First
Satya.
Then
Company.
Later
D.
Ramgopal
Varma
ventures
into
the
territory
he's
most
comfortable
in
--
Underworld.
Contract
looks
at
terrorism,
besides
the
inter-gang
rivalry.
But,
unfortunately,
what
comes
across
is
the
usual
vendetta
fare
with
underworld
as
the
wallpaper,
presented
with
new
faces.
RGV
is
amongst
the
finest
storytellers
India
has
produced,
no
two
opinions
on
that.
But
howsoever
efficient
the
chef
may
be,
if
the
meat
isn't
fresh,
no
amount
of
garnishing
can
make
it
taste
sumptuous.
In
this
case,
it's
the
story
[oft-repeated]
and
screenplay
[gripping
at
few
places
only,
otherwise
uninspiring]
that
throw
a
spanner.
The
only
thing
you
carry
home
is
new-find
Adhvik
Mahajan's
cold
look,
besides
his
arresting
performance.
Otherwise,
this
one's
a
forgettable
venture!
The
story
is
just
not
new.
A
man
is
planted
in
the
underworld
to
get
to
the
gangsters.
This
man
has
a
personal
score
to
settle
as
well.
How
he
wins
their
confidence
and
starts
eliminating
them
gradually
is
the
crux
of
the
film.
Vendetta
stories
aren't
new.
Also,
gangster/underworld
themes
have
reached
a
saturation
point.
How
much
more
can
you
experiment
with
a
genre
that's
beaten
to
death?
That's
one
of
the
prime
reasons
why
Contract
suffers.
Sure,
with
RGV
in
the
driving
seat,
a
number
of
scenes
are
really
well
filmed,
but
the
movie
just
doesn't
work.
The
below
par
writing
[writer:
Prashant
Pandey]
is
slightly
tolerable
in
the
first
hour,
but
gets
unbearable
towards
the
latter
part.
The
writer
takes
too
much
of
a
cinematic
liberty
while
winding
up
the
tale.
The
protagonist
takes
off
his
pistol
and
finishes
off
the
entire
army
of
the
villain,
in
a
jiffy.
That's
not
all!
The
immediate
sequence
has
the
voiceover
of
a
television
reporter,
who
also
informs
that
the
corrupt
Home
Minister
has
been
eliminated.
How?
Prior
to
that
we're
also
told
that
a
blast
had
killed
RD
and
his
entire
gang,
for
whom
the
protagonist
works.
The
protagonist
maintains,
till
the
very
end,
that
he
hasn't
committed
this
crime.
So
who
actually
did?
RGV
is
letdown
by
the
writer
this
time.
The
dialogues
are
dipped
in
acid,
but
why
this
need
to
repeat
one
dialogue
['Faisle
galat
nahin
hote,
nateeje
galat
hote
hain']
in
both
Sarkar
Raj
and
Contract?
The
song
is
foot-tapping
['Maula
Khair
Kare';
music:
Sanaa;
filmed
on
an
alluring
Shama
Sikandar]
and
it
fits
well
in
the
proceedings.
Cinematography
is
alright.
Adhvik
Mahajan
has
an
imposing
personality
and
moves
about
like
a
panther.
As
far
as
acting
goes,
the
debutante
gets
it
right
most
of
the
times.
Only
thing,
he
needs
to
work
on
his
voice.
Sakshi
Gulati
doesn't
really
get
scope,
but
she
leaves
a
strong
impact
in
the
pre-climax
when
she
hears
of
her
brother's
death.
In
supporting
roles,
Prasad
Purandare
[excellent;
film-makers
should
tap
this
talent],
Zakir
Hussain
[efficient],
Sumeet
Nijhawan
[RD;
first-rate],
Upendra
Limaye
[Goonga;
top
notch],
Amruta
Subhash
[Goonga's
wife;
realistic]
and
Vibha
Cheebur
[Commissioner;
perfect]
stand
out.
On
the
whole,
CONTRACT
is
weak
in
merits
and
the
fact
that
this
genre
[underworld/gangster
films]
has
limited
reach
will
further
curtail
its
prospects.
At
the
box-office,
a
poor
show!