It was a 'game' between the Hindi and Bengali remakes of Tamil blockbuster 'Thupakki'. Both produced by Reliance Entertainment, Tollywood's 'Game' released just a week ahead of the A.R.Murugadoss directorial 'Holiday'. While the Bengali version was a non-starter from day one, the Akshay Kumar starrer raced away to the 100 crore club at the box-office. But did Tollywood really deserve such an abominable defeat?
On the contrary it has to be said that 'Game' is one of the most smartly executed mainstream films of recent times. In spite of being a remake the film is still Bengali to the core. Unlike other mainstream films which are mostly shot inside film-cities, here the camera spans across all the nooks and corners of Kolkata. From the wholesale market of Burrabazar to South City to Metro Stations to Trams and the Ferry Ghats, the whole City of Joy is captured in a pristine avatar (which is especially delightful for non-resident Bengalis like me!). And all these coming from a director who can't even speak Bengali! Baba Yadav has already proved his directorial skills with his debut venture 'Boss' (2013) where he brilliantly captured the 'Aamchi Mumbai' feel of his home-town. But doing so for a city which he isn't much familiar with requires talent of a different level. Other Bengali directors like Rajib, Raja Chanda and Sujit Mondol can take a lesson or two from this film regarding how to capture the essence of Bengal.
But the biggest USP of the film is its gripping story-line. A.R.Murugadoss has already developed a reputation of becoming the 'Christopher Nolan of India' and here too he lives up to the hype by delivering a highly intellectual script. Supported by some good dialogues (including Hindi) by N.K.Salil the film forces the viewers to concentrate on every bit of word and action and keeps them hooked till the end. Although the suicide-mission undertaken by the hero seemed drastic and required better handling, still this much can certainly be overlooked. By the time the rolling credits come up, one just can't help but marvel at the incredible sacrifices made by the brave Jawans of our army!
In terms of performances Jeet is wonderful as the dutiful armyman Abhimanyu. He has improved big time as an actor and delivers a much better performance than his rowdy acts in 'Awara' or 'Bachchan'. The effort he has put in to get in shape for the character of an army officer shows in his lean and mean physique. Subhashree is bubbly and looks good; but her chemistry with Jeet falls flat as their age difference is a great eye-sore. But the biggest surprise package of the film is its villain Saurav Chakraborty who puts in a cold and menacing performance as the head of the terrorist outfit. Similarly impressive is the actor as Jeet's sub-inspector friend who is quite funny. A special mention must also be made of Shankar Chakraborty who puts in a restrained comic performance. But Biswajit Chakraborty and Arindam Sil are wasted in their insubstantial roles.
The biggest weak-point of the film if any, has to be its music. After the phenomenal success of the 'Boss'-soundtrack, Jeet Gannguli is clearly out of form over here. None of the four songs manages to create any lasting impression on the audiences. But otherwise the film boasts of some excellent editing and top-notch cinematography. The background music is good but more is expected from a stalwart like S.P.Venkatesh. The action-sequences by Rocky Rajesh are NOT over-the-top. Still the hero's introductory sequence was needless while the climactic fight left a lot to be desired and failed to deliver the final flourish that the film so richly merited. The VFX special effects of the blasts were also quite below the mark.
But all the good work got undone by the foolish release timing by the producers. Pitting 'Game' against the much-bigger 'Holiday' was always going to hit the viewer-base hard, resulting in a lukewarm response at the box-office. Mainstream cinema which has been suffering from same-old repetitive brainless dramas desperately needed a 'game'-changer, and 'Game' was exactly what the doctor had ordered. But alas... that was not to be. Instead of ushering in a trend of intellectual story-lines, Tollywood and especially Jeet has gone back to doing brainless action-dramas like 'Bachchan' and 'Besh Korechi Prem Korechi'; both of which have inexplicably done better business than 'Game'! And the worst part is that in spite of showing so much promise, a director like Baba Yadav currently has no offers in his hand which is such a shame... Tollywood Needs You Baba...!
In spite of winning my heart, the heavy defeat at the box-office was certainly not deserved in this 'game'. But it's not just a defeat for Reliance & Co, but for the entire industry which is going to cost Tollywood dear at some point in the future...
On the contrary it has to be said that 'Game' is one of the most smartly executed mainstream films of recent times. In spite of being a remake the film is still Bengali to the core. Unlike other mainstream films which are mostly shot inside film-cities, here the camera spans across all the nooks and corners of Kolkata. From the wholesale market of Burrabazar to South City to Metro Stations to Trams and the Ferry Ghats, the whole City of Joy is captured in a pristine avatar (which is especially delightful for non-resident Bengalis like me!). And all these coming from a director who can't even speak Bengali! Baba Yadav has already proved his directorial skills with his debut venture 'Boss' (2013) where he brilliantly captured the 'Aamchi Mumbai' feel of his home-town. But doing so for a city which he isn't much familiar with requires talent of a different level. Other Bengali directors like Rajib, Raja Chanda and Sujit Mondol can take a lesson or two from this film regarding how to capture the essence of Bengal.
But the biggest USP of the film is its gripping story-line. A.R.Murugadoss has already developed a reputation of becoming the 'Christopher Nolan of India' and here too he lives up to the hype by delivering a highly intellectual script. Supported by some good dialogues (including Hindi) by N.K.Salil the film forces the viewers to concentrate on every bit of word and action and keeps them hooked till the end. Although the suicide-mission undertaken by the hero seemed drastic and required better handling, still this much can certainly be overlooked. By the time the rolling credits come up, one just can't help but marvel at the incredible sacrifices made by the brave Jawans of our army!
In terms of performances Jeet is wonderful as the dutiful armyman Abhimanyu. He has improved big time as an actor and delivers a much better performance than his rowdy acts in 'Awara' or 'Bachchan'. The effort he has put in to get in shape for the character of an army officer shows in his lean and mean physique. Subhashree is bubbly and looks good; but her chemistry with Jeet falls flat as their age difference is a great eye-sore. But the biggest surprise package of the film is its villain Saurav Chakraborty who puts in a cold and menacing performance as the head of the terrorist outfit. Similarly impressive is the actor as Jeet's sub-inspector friend who is quite funny. A special mention must also be made of Shankar Chakraborty who puts in a restrained comic performance. But Biswajit Chakraborty and Arindam Sil are wasted in their insubstantial roles.
The biggest weak-point of the film if any, has to be its music. After the phenomenal success of the 'Boss'-soundtrack, Jeet Gannguli is clearly out of form over here. None of the four songs manages to create any lasting impression on the audiences. But otherwise the film boasts of some excellent editing and top-notch cinematography. The background music is good but more is expected from a stalwart like S.P.Venkatesh. The action-sequences by Rocky Rajesh are NOT over-the-top. Still the hero's introductory sequence was needless while the climactic fight left a lot to be desired and failed to deliver the final flourish that the film so richly merited. The VFX special effects of the blasts were also quite below the mark.
But all the good work got undone by the foolish release timing by the producers. Pitting 'Game' against the much-bigger 'Holiday' was always going to hit the viewer-base hard, resulting in a lukewarm response at the box-office. Mainstream cinema which has been suffering from same-old repetitive brainless dramas desperately needed a 'game'-changer, and 'Game' was exactly what the doctor had ordered. But alas... that was not to be. Instead of ushering in a trend of intellectual story-lines, Tollywood and especially Jeet has gone back to doing brainless action-dramas like 'Bachchan' and 'Besh Korechi Prem Korechi'; both of which have inexplicably done better business than 'Game'! And the worst part is that in spite of showing so much promise, a director like Baba Yadav currently has no offers in his hand which is such a shame... Tollywood Needs You Baba...!
In spite of winning my heart, the heavy defeat at the box-office was certainly not deserved in this 'game'. But it's not just a defeat for Reliance & Co, but for the entire industry which is going to cost Tollywood dear at some point in the future...
