|  Footpath
Movie Review
I never dreamt that some day I would get to see an absolutely
original and innovative Bollywood film. And thank God
I never did, because it never happened. Footpath seems
to take over from where films like Satya, Ghulam, Company,
Supari et al left. Even so, it does have its share of
moments.
Arjun and brothers Shekhar and Raghu
are childhood chums. The group is completed by Sanjana
- Shekhar's and Raghu's sister and Arjun's flame. Some
union guys knock off Arjun's dad when these four were
but adolescents. Shekhar finds out who the culprit is,
and the three kill him. Following this, they pack Arjun
off to Delhi, as the Police are looking for him all
over.
Then 12 years later, a certain Inspector
Singh manages to trace Arjun down. Eureka!!! I have
finally cracked one of life's most profound riddles
- why don't you find cops when you need them? Did you
wait for 12 years, you schmuck? The cops will get there,
they just need some time. Anyway, Singh gives Arjun
an offer he better not refuse - help the Police apprehend
Shekhar and Raghu who are major druglords now, and go
on living his life - if he does not wish to go to prison
forever.
Arjun infiltrates the gang. What follows
is a pretty decently constructed sequence of events
that depict the ruthlessness of Shekhar, the dilemma
of Raghu, the predicament of Arjun, the confusion of
Sanjana, and the apparent hopelessness of the situation.
Arjun does not know whether he should side with the
Police or help his friends, and when Sanjana gives him
that choice - choose between me and 'them' (the ultimate
in womanly possessiveness) - he makes the only logical
decision of siding with 'them'.
And then the entire world of Arjun turns
topsy-turvy. Raghu wants to right his wrongs. Shekhar
does not want to be anything other than wrong. And Arjun
is caught up between the two. Bullets fly, blood splashes
and people die, so much so that in the end we only have
two survivors in Arjun and Sanjana.
The film is not what you would term
'different'. The lead actors have all come up with good
performances, but Irfan Khan steals the show from right
under their noses in a cameo appearance. However the
script is slightly weak, and that just might come in
between the film and its success. Besides, I think Aftab
badly needs to invest in a razor. A scene here or a
scene there is fine, but to not shave in all his films?
So catch this flick, but do not expect
too much from it - unless 'it' is blood, gore and violence.
I, for one, expected too much of Bipasha, but I got
to see most of her anyway. |
