Zanjeer Movie Review: Ram Charan Teja Gets It Right
Reviews
oi-IANS
By Ians English
Let's
not
get
carried
away.
Every
time
a
remake
comes
along,
we
get
gooey-eyed
and
nostalgic
about
the
original.
The
Zanjeer
remake
gets
it
right.
Dead
right.
Unlike
Ram
Gopal
Varma's
remake
of
Sholay,
which
was
purely
misguided,
and
Karan
Malhotra's
Agneepath
which
was
unnecessarily
brutal,
Zanjeer
is
just
what
a
remake
should
be.
It's
respectful
to
the
original
material
which,
let
me
hasten
to
add,
was
no
masterpiece,
and
suspiciously
similar
to
a
1967
film
called
Death
Rides
A
Horse.
Lakhia's
Zanjeer
is
neither
slavishly
reverent
to
the
original
material
nor
does
it
take
off
into
weird
wild
and
wacky
tangents
like
the
Rohit
Shetty's
recent
remake
of
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee's
Golmaal.
No
one
can
do
to
the
sullen
cop's
role
what
Mr
Bachchan
did.
But
yes,
even
in
his
new
avatar,
Inspector
Vijay
Khanna
played
by
Ram
Charan
Teja
seethes,
simmers
and
boils
over
with
an
indignant
rage.
Everything
about
the
festering
rotten
'system'
makes
him
annoyed
and
churlish.
That
this
time
the
Angry
Cop,
who
was
played
with
such
compelling
candidness
by
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
the
original
Zanjeer,
is
played
by
Ram
Charan
Teja
is
just
a
huge
stroke
of
luck
for
the
remake.
Ram
Charan
brings
in
an
entirely
unique
brand
of
silent
satyagraha
to
his
character.
When
we
first
see
him
on
screen,
he
wallops
a
goonda-politician
on
a
busy
road
of
Hyderabad
as
a
hoarding
of
Ram
Charan's
father
Chiranjeevi's
film
looks
down
on
the
chaotic
scene.
A
version
of
'Raghupati
raghav'
plays
in
the
background
as
Ram
Charan
lets
us
know
without
wasting
time,
that
he
means
business.
The
pace
from
that
hard-hitting
moment
is
relentless.
The
momentum
never
slackens
even
when
Vijay
Khanna
gets
down
to
expressing
tender
thoughts
for
the
fast-talking
befuddled
and
disoriented
NRI
girl
Mala.
From
the
Ganpati
Viasarjan
to
the
Moharram,
Lakhia's
interpretation
of
Zanjeer
traverses
a
mammoth
canvas
of
rapid-fire
images.
Gururaj
Jois's
camera
moves
dexterously,
but
never
to
divert
our
attention
from
the
central
conflict.
And
Chintan
Gandhi's
dialogues
use
one-liners
judiciously,
never
over-doing
the
smart-alec
retorts.
The
momentum
never
slackens.
The
most
tongue-in-cheek
homage
I've
seen
in
a
remake
occurs
in
this
film
when
we
see
the
new
Teja-Mona
pair
watching
actor
Ajit
and
Bindu
in
the
original
Zanjeer
on
a
DVD.
The
sequence
is
irreverent
without
appearing
to
belittle
the
original.
It
reminds
us
of
the
renewed
cycle
of
art
and
individual
talent.
This
is
one
remake
that
stands
tall
and
lithe.
It
is
manned
by
a
manful
supply
of
action
and
yet
manages
to
keep
the
machismo
understated.
Breakneck-paced,
adrenaline-pumping,
pulse-pounding
-
Lakhia's
deconstructed
version
of
the
Prakash
Mehra
film
is
a
full-on
pacy
paisa-vasool
entertainer
with
brio
and
balls.
Throughout
the
film,
we
sense
the
director's
immense
affection
for
the
original
Zanjeer,
a
reverence
that
never
clouds
his
judgement.
Ram
Charan
Teja
makes
an
impressive
Bollywood
debut.
We
can
safely
say
he
is
the
man
among
the
boys.
Go
for
it!
IANS
Have
a
look
at
the
slider
for
a
few
more
aspects
on
the
new
Zanjeer.
Affection
To
The
Original
The
new
Zanjeer
opens
up
the
original
plot,
weeds
out
the
humbug
and
preserves
the
core
of
the
revenge
saga
of
an
angry
cop
whose
ire
grows
progressively
higher
as
the
plot
moves
through
a
series
of
cleverly
conceived
conflicts
that
accentuate
his
alienation
from
his
khaki-coloured
line
of
duty.
Makes
Vijay
Khanna
Special
What
makes
Vijay
Khanna
in
the
new
Zanjeer
special
is
the
plot-mechanics
which
put
him
in
time-worn
situations,
but
subject
him
to
dramatic
dynamics
that
give
the
prototypical
Angry
Cop
a
renewed
riveting
life
of
violent
score-settling.
Narrative
Lakhia
paces
the
proceedings
as
a
rush-hour
traffic
of
bustling
events.
No
one
has
the
luxury
to
stop
and
think
as
the
narration
gathers
up
a
storm
of
pulpy
conflicts
building
up
to
an
exceptionally
staged
climax
filmed
amidst
the
volatile
proceedings
of
a
crowded
Moharram
event.
Action
The
film's
action,
by
Javed-Ejaz,
feels
and
looks
right.
The
attention
paid
to
getting
the
action
sequences
right
is
highly
commendable.
There
is
an
elaborately
staged
multiple-explosion
sequence
in
a
huge
Dharavi-like
slum
which
belongs
to
a
Vin
Diesel-starrer.
Priyanka
As
Mala
Playing
Mala,
Priyanka
Chopra
seems
to
have
a
whole
lot
of
infectious
fun.
She
spells
joie
de
vivre
and
looks
gorgeous.
Priyanka
is
the
comic
relief
in
this
fast-paced
actioner
where
fists
and
the
background
point
out
an
ominous
warning.
Humour
Fast-paced,
and
forever
furious,
Zanjeer
also
finds
space
to
be
excruciatingly
funny.
In
fact,
the
whole
villain-vamp
equation
between
Teja
(Prakash
Raj)
and
Mona
Darling
(Mahie
Gill)
is
here
subverted
to
a
kind
of
comic
coitus
interruptus
where
Prakash
Raj
repeatedly
keeps
talking
about
sex
without
getting
down
to
it
while
Mona
Gill
purrs
and
moans
and
pouts
--
not
out
of
passion
but
for
just
the
opposite
reasons.
Sanjay
Dutt
Sanjay
Dutt
steps
splendidly
into
Pran's
part.
His
sequences,
though
limited
by
the
actor's
physical
unavailability,
show
the
sensitive
side
to
his
aggressive
personality.
Click
here
for
more
images
Ram
Charan
And
Sanjay
Dutt
The
bonding
between
Ram
Charan
and
Dutt
comes
across
as
effectively
as
the
one
between
Ram
Charan
and
Priyanka
and
Prakash
Raj
and
Mahie
Gill.
Prakas
Raj
Prakash
Raj
plays
the
role
of
Teja
and
who
does
not
love
this
talented
actor.
He
never
lets
us
down.
Pinky
Sizzles
Priyanka
Chopra
turns
Pinky
in
a
song
for
Zanjeer.
She
sizzles
in
the
pink
outfit
and
the
desi
moves.
Ram
Charan
Teja
Ram
Charan
Teja
who
plays
Big
b
from
the
original
has
done
good
job
and
it
shows
the
hard
work
put
in.
PC
Turns
Police
In
the
song
'Mumbai
Ke
Hero'
we
see
Priyanka
Chopra
and
Ram
Charan
Teja
in
cop
outfits.