It felt as if Tigamanshu Dhulia on the sets of Saheb, Biwi, Gangster Returns suddenly decided that he had enough of Machiavellian twists and unlimited adultery. And that it was time to take a break from nuanced, heavy duty fare and make a good, old fashioned mas-ala action movie. And even in this genre Dhulia shows how it is done, folks- Bullet Raja easily takes my vote as the Hindi action extravaganza of the year.
Bullet Raja has 75% of the lead star cast (Jimmy Shergill, Raj Babbar, Mahie Gill), 100% of the setting (the heartland of India, Uttar Pradesh), and about 90% of the characters (twisted, scheming politicians, trigger happy gangsters, passionate lovers) of Saheb, Biwi and Gangster Returns. Central to the story is the bromance between Rudra (Shergill) and Raja (Saif), both as different from each other like Rahul and Sourav were, but mighty effective together as only Rahul and Sourav were.
Raja is the perennially angry Raavan, who is never one to shy away from a fight. He is essentially Agent Vinod in a rustic environment, the script only requires that he keeps the scowl throughout, but occasionally he lets the court jester in him take over. Shergill is the methodical Rudra, and the movie is about how the two of them reluctantly become feared gangsters, or as it is euphemistically put- political commandos. Like Jai and Veeru, it is very much an ode to friendship and loyalty. In between Raja does get time to romance a hefty Sonakshi Sinha, and put bullet holes in almost anything that moves against him.
While it might be just another action movie, Tigamanshu Dhulia has ensured that it carries his stamp of quality all over. The production design is authentic, and never does any scene feel out of place, even the diction in the Bengali sequences is bullseye. The dialogs are exceptionally funny full on desi, and he does an excellent job in portraying the politician-industry nexus with minimal effort. Of special note are the action sequences- they do not feel gravity defying, artificial and wire driven, there is a certain gritty beauty to them. And to counter a raging bull like Raja, Vidyut Jamval's special appearance was a masterstroke- he brings so much of realism to his stunt-work. Raj Babbar's fatherly politician, Vipin Sharma's incarcerated fixer who skypes out of jail, Gulshan Grover's lecherous industrialist, and Ravi Kishan's drag king hit-man are other stupendous characters.
Agreed the songs are mostly an interference, Sonakshi Sinha does her regular dumb girl act here too, and the film could have been a bit shorter. Bullet Raja is that rare Dhulia film that is not destined for any awards, but when it comes to enjoyment and entertainment this year, it is right up there. Do not look at ratings, take a leap of faith, bite this bullet- 8/10
Bullet Raja has 75% of the lead star cast (Jimmy Shergill, Raj Babbar, Mahie Gill), 100% of the setting (the heartland of India, Uttar Pradesh), and about 90% of the characters (twisted, scheming politicians, trigger happy gangsters, passionate lovers) of Saheb, Biwi and Gangster Returns. Central to the story is the bromance between Rudra (Shergill) and Raja (Saif), both as different from each other like Rahul and Sourav were, but mighty effective together as only Rahul and Sourav were.
Raja is the perennially angry Raavan, who is never one to shy away from a fight. He is essentially Agent Vinod in a rustic environment, the script only requires that he keeps the scowl throughout, but occasionally he lets the court jester in him take over. Shergill is the methodical Rudra, and the movie is about how the two of them reluctantly become feared gangsters, or as it is euphemistically put- political commandos. Like Jai and Veeru, it is very much an ode to friendship and loyalty. In between Raja does get time to romance a hefty Sonakshi Sinha, and put bullet holes in almost anything that moves against him.
While it might be just another action movie, Tigamanshu Dhulia has ensured that it carries his stamp of quality all over. The production design is authentic, and never does any scene feel out of place, even the diction in the Bengali sequences is bullseye. The dialogs are exceptionally funny full on desi, and he does an excellent job in portraying the politician-industry nexus with minimal effort. Of special note are the action sequences- they do not feel gravity defying, artificial and wire driven, there is a certain gritty beauty to them. And to counter a raging bull like Raja, Vidyut Jamval's special appearance was a masterstroke- he brings so much of realism to his stunt-work. Raj Babbar's fatherly politician, Vipin Sharma's incarcerated fixer who skypes out of jail, Gulshan Grover's lecherous industrialist, and Ravi Kishan's drag king hit-man are other stupendous characters.
Agreed the songs are mostly an interference, Sonakshi Sinha does her regular dumb girl act here too, and the film could have been a bit shorter. Bullet Raja is that rare Dhulia film that is not destined for any awards, but when it comes to enjoyment and entertainment this year, it is right up there. Do not look at ratings, take a leap of faith, bite this bullet- 8/10