually wonders what RGV actually wanted to prove? That he can make a good remake (which he did in Sarkar)? Or that by adding more than extra skin show by Nisha Kothari he can make another milestone? He just proves that Sholay cannot be remade.

One should not compare the two, but one cannot help it.

Devgan is a very unlikely Veeru and his bare chest does not make girls scream. Newcomer Prashant is pretty good over all, but he is unlucky because he is Jay as he

will always be measured by the yardstick that’s called Bachchan (who played Jay in the original). He lacks the attitude

and the dry humour. Basanti was chirpy and fresh, but here Ghungroo is loud, irritating and to an extent vulgar.

But those who strike gold are Sushmita, Mohanlal and Sushant Singh (as Babban’s right hand ‘Thambe’). Sushmita does justice to her role and looks like a million bucks that too sans make-up. And Malyallam superstar Mohanlal is superb as the new ‘Thakur’.

Bachchan has given his best, but Babban the character, does not have that grand substance of ‘Gabbar’. Rajpal Yadav disappoints with his neither brilliant nor funny acts.

Music is so-so except for the Mehbooba number, where after a long time Urmila Matodkar has returned as an item girl. Editing is pretty much okay, while the cinematography is excellent.