Ab Tak Chhappan

If Satya was the Bollywood’s answer to the Quentin
Tarantino kind of Cinema, Ab Tak Chhappan only
enhances the answer. While Ram Gopal Varma’s classics
Satya and Company glamorized the underworld, ATC
upholds the crime controllers of Mumbai, especially
the controversial Encounter Cops. Shimit Amin, the
editor of RGV’s Bhoot, is a welcome extension of the
RGV style direction. RGV’s mantra of not letting good
ideas go waste due to the limited time he has with
him, by handing over the reigns to capable young men
(there have been no women yet, but who knows.. keep
watching...) is turning out very well for Bollywood
and the select audience his kind of movies has made.
ATC fares well among a wider audience nonetheless,
especially the ardent followers of Nana Patekar.

Slick editing (a usual with the newer RGV movies),
hitting dialogues, unusual camera moves, taut
screenplay with incidents coming out of nowhere to the
viewers surprise abound in ATC and make it a
thoroughly enjoyable affair. The life and workings of
the (in)famous encounter cops are depicted in
immaculate style. The involvement of the politicians
in the affair, the rapport of junior-senior police
officers has been depicted genuinely. The proceedings
completely lack glamour and all the incidents look
real. The no-nonsense attitude shown by the police
(and gangsters) makes the plot interesting. Things
move at even pace throughout the movie throwing light
on various aspects of an encounter cop’s personal and
professional life. The story digresses a bit after the
interval and starts lacking the logic maintained till
this point but makes sense again near the end. A lot
of reviews have said that the end looks nonsense but I
beg to differ. Although there are some flaws in the
screenplay which don’t justify the end with respect to
the events that lead upto it, its still a innovative
plot. It takes the viewer by surprise.

Performance wise the entire ensemble is awesome (as
with most RGV movies). Nana Patekar is in complete
control of his character and makes an impression that
he almost lives it everyday. His cohorts in Kunal
Vijaykar and Yashpal Sharma are also excellent. While
Vijaykar depicts the more easy going kind of a
policeman, Sharma plays a jealous junior solely
interested in making more ’’encounters’’ and increase
the numbers in his scrap book. Nakul Vaid plays the
novice in the team with conviction. His expressions
show the inexperience of a newcomer and his diction
and actions hint his willingness to learn. Revathi as
Nana’s wife plays her small part as normal as a
housewife. Hrishita Bhatt does not get much scope but
overacts at times. Prasad Purandare as the underworld
down is a revelation. His chin beard and the general
getup augmented by his facial expressions make his
character look as real as Nana’s. Mohan Agashe plays
his role with integrity as does Jeeva as the corrupt
commissioner of police. The background score from
Salim-Suleiman is worth mentioning. RGV is the best
thing that has happened to this talented music duo.
The sky is the limit for them with RGV.

Things look bright for Bollywood with RGV’s
non-escapist cinema. The talent that he has and
produces through others augurs well for the hindi
movie future. Don’t miss out on Ab Tak Chhappan. It
would be an insult to Ram Gopal Varma.