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Sunday, October 6, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD LUCKNOW CENTRAL
EDITOR'S PICK
'Lucknow Central': Outstanding study Of imprisonment and freedom (Review By Subhash K Jha ; Rating ****)
"Lucknow Central" is by far the most engaging thinking-man's thriller of the
year. Ballsy and brave, it penetrates the politics of prison life without
relinquishing the right to engage us in a solid storytelling spree where a
clever cat-and-mouse game is played out between a sadistic jailor(Ronit Roy, in
top form) and a non-guilty prisoner(Farhan Akhtar) who is hellbent on getting
his liberty at any cost.
The smartly thoughtfully written script (by Ranjit Tiwari, Aseem Arora) delves
into the dynamics of freedom and comes up with a super-chic musical with wings
that often allow vivid characters to fly higher than prison dramas generally do
in India.Undoubtedly "Lucknow Central" is a prison-break drama on a par with
Franklin Schaffener's 1973 classic "Papillon" and certainly superior in its
intellectual political and spiritual ramifications to the overrated "Shawshank
Redemption".
Redemption in "Lucknow Central" is a scarce commodity. This, its protagonist
Kishen discovers as he journeys from a dreamer in the streets of a small town in
UP, to a convict within 20 minutes of this gripping film's playing-time.
Debutant director Ranjit Tiwari is an astoundingly selfassured storyteller. For
a debutant he shows scant regard for commercial trappings.When was the last time
we saw a prison drama without an item song? Or a film about injustice where the
hero doesn't get to raise his voice or lower his fists on corrupt jaws? Farhan
Akhar's Kishen is so soft-hearted and kind , we wonder how he will survive in
prison for a crime he never committed.
Early on there is heart-stopping sequence of prison violence where Kishen is
offered ‘protection' by an imposing goon(Manav Vij, wordlessly sinister).
Farhan plays Kishen as a dreamer-musician coping with a crisis beyond his
comprehension or endurance but determined to slum it out even if it means
breaking some laws. This is his bravest most soul-baring performance to date.
Scenes of his breakdown in solitary confinement will remain with us long after
the last episode of Prison Break is over.
The steel-willed screenplay provides Farhan with solid support, flinging forth
one deftly written scene after another. Early on in one of the most authentic
courtroom scenes I've seen in an Indian film since Chaitanya Tamhane's Court and
Vetrimaran's Visaaranai the smirking Judge's verdict on Kishen's faith will
shock you by its sheer casualness.
Let's not beat around the bush, an indulgence that this film is assuredly not
guilty of thanks to Charushree Roy's editing which weaves in and out of the
inmates' lives with the expertise of a trapeze artiste. What starts off as
Farhan's story soon becomes the story of four other prison inmates each played
by an actor who has rare insight into human nature and the conditions that
impose themselves on a man's free will rendering his actions unacceptable to
society.
Talent like Rajesh Sharma, Imaanulhaq and Deepak Dobriyal never lets a film
down. Here they have so much meat to chew on, it is feast of fury for them. As
Farhan's band-baja party they are seasoned troupers in a particularly inspired
environment. And when Gippy Garewal joins them as a Sardarji pining for his
sweetheart singing soul-penetrating songs of separation, we know we are in this
for keeps.
Then there Ravi Kissen a hoot as UP's calm, cynical Chief Minister with a sense
of humour who keeps reminding khaki-clad bureaucrats that the journey from
officer to traffic police is just a signature way. God knows we need jokey
politicians to get through presentday politics.
"Lucknow Central" sucks is into its human drama. It gives a flying hoot about
commercial trappings, keeps the frames stark , bare and daunting. No concession
is made to glamorous props.And if Diana Penty playing a kind of self important
activist prison-reformist that would otherwise seem satirical, happens to be
naturally glamorous, it's just too bad.
Cinematographer Tushar Kanti Ray looks for corners and crevices in the human
heart to shoot feelings behind prison walls. When in the second-half the
flexible narrative moves effortlessly into a philosophical mode we are prepared
for the transition much in the same way that Kishen prepares himself for prison
life.
An ongoing sense of inclusiveness runs through the film. We feel so much part of
the goings-on that we cry, laugh , sing and dance with Kishen and his four band
members . Their Kabootar song in the prison compound is arguably the best
choreographed dance number seen in a Hindi film in recent times.
It looks so unrehearsed so spontaneous....just like the film where the
characters probably existed long before the writer and director thought about
them. We just didn't know or care.
Bollywood filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, who recently produced Farhan Akhtar starrer "Lucknow Central", says the marketing team asked him to create a scandal involving Farhan to promote the film.Read More
Farhan Akhtar touched Robert De Niro's feetActor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar says he once touched legendary Hollywood actor Robert De Niro's feet. Read More
Kishen Mohan Girhotra is a young man who belongs to
Moradabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh. One fateful day, Kishen gets accused of
murder which lands him in Lucknow Central Jail where he’s awaiting his High
Court trial for a death penalty. Meanwhile, a diligent NGO worker Gayatri
Kashyap, is compelled to form a Band of Prisoners for the band competition which
is to be held in the dreaded jail of ‘Lucknow Central’ that year and this is how
Kishen’s and her paths cross.
Kishen befriends 4 other inmates, Dikkat Ansari, Victor Chattopahdyay,
Purushottam Pandit, Parminder Trehan and convinces them to join the band.
The dramatic narrative of Lucknow Central portrays how Kishen’s life progresses
in jail and how music becomes an intricate part of not only his journey, but the
rest of the band’s as well.
