Film review: Guddu Rangeela

Khapital punishment

Portrayed as an anarchy devoid of cause and cognition, some argue about the cinematic liberties filmmakers take, when showing Khap Panchayats.

But wait, lead or without, they were the first (and last) to point out that chowmein provokes men to commit adultery. They also suggested that women who wrap themselves in evil clothing like denim call it upon themselves. So when it comes to their projection in cinema, exaggeration just got itself a ration card.

The film opens at a stage performance by Mirpur’s favourite sideshow duo, Guddu (Amit Sadh) and Rangeela (Arshad Warsi) who dutifully put up variety shows for every occasion that warrants a celebration, like someone getting a visa to Kenya, for instance. While Guddu cracks them up with his jokes, Rangeela backs him up with new-age jaagran numbers like Kal raat Mata ka mujhe email aaya hai. The two also double up as snitches, offering robbery leads to the many gangs in exchange for “mukhbhari”. The film’s plot builds up swiftly in the first half as the lead pair gets embroiled in a conspiracy against a senior Khap leader and MP-hopeful, Biloo Pehelwan (Ronit Roy).

A lazy piece of writing is Guddu and Rangeela’s individual back stories, where Biloo happens to be lead villain in both. And while the badla is evident, a character in the film even spells it out, “Jab crime personal ho, toh crime of passion ho jaata hai.” The film also weaves in a young girl called Baby (Aditi Rao Hydari) who also joins Team Badlapur to avenge the death of her sister.

The second half has many revelations. Most seem forced and included only to join the dots and trace the inevitable happy end. Will Guddu and Rangeela collectively manage to snub the Khap? Will Biloo be elected the next MP? Will Aditi Rao Hydari manage more than one and a half facial expressions in this film? Giving all this away would be a spoiler, no?

While he doesn’t play either of the characters in the title, Roy’s Biloo is unquestionably the most remarkable performance in the film. He manages to intimidate and terrorize with restraint, a little more and he’d have tipped over though. Even Warsi, who has been typecast for long in roles which are largely comic, has scenes that allow him to roar out his dramatic brilliance. Hydari seems indifferent and unenthusiastic about her role or atleast that’s how her performance reads and Sadh’s contribution falls in the unobjectionable category. The one to win for his comic timing isn’t Arshad or Amit but Rajeev Gupta, who is adorable as a dimwitted cop.

Kapoor doesn’t manage to establish the same mood he did in his previous directorial venture, Jolly LLB, but does enough to keep you hooked for almost 75 per cent of the film, before it begins to drag. His ability to seamlessly blend havoc and humour deserves a mention.

Amit Trivedi’s compositions are quirky and have a very confused vibe. The title track has an odd Goan folk meets reggae feel but works great to establish the mood of the scene.

It’s not challenging to make a film on Khap Panchayats and their unruly ways. But it’s ridiculously tricky to make one pickled with levity, romance, and without draining the gravity of the issue. On that count, Mr Kapoor, you’ve earned another feather on your Khap.