Good guys, bad guys and policemen — that’s what you get when you watch director Anand Kumar’s film Zila Ghaziabad. With lead characters wearing Ray Ban aviators, a few item songs, and a teacher-turned-desperado defining the film’s moral stance, the film lacks more than just a story.
Based on true events in the ‘80s and ‘90s when a gang war erupted between two powerful rival groups of Gujjars, Zila Ghaziabad is similar to other recent Bollywood releases with thugs who loot and celebrate and policemen who allow a street vendor to shoot a lawyer, because they feels that it’s just.
The story revolves around Fauji (Arshad Warsi) who is the henchman of a politician named Chairman (Paresh Rawal). Fauji is furious with Chairman’s legal advisor Master Jee (Vivek Oberoi) when he finds out that Master Jee conspired to kill him. This leads to a lot of bloodshed, which brings the gangster out in the educated Master Jee. The gang war gets so intense that Thakur Pritam Singh Chauhan (Sanjay Dutt) — a cop notorious for killing thugs instead of punishing them — is called to the rescue.
Officer Chauhan — the cool, buff cop who listens to cheap Bollywood songs to pass time — becomes an interesting antagonist for the wild and dangerous Fauji. The only interesting part of the film is to see the classic Munna-Circuit duo lock horns. Unlike the Munna Bhai series, Dutt and Warsi play characters who detest each other and are also the only two actors in the film that leave a lasting impression.
Warsi is superb in the role of Fauji, the savage killer, who the audience will hate in the film. Playing his role to perfection, Warsi looks, talks and acts like a beast on a hunt. Along with Warsi, another actor who delivers his performance well is Dutt; his screen presence is immaculate. With the success of Dabangg, many actors tried the angry cop role, but Dutt is someone who actually fits the character. His age adds to the character, and his quintessential gestures make him lovable despite his cunning streak. That doesn’t last long — after the poor special effects kick in and Dutt is seen flying in the air or walking on the walls as he shoots the goons, his magic dies. The super-natural effects might suit actors like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar or even Ajay Devgn, but certainly not Sanju baba. He is someone who is better at breaking bones and shooting bullets the old fashioned way.
The word ‘cheesy’ comes to mind for Oberoi as a good guy in the beginning of the film. But the better chunk of his acting comes when his misfortunes turn Oberoi into a wild gangster. Zila Ghaziabad reiterates the fact that despite Oberoi’s pretty-boy looks, his gangster roles in films like Company and Shootout at Lokhandwala suit him better. The rest of the actors come and go and aren’t anything to rave about.
The romance in the film is a waste of time. Both Minissha Lamba as Warsi’s love interest and Charmy Kaur as Oberoi’s are, out of place and none of the couples share decent chemistry — one actually waits for the goons with catchy lines to return onscreen rather than the pointless female characters in bad clothes.
The lines “kutta kitna bhi khatarnak hojaye Fauji, sher ki nahin lae pata” and “itni goliyan maroonga kay uskay bachay bhi peetal ke paida hongay” add a bit of flavour to a rather bland and boring script.
Verdict: Like the characters in the film, it’s solid from the outside but completely shallow on the inside. The film has its moments and a lot of action so if you don’t have any other options this week, then go get yourself a ticket.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2013.
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