The director's last effort Gangaajal was a sterling effort, a powerful and effective film which worked well at the box office as well. Jha sets out to make another topical film, set in Bihar , dealing with the issue of “kidnapping”. Taking this as his focal point, the director sets about delving into the murky world that submerges Bihar in the lawless mess that it is and the reasons underlying this quagmire.


Ajay Shastri (Ajay Devgan) is the somewhat meandering son of a revered stalwart of society (Mohan Agashe), a man who has based his life on unflinching honesty and on Gandhian Ideals. Father does nothing to promote his son and wants him to find his own feet, without compromises and on his own merit. Ajay feels dislocated at what he perceives as a lack on interest, in fact, a lack of caring towards him by his father and hangs around with his friends who offer quick solutions to his future. Having done well in the police exams, Ajay is simply unable to make it because the system is so corrupt that unless money is not exchanged, he will not be an opportunity to join the police.

To achieve this, he borrows 5 lakh from a local shark only to find his father scuppering his chances by speaking out at a press conference about the bribes. Ajay does not view this kindly and then, under pressure to pay back the bribe, he agrees to a kidnapping which sets off a series of events which suck him into the quagmire of corruption that exists in Bihar . He now comes up against the leader of the opposition Tabrez Alam (Nana Patekar), a kidnapping baron and morally bankrupt politician with whom he joins hands. Of course, Tabrez Alam is in cahoots with the police in cahoots and manipulates the system to exact the most political mileage for himself…ending up going into police custody which is more akin to a 5 star hotel than a jail. In his absence, Ajay takes over the reins and transforms into a brutal and violent hoodlum, ready to take on the mantle temporarily left vacant by Tabrez Alam's incarceration.

Jha's take on politics of Bihar is a lengthy, intense and worthy tale, told uncompromisingly and effectively. However, whilst he is brilliant in bringing to the fore, the rampant corruption and the lawlessness that eats into the lives on Biharis, he is less effective in depicting the moral deterioration that is suffered by the protagonist, or indeed the human side of the film. If Megha (Bipasha Basu) is part of the plot, it is only to act as a moral check on Ajay, but it's a weak link and not convincingly done. Her scene in the latter half which is introduced simply to show that Ajay is not the demon that we think he may be, is clichéd and ineffective. Also, the transformation of Ajay, from gauche child to driven hoodlum is also done without conviction. It's almost as if Jha simply did not have the time to develop the human side, merely relying on short subtle reminders to show the estrangement between father and son and using this as what spurs Ajay on in his new avatar. Jha also does not delve deep enough, to explain the underbelly of the political system in Bihar . What causes it to be the way it is? As a film, it is simply too long and would be more effective with some scissoring down.

Nana Patekar is simply electric as Tabrez Alam. There are no manic ranting and raving in this performance and his mere presence sets the screen on fire. In fact, you feel his loss when he is missing from the proceedings. Morally ambiguous, Tabrez Alam has his own set of rules (or lack of them) which Nana brings to life without going over the top. Ajay Devgun has the lengthier role and delivers yet another underplayed performance. Bipasha Basu has a small role, is subdued and could very well have been written out of the film. The rest of the cast is uniformly good.

On the whole, not what you would consider to be Sunday afternoon viewing, I thank Jha for providing us with an intelligent and thought provoking film, at a time when we are suffering a deluge of third rate, vacuous comedies.