Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster was one of the
best-written films of 2011. Jimmy Sheirgill as the Saheb, Mahie Gill as the
Biwi and Randeep Hooda as the Gangster, delivered terrific performances and
gave us a gripping political-bedroom-drama. Tigmanshu has, since then, made
huge strides in the Hindi film industry with brilliant direction in 'Paan Singh
Tomar' and a formidable acting debut in 'Gangs Of Wasseypur'. Now, he is all
set to present his next directorial venture.
'Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns' comprises
traits - sex, betrayal, politics, power, greed among others, which are similar
to its predecessor's. Even though the performances and the 'dialoguebaazi'
steal the show, the screenplay is a big let-down.
Indrajit Singh (Irrfan Khan) wants to avenge
the killing of his ancestors at the hands of Aditya Pratap Singh’s (Jimmy
Sheirgill) forefathers. He frequently visits the ruins of his family’s
erstwhile kingdom and every visit keeps reminding him of his mission to destroy
Aditya Pratap Singh. Indrajit’s love interest, Ranjana (Soha Ali Khan), is the
daughter of another royal, Bana Singh (Raj Babbar). Aditya, confined to a
wheelchair and already in a defunct marriage with Madhavi (Mahie Gill), takes a
liking for Ranjana and asks for her hand in marriage. Bana Singh, who is
reluctant to give away his daughter to a handicapped and a temperamental man,
summons Indrajit to plot Aditya’s downfall. The film is essentially about how
Indrajit along with Ranjana get together to bring Aditya down. However, then
enters the Biwi! Having already assumed ad-hoc power in the kingdom, Madhavi is
perpetually inebriated and is basking in the glory of her newfound power. Trouble
arises when Madhavi comes in contact with Indrajit! The story of the film is
baffling at some points. The main conflict of the film only comes with about
half an hour of the film to go. Till then, the story does not really go
anywhere.
Even though the characters have been
well-etched in isolation, they don’t quite go well with the story of the film.
Soha’s Ranjana is shown as an innocuous princess who is blindly in love with
Indrajit. However, there’s no trait which you would associate with her
character, except maybe, confused. Mahie starts out brilliantly with her
temperamental, drunk act (which she seems to have mastered), but it gets too
annoying and repetitive. The bizarre twists-and-turns in the plot dilute the
impact of the casts’ performances. Even though the actors get memorable
dialogues to mouth, the story doesn’t quite rise to the occasion. Random
incidents such as out-of-the-blue arrests and deaths of pivotal characters are
left unexplained. Aditya, who couldn’t stand up till the mid-way point of the
second-half, gets his swagger back, all of a sudden. The other royal members,
with interesting nicknames such as Rudy and Bunny, also seem a confused lot
with no real motive at hand. Irrfan, who is shown to be quite determined in his
quest to kill Aditya Pratap Singh, suddenly develops a change-of-heart in the
end. The climax just escalates the bizarre-level of the film by a few notches.
As far as the politics of the film is concerned, here again, the only
impression you will take back is that politicians are lecherous and dumb.
Madness is obviously permissible in cinema and often, it makes for terrific
viewing as well. However, there should be some method to the madness. The two
unneeded item numbers only worsen the viewing experience.
When you have powerhouse
performers in Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahie Gill and Irrfan, backed with a wonderful
story teller in Tigmanshu Dhulia, how can you go wrong? When your first film ‘Saheb
Biwi Aur Gangster’ was so bloody awesome, how can you make such a bad sequel?
While you put all the thought into the 'dhamakedaar' dialogues and the 'seeti
bajao' scenes, why didn't anyone proofread the screenplay? Greed and
complacency! Sequels make sense commercially. One can make good sequels too,
but proper attention should be given to the script as well. Mere piggy-backing
on the ‘brand’ name won’t do!
Shivom Oza
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