A SHAKY
FORT
A Dilip Kumar-starrer
coming after a long time is eagerly awaited and with great expectations you
go to watch Qila. Sadly, the film is a total letdown. Marred by a directionless
story and a weak script by Humayun Mirza, you wonder what the film wants
to say. To add to all this, there is a lot of confusion as a result of a
lot of sub-plots woven into the main plot.
The story
revolves around Dilip Kumar, who plays a double role of identical twin brothers.
One of them Jagannath Singh, a thakur who lives in his Qila is a villain,
unleashing a reign of terror on the villagers and causing them untold misery.
He even throws out his pregnant wife Suman (Smita Jaykar) and rapes a dancer
Yamini (Rekha). So when Jagannath is murdered, there is no one to shed a
tear for him, instead mithai is distributed. His brother, Judge Amarnath
Singh, who is a good soul, wants to undo all the wrongs his brother had done,
and help all those who were the victims of his atrocities. With this intention,
he brings home Yamini, her brother and her illegitimate son fathered by
Jagannath, and Suman and her son Amar (Mukul Dev), and does all he can to
bring back happiness into their lives. But he also has another motive - to
unearth the identity of the killer of his brother - and the evidence he has
point out that the killer is staying right in his house. Of course the doubt
is on other criminals too, like Mangal Singh (Guslhan Grover), Neelam (Kunika)
and Rana (Shahbaz Khan), who were all out to usurp Jagannath Singhs
wealth.
Initially,
the atmosphere of suspense does keep you on the edge of the seat, as you
guess about the killers identity, but by and by, you lose interest
since the film loses its focus. There are deliberate efforts to mislead the
audience and in the end you dont care who the killer is. There is a
courtroom drama, which could have been the highlight had it been
gripping.
Relief is
provided in the form of song-dance numbers, but except for Wah bhai wah and
Kurte ki baiyan the other songs by Anand Raaj Anand dont hold your
interest. Also they are tackily shot. A comic scene between Dilip Kumar and
Satish Kaushik falls flat in an attempt to evoke forced
laughter.
The redeeming
feature - of course is thespian Dilip Kumar, who compels you to sit through
the film. Though both his roles hardly live up to his calibre as one of the
greatest actors of Indian cinema,, he manages to hold your interst by putting
life into them. Mukul Dev, who gets almost the same footage as that of Dilip
Kumar, with his effortless acting makes an impact. Gulshan Grover is a mere
caricature, while Shahbaz Khan bores you with his one-liner Hum Nawab Shirazi
ke najayaz aulad hain.
Of the female
cast, Rekha is wasted in an inconspicuous role. Mamta Kulkarni, who has been
taken to lend glamour, ends up looking like a clown with her atrocious dress
sense and wierd hair-dos. Rajeshwari Sachdev, in the role of the judges
daughter, is endearing with her natural performance.
Director
Umesh Mehra fails to retain audience interest. Its a pity that he
couldnt utilise two of the most talented artistes of the country and
exploit their potential to the fullest, instead of making them act in a
hotch-potch of a movie. |
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