"Allah
Ke
Banday
pays
homage
to
all
the
kids
exposed
to
offense,
misdeeds
and
crime," debutant
director
Faruk
Kabir
told
me
when
he
screened
the
first
promo
of
his
film
for
me.
In
times
when
senseless
comedies,
rom-coms
and
thrillers
are
being
lapped
up
at
the
box-office,
here
comes
a
director
telling
a
realistic
story
of
a
bunch
of
bad
young
men
taking
up
guns
when
they
are
preordained
to
take
up
education,
taking
up
abhorrence
when
they
are
meant
to
take
up
love.
The
consequences
are
drastic,
with
these
kids
turning
into
negative
forces,
taking
up
crime
as
their
mission
as
grown-ups
as
well.
Now,
this
is
a
parable
most
directors
would
fear
to
make
in
their
debut
film,
but
Faruk
seems
to
be
on
a
mission
to
make
Allah
Ke
Banday
watchable
not
only
for
its
genre.
The
question
is,
does
his
statement
that
Allah
Ke
Banday
isn't
a
film
about
crime,
but
our
society
in
general
come
across
effectively?
Does
Allah
Ke
Banday
have
the
power
to
magnetize
the
viewers
all
across
or
does
it
cater
to
a
miniscule
audience?
Let's
analyze.
The
Indian
social
order
is
evolving
and
so
is
Indian
cinema.
More
and
more
directors
are
coming
up
with
fresher
ideas
to
tell
tales
that
highlight
and
also
influence
changes
in
the
fabric
of
our
society.
Faruk
Kabir
also
seems
like
a
youngster
brimming
with
ideas,
having
a
lot
to
tell
in
his
own
individualistic
style.
However,
Allah
Ke
Banday
is
not
without
its
share
of
flaws.
The
screenplay
vacillates
between
interesting
and
not-too-exciting
moments.
Yet,
all
said
and
done,
it's
an
honest
attempt,
a
notch
above
the
ordinary!
Allah
Ke
Banday
is
a
film
that
spans
the
life
of
two
twelve-year-old
boys
living
in
one
of
the
most
ruthless
slums
of
Mumbai.
From
delivering
drugs
for
the
Mafia
to
looting
people
with
their
transvestite
friend,
the
two
aspire
to
assert
their
position
in
this
world
of
crime.
But
when
they
are
wrongly
convicted
for
a
murder
and
sent
to
the
Juvenile
Reformatory,
they
discover
a
world
more
chaotic
and
tough
to
survive
in,
than
the
one
they
left
behind.
The
senior
inmates,
with
the
participation
and
permission
of
the
dreadful
Juvenile
warden
[Naseeruddin
Shah],
subject
the
two
friends
to
all
kinds
of
torture
to
suppress
their
sense
of
power.
But
not
the
ones
to
take
it
lying
down,
they
start
developing
a
more
sinister
criminal
psychosis,
instead
of
reforming
and
set
on
a
quest
for
ultimate
power.
Set
free
at
twenty
three,
Vijay
[Sharman
Joshi]
and
Yakub
[Faruk
Kabir]
form
a
gang
of
teenage
boys
to
rule
the
slums
they
were
born
in.
The
vicious
cycle
of
life
continues.
Does
Allah
Ke
Banday
take
inspiration
from
a
foreign
source?
Is
it
inspired
by
the
gangster
flick
Cidade
De
Deus
aka
City
Of
God
[2003],
as
being
widely
alleged?
I
would
say
that
the
source
of
inspiration
seems
more
like
Sleepers
[1996],
which
starred
some
of
the
best
names
in
the
business
[Kevin
Bacon,
Robert
De
Niro,
Dustin
Hoffman,
Brad
Pitt].
But
despite
the
similarities,
I
must
add
that
Allah
Ke
Banday
is
not
only
well
shot,
but
makes
an
equally
powerful
impact.
Besides
choosing
an
offbeat
subject
for
his
debut
film,
Faruk
has
gone
a
step
further
and
shot
it
at
real
locations
too
and
that,
very
frankly,
takes
the
film
to
a
different
level
altogether.
The
film
wouldn't
have
worked
had
the
director
erected
sets
of
a
reformatory
or
the
slums
where
crime
breeds.
On
the
flipside,
the
writing
isn't
convincing
at
times.
Sharman
and
Faruk
run
the
show
from
a
dilapidated
mansion-like
structure
in
the
basti,
pushing
school-going
kids
to
the
world
of
crime.
This
is
done
valiantly,
without
any
fear
of
law
enforcement
agencies,
which
is
difficult
to
absorb.
Besides,
Allah
Ke
Banday
is
dark
and
like
I
pointed
out
earlier,
it
tries
to
be
as
close
to
reality
as
possible,
in
terms
of
the
lingo
spoken
by
the
characters
or
the
bloodshed
depicted
in
the
film
and
that
could
act
as
a
deterrent.
Also,
the
film
stagnates
in
the
middle
of
the
second
hour,
partly
because
there's
not
much
movement
in
the
screenplay.
Faruk
Kabir
makes
a
powerful
impact
as
a
storyteller.
His
handling
of
a
difficult
subject
deserves
brownie
points.
The
sequences
in
the
reformatory
are
very
well
shot.
Ditto
for
the
sequence
when
Sharman
encounters
Naseeruddin
Shah,
who
is
now
reduced
to
a
life
worse
than
a
beggar.
There's
not
much
scope
for
music
in
the
film,
but
I'd
like
to
single
out
the
background
score,
which
complements
the
goings-on
well.
The
cinematography
is
eye-catching.
The
real
locations
have
been
deftly
captured
on
celluloid.
Dialogue
are
power-packed
at
times.
With
a
talented
cast
like
Naseeruddin
Shah,
Sharman
Joshi,
Atul
Kulkarni
and
Zakir
Hussain,
you
expect
nothing
but
the
best
from
each
performer.
Naseer
has
limited
screen
space,
but
he's
dynamic
every
time
he
appears
on
screen.
Sharman
depicts
the
intensity
very
well.
In
fact,
this
is
amongst
his
better
works.
Atul
Kulkarni
is
wonderful,
while
Zakir
Hussain
is
top
notch.
Faruk
Kabir
enacts
a
pivotal
part
himself
and
must
say,
he
makes
you
sit
and
notice
his
talent
as
an
actor.
Anjana
Sukhani
doesn't
get
much
scope,
while
Rukhsaar
too
gets
less
screen
space.
Suhasini
Mulay
is
effective.
The
two
kids,
enacting
Sharman
and
Faruk's
parts,
are
excellent.
On
the
whole,
Allah
Ke
Banday
is
a
gritty,
stimulating
and
provocative
cinematic
experience
with
a
flipside:
Not
many
would
prefer
a
dark
film
about
kids
taking
to
crime
and
felony.
Its
appeal,
therefore,
will
remain
restricted
to
a
niche
audience.
Director:
Faruk
Kabir
Cast:
Sharman
Joshi,
Faruk
Kabir,
Naseruddin
Shah,
Atul
Kulkarni,
Anjana
Sukhani,
Rukhsar,
Zakir
Hussain