Cast: Ajay Devgan, Manisha Koirala, Vivek Oberai,
Anthra Mali
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Think of Ram Gopal Varma and you think of Rangeela,
that beautiful foray into the world of an enchantress
who wants to be an actress. The film was a showcase
for Urmila Matondkar to tell the world that human body
in all its splendour can be bewitching without being
bawdy, that bare minimum costume may bare maximum but
it may not necessarily be obscene.
Think of Ram Gopal Varma again. And this time you think
of Satya where he not only transformed the bare-dare
Matondkar Ma'am to a coy, chawl girl, but also came
up with a gripping portrayal of the underworld, of how
it is a easy to get into and impossible to get out of.
Now
do a fast-forward. Think of Ram Gopal Varma again. This
time think of Company, yet another excursion to the
land of mafia, bhais and bullets. In a short a world
where it is easier to kill than to live. Unlike Satya
where the underworld did not quite have the 'in-your-face'
kind of force, Company makes no excuses, expects no
concessions. And proves that it does not need one. It
is a fine film in its right.
Bearing
stark resemblance to the goings-on between Dawood Ibrahim
and Chhota Rajan, the film is the story two men in the
underworld one an experienced man ready to take over
the matle, the other beginning to make waves and inducted
by the former for his sheer grit. The two join hands,
weathering all opposition. Their empire stretches from
India to Hong Kong. Then the two drift apart with the
veteran even making an aborted bid on the life of his
once handpicked comrade. You see, two is for always,
any way. Read about it in the papers sometime back?
Can't blame you if you find uncanny resemblance to reality
in this reel take.
This
is a film you will like if you like your films dark,
even depressing. It is the kind of new century fare,
which tells you to welcome a cinema with muted colours,
snooping camera angles and almost unrelieved suspense.
It is a grim film which lives in stilted frames, which
thrives on silhouettes. You will like it too if you
like frequent action sequences where walls do not crumble
with a single push by the hero, where tables do not
break with a fist. A film where action simply means
one bullet pelted into just the right part of the body.
Minimum effort, maximum result. A film which makes hardly
any concessions to the box office - except a Khallas
number - it is lacking in brightness. It lacks in colours.
But what it lacks in life, it makes up through grit.
And an unswerving focus.
Watch Company for three reasons. Varma. Mohan Lal. Vivek
Oberoi. Yes, Mohan Lal in his maiden Hindi film venture,
is a class act. Act a South Indian cop, his accent comes
in handy. Nothing overboard, everything poised about
him. Limited
dialogues limitless gestures. Pity we have not got to
see more of him in the past. His only other Hindi venture,
which comes to mind, is Sazaa-e-Kala Pani which was
a dubbed affair.
Then
watch Company for Vivek Oberoi. A star son of sorts
- character artiste Suresh Oberoi is his father - never
once does he give you an impression that he is making
his debut here. His
gaunt frame, hollow cheek bones and restlessness go
well with his role of a new entrant into the underworld
who knows no fear, respects no reputations and lives
only on some tacit principles. Occasionally,
his dialogue delivery might remind you of his father
but otherwise remind you of his father but otherwise
he is his own man. A volatile young man with talent
to tap.
Courtesy:
The Hindu
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